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reward system

·June 26, 2018·3 min read

How Your Brain Decides Between Knowledge and Ignorance

Researchers report the brain's reward network could play an influential role in evaluating the opportunity to gain new information, just as it does to evaluate rewards such as food or financial gain.

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·June 19, 2018·4 min read

Video Game Loot Boxes Similar to Gambling

Researchers say video games that offer loot boxes containing items to give players an advantage increase gambling and risk taking behaviors in adolescents.

brain scans taken while people listened to music

Auditory Neuroscience Featured Neuroscience Neuroscience Videos Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·June 12, 2018·6 min read

Higher Empathy People Process Music Differently in the Brain

Researchers report people with higher empathy process music with greater involvement in the brain's reward system and areas of the brain associated with social information processing.

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·June 6, 2018·5 min read

Human Drug Addiction Behaviors Tied to Specific Impairments in 6 Brain Networks

A new study reports impairments in six brain networks are associated with addiction behaviors. The findings may pave the way for developing more targeted treatments for addiction.

Featured Neuroscience

·May 21, 2018·4 min read

Brain Stimulation May Reduce Food Cravings as Obesity Treatment

According to researchers, high frequency dTMS increased beta endorphin levels, producing heightened feelings of reward following food ingestion. Researchers report this form of non-invasive brain stimulation could help alter food cravings in obese people.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·March 2, 2018·5 min read

In Pursuit of Pleasure, the Brain Learns to Hit the Repeat Button

According to researchers, the brain learns to reproduce brain activity patterns that lead to reward. The findings could lead to new avenues for treating addiction and OCD, researchers report.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·February 12, 2018·3 min read

Brain Scans Show Why People Get Aggressive After a Drink or Two

According to a new study, the display of aggression following the consumption of alcohol is linked to a dip in activity in the prefrontal cortex.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·February 5, 2018·6 min read

How Brain’s Reward System Lessened Distress Over 2016 Election Results

People who tended to be more depressed as a result of the 2016 election have less family support and decreased activity in two key regions of the brain's reward system, researchers report.

Featured Genetics Psychology

·December 11, 2017·6 min read

Study Links Tendency to Undervalue Future Rewards With ADHD and Obesity

Teaming up with 23andMe, UCSD researchers have discovered a genetic signature for the tendency to undervalue future rewards which overlaps with ADHD and obesity.

Featured Psychology

·November 16, 2017·4 min read

Stress Can Lead to Risky Decisions

Researchers report chronic stress can influence how we make decisions. In a new study, mice who were affected by chronic stress were more likely to make more risky decisions with higher payoff options than those who were less stressed.

Image shows the researcher testing beer.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·September 30, 2017·4 min read

Beer Can Lift Your Spirits: Hordenine Activates Brain’s Reward Center

Hordenine, a substance present in beer and malted barley, activates dopamine D2 receptors through G proteins, leading to a possibly prolonged effect on the brain's reward center, researchers report.

This image shows the location of the ventral striatum.

Featured Psychology

·September 18, 2017·5 min read

Why Bad Sleep Doesn’t Always Lead to Depression

Researchers from Duke University report people with poor sleep quality were less likely to experience symptoms of depression if they had higher activity in the ventral striatum.