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nucleus accumbens

Featured Psychology

·June 17, 2015·6 min read

Reverse Depression by Recalling Happier Memories

Researchers use optogenetics to reactivate happy memories and curb symptoms of depression.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 13, 2018·8 min read

Overeating? It May be a Brain Glitch

Researchers explore the neuroscience behind binge eating and the triggers that might make us reach for comfort foods.

Autism Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·June 18, 2018·6 min read

How the Brain’s “Reward Circuit” Plays a Key Role in Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder

A new meta-analysis of neuroimaging data reveals people with ASD process social and nonsocial rewards differently than those without an autism diagnosis.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·April 20, 2020·7 min read

Early exposure to cannabis boosts young brains’ sensitivity to cocaine

Cannabis use during youth enhances sensitivity to cocaine from the first exposure, a new rat study finds.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·February 27, 2023·4 min read

Early-Life Stress Can Disrupt Maturation of Brain’s Reward Circuits, Promoting Disorders

Researchers have identified a novel stress-sensitive pathway in the reward system of the brain that releases corticotropin-releasing hormone in response to stress. Adverse experiences cause this pathway to become overactive.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·September 27, 2016·6 min read

Pinpointing a Brain Circuit That Keeps Fear at Bay

Researchers have discovered a method to prolong the benefits of extinction and identified a new way to improve exposure therapy in people suffering from phobias and PTSD.

Featured Psychology

·May 1, 2015·5 min read

Reward Response Increased by Oxytocin in Women Viewing Crying Babies

Researchers suggest oxytocin could motivate women to help a crying baby.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·December 19, 2017·7 min read

Brain Zap Saps Destructive Urges

Deep brain stimulation to the nucleus accumbens can help prevent impulsive behaviors, researchers report in PNAS.

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·August 13, 2020·4 min read

The Neuroscience of Getting and Staying Motivated

The key to performance and motivation lies within the ratio of glutamine and glutamate in the nucleus accumbens. The ratio of glutamine to glutamate relates specifically to stamina.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 18, 2019·3 min read

Ketamine reduces drinking in male rats, but not females

Ketamine reduced alcohol intake in male rat models of alcohol use disorder but increased the desire for alcohol in low-consumption females.

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·September 29, 2022·4 min read

Unraveling the Reward Behavior: The Mechanisms Underlying the Dopamine Signaling Pathway

The direct phosphorylation of KCNQ2 by ERK occurs through the activation of the dopamine signaling pathway in the nucleus accumbens of mice.

This shows a skateboarder pulling some moves

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·September 1, 2019·4 min read

Adolescents’ fun seeking predicts both risk taking and prosocial behavior

A positive correlation has been identified between prosocial and rebellious behaviors in teens. The more risk taking behaviors a teen exhibited, the more likely they were to act prosocially. The findings suggest the same developmental processes are at work for both types of behaviors. Also noted was faster brain development in the medial prefrontal cortex predicted a decrease in rebellious behavior.