mesolimbic pathway

·April 4, 2022·4 min read

Neuronal Mechanisms That Control Food Cravings During Pregnancy Identified

A new study sheds light on the neurobiology of cravings for certain foods women experience while pregnant. According to researchers, during pregnancy, the brain undergoes alterations to functional connections in the reward systems, as well as taste and sensorimotor centers. Pregnant females become more sensitive to sweet foods and develop binge eating behaviors toward high-calorie foods. Pregnancy induces a full reorganization of the mesolimbic neural circuits via D2R dopaminergic neurons in the nucleus accumbens.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·January 1, 2020·3 min read

New Year’s anxiety hangover? Here’s what’s happening in your brain

Hangxiety, the feeling of waking up with anxiety the morning after heavy drinking, is a common symptom associated with a hangover. Researchers explain how a heavy night's drinking alters neurochemistry, leaving some of us prone to waking with anxiety.

The prefrontal cortex in the brain is highlighted here

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 26, 2019·5 min read

Growing up high: Neurobiological consequences of adolescent cannabis use

Researchers evaluate the psychological and neurobiological impact of teen cannabis use. The findings, to be presented at the 13th Annual Canadian Neuroscience Meeting, will cover how cannabis contributes to cognitive impairments, psychosis and deficits in decision making in adolescents.