Study links human gene variant to THC reward in adolescent females
A variant of the FAAH gene increases vulnerability to THC in females and has a larger-scale impact on brain regions responsible for reward processing.... Read More...
reward system
How the brain processes rewards
Different types of reward have unique effects on the basal ganglia nuclei. Food rewards influence the left hemisphere of the brain, while erotic rewards engage the right lateral globus and left caudate. Financial rewards engage the basal ganglia bilaterally.... Read More...
What people who don’t like music might tell us about social interaction
Musical anhedonia, a neurological condition where people don't enjoy music, affects 5% of the population. Researchers are exploring if this same condition could also be what impairs social bonding for some people on the autism spectrum.... Read More...
Music helps researchers find link between prediction and pleasure
Exposing subjects to music composed in an unfamiliar scale, researchers test whether reward can be derived solely from newly formed predictions.... Read More...
Rich rewards: ADHD medication’s effect on the brain
Methylphenidate may boost norepinephrine levels in the prefrontal cortex, which in turn regulates dopaminergic neurons firing in the striatum, when a reward is delivered. The study sheds new light on how medications for ADHD affect the reward system in the brain.... Read More...
Sugar changes the chemistry of your brain
After 12 days of sugar intake, researchers noted major changes in both the dopamine and opioid systems of pigs' brains. Alterations in the opioid system were seen following the very first intake of sugar.... Read More...
One shot of ketamine could reduce problem drinking
A single shot of ketamine administered to heavy drinkers following reactivation of their drinking memories led to a rapid decrease in the urge to drink. The effect lasted for over nine months.... Read More...
Your brain on sugar: What the science actually says
From reducing memory capability to increasing the risk of diabetes and obesity, researchers investigate how sugar affects the brain and body.... Read More...
So cute you could crush it? The neuroscience of “cute aggression”
Some people feel an overwhelming sense of wanting to commit an act of aggression when they see a cute baby animal. Researchers say cute aggression may be a neural mechanism that mediates feelings of being overwhelmed. ... Read More...
Genetic variation contributes to individual differences in pleasure
What we find pleasurable may be down to our genetics. Researchers found nucleus accumbens activation and physical anhedonia were influenced by shared genes. The experience of pleasure and physical anhedonia also appear to share some of the same genes.... Read More...
Why marijuana affects different people differently
By looking at THC’s effect on a rat brain, the researchers showed that THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, can produce highly rewarding effects in the front-most part of a region of the brain called the nucleus accumbens. The image is in the public domain.... Read More...
Ignoring cues for alcohol and fast food is hard – but is it out of our control?
Stress and tiredness make it harder for you to ignore environmental cues that signal something rewarding.... Read More...