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reward

·June 5, 2025·10 min read

Dopamine Neurons Map Future Rewards, Not Just Past Ones

Populations of dopamine neurons don't simply signal reward prediction errors—they encode rich maps of possible future outcomes, including when and how much a reward might be. This diverse, adaptable neural code mirrors cutting-edge AI strategies known as distributional reinforcement learning.

This shows two people, one bathed in light, the other in darkness.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·May 2, 2025·4 min read

Study Reveals the Selfish Side of Karmic Belief

A new study reveals people apply karma differently to themselves and others. While individuals view their own positive experiences as karmic rewards, they tend to interpret others' suffering as deserved punishment.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 5, 2025·4 min read

Serotonin Signals the Brain’s Best Guess About Future Rewards

A new study reveals that serotonin neurons in the brain may play a crucial role in helping us estimate the value of future rewards. Rather than simply responding to pleasure or pain, serotonin appears to encode a "prospective value" signal—telling the brain how good the near future is likely to be.

Featured Neuroscience

·March 27, 2025·4 min read

How the Brain Learns to Reclassify Danger and Reward

The brain constantly evaluates whether stimuli are positive or negative, prompting approach or avoidance behaviors that are essential for survival. A new study reveals that two neuron types in the nucleus accumbens—D1 and D2 neurons—respond together to both rewarding and aversive stimuli, but in distinct ways.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·October 22, 2024·3 min read

Mental Fatigue Increases Temptation for Rewards

New research reveals that mental fatigue makes rewards like unhealthy snacks more tempting. Both rats and humans who exerted cognitive effort sought out more rewards, with rats self-administering more cocaine and humans rating snacks as tastier.

This shows a person using a cell phone and a lit up brain.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·October 11, 2024·6 min read

Why Our Brains Prefer Rewards Over Habits

New research suggests our brains prioritize actions based on rewards, not habits, challenging the idea that tech simply "steals" attention. The study found that when presented with multiple tasks, participants consistently chose the option with the highest reward, even if it conflicted with a trained habit.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 28, 2024·5 min read

Serotonin Levels Rise With Reward Anticipation

Serotonin, known as the "happiness molecule," increases in anticipation of a reward and scales with the value of that reward. Using a biosensor called GRAB-serotonin, researchers measured serotonin in real time in mice as they received treats.

Featured Neuroscience

·February 13, 2024·4 min read

Nicotine’s Influence on Reward and Aversion

A new study delves into how nicotine influences the brain, revealing its complex effects on areas related to reward and aversion. Focusing on the medial habenula, researchers found its activity varies significantly with nicotine dosage, presence of menthol, and the subject's sex, a discovery that challenges previous understanding of nicotine's uniform impact on reward pathways.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 2, 2022·3 min read

Individuals With Schizophrenia and Social Anhedonia Show Altered Neural Processing for Social Reward Anticipation

People with schizophrenia and social anhedonia exhibit altered neural processing for social reward processing, leading to impaired social interaction and social dysfunction.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 16, 2022·3 min read

The Experience of Reward Increases Connectivity Between the Default Mode Network and Other Brain Regions

Study reveals how reward enhances connectivity between the ventral striatum and the default mode network, impacting behavior.

This shows neurons in the laternal habenula

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·August 31, 2022·5 min read

Tiny Brain Area Controls Work for Rewards

The lateral habenula is responsible for determining whether an animal is willing to work for rewards, and when it will stop working.

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Featured Neuroscience

·April 20, 2022·5 min read

Explore or Exploit: How Our Brains Make Choices

Study explores brain activity in primates and humans when presented with a choice between one option that maximizes information and another which prioritizes reward during decision making.