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reward system

·March 2, 2026·6 min read

Trick the Brain, Taste the Reward: How Expectations Rewrite Sweetness

Expectation is the secret ingredient. New neuroimaging research reveals that believing a drink contains sugar can "supercharge" the brain's reward response to artificial sweeteners.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 1, 2026·7 min read

Why You Can’t Say No to Snacks Even When Full

New EEG research reveals that your brain refuses to "switch off" its reward response to food, even after you’ve eaten until you’re full.

This shows the outline of a person's head wearing earphones. musical notes swirl around her.

Featured Neuroscience

·February 18, 2026·8 min read

Hacking Musical Chills: Triggering Peak Musical Pleasure

Hack your goosebumps. A new brain-music interface uses in-ear sensors to read your emotions and curate a playlist that guarantees peak "musical chills."

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·December 9, 2025·7 min read

Key Brain Protein Controls How We Learn Reward Cues

Changing levels of the brain protein KCC2 can alter how reward associations form, reshaping the learning process that links cues to outcomes. Reduced KCC2 activity increased dopamine neuron firing and strengthened new cue–reward connections, offering insight into how addictions and maladaptive habits develop.

This shows a brain in a football stadium.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 12, 2025·7 min read

Rivalry Rewires the Brain: Why Fans Lose Control in an Instant

New brain-imaging research shows that soccer fans experience rapid shifts in reward and self-control circuits when their team wins or loses against a rival. Victories trigger heightened reward responses, while defeats suppress the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, the brain region responsible for regulating emotion and behavior.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 3, 2025·4 min read

Brain Circuit Found to Shape Risk and Impulse Differently by Sex

Researchers exploring risky decision-making in rats found that a specific reward-related neural circuit influences impulsivity and risk-taking in complex ways that depend on timing and biological sex. Manipulating the circuit during the learning phase of a gambling task altered risky choices differently in males and females, while manipulation after learning affected motor impulsivity in both.

This shows the outline of two heads and brains. One brain is foggy, as though representing depression.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·August 3, 2025·5 min read

Brain Reward Signals Blunted by Genetic Depression Risk

A new imaging study reveals that young adults with a higher genetic risk for depression show diminished brain activity when processing rewards and punishments. Using data from nearly 900 healthy twins and siblings, researchers found altered activation in brain regions linked to attention and decision-making—well before any symptoms of depression appeared.

Featured Neuroscience

·July 19, 2025·4 min read

Flavored Vapes Trigger Reward Centers Even Without Nicotine

A new study shows that some e-cigarette flavorings, like vanilla and cherry, can trigger reward-seeking behaviors in adolescent mice even without nicotine. Researchers found that these flavors alone could activate the brain’s dopamine system, raising concerns about their potential for fostering addiction-like behavior.

Featured Neurology Neuroscience

·April 15, 2025·4 min read

Why Nostalgic Songs Spark the Brain’s Memory and Reward System

Listening to nostalgic music activates key brain regions tied to memory and emotion, according to a new brain imaging study. Researchers found that songs linked to personal memories engage both the default mode network and the brain's reward circuitry.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 9, 2025·6 min read

Serotonin Helps Your Brain Predict Future Rewards

New research reveals that serotonin plays a key role in how the brain predicts future rewards, shedding light on its puzzling activity in response to both pleasure and pain. Scientists found that serotonin neurons encode a “prospective code for value,” signaling expectations about upcoming outcomes and how rapidly those expectations are changing.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 15, 2025·4 min read

Dopamine Can Rewire Reward-Linked Memories

New research reveals dopamine has a previously unknown role: reshaping our memories of rewarding experiences. In a study using mice, scientists found dopamine helps reduce the perceived value of memories linked to rewards, altering future behavior toward those rewards.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·January 22, 2025·7 min read

Targeting Reward Pathways to Treat Depression

New research highlights how the brain's reward-learning system can guide personalized treatments for depression. By studying two brain signals, expected value and prediction error, researchers identified markers that predict recovery potential and tailored responses to rewards and setbacks.

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reward system

Trick the Brain, Taste the Reward: How Expectations Rewrite Sweetness

Why You Can’t Say No to Snacks Even When Full

Hacking Musical Chills: Triggering Peak Musical Pleasure

Key Brain Protein Controls How We Learn Reward Cues

Rivalry Rewires the Brain: Why Fans Lose Control in an Instant

Brain Circuit Found to Shape Risk and Impulse Differently by Sex

Brain Reward Signals Blunted by Genetic Depression Risk

Flavored Vapes Trigger Reward Centers Even Without Nicotine

Why Nostalgic Songs Spark the Brain’s Memory and Reward System

Serotonin Helps Your Brain Predict Future Rewards

Dopamine Can Rewire Reward-Linked Memories

Targeting Reward Pathways to Treat Depression

Spiritual Distress Is a Clinical Reality in Brain Disease

Most Insomnia Meds Don’t Worsen Sleep Apnea

Ghost in the Machine: Brain Predicts Images Before We See Them

Dog-Inspired Robot: How Gestures Help AI Master the Art of “Fetch”

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