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ventral tegmental area

Featured Neuroscience

·June 13, 2018·3 min read

Neural Circuit Mechanisms of Emotion Identified

Researchers shed light on the mechanisms behind the anxiolytic CRH circuit in the ventral tegmental area of the brain.

Featured Neurology

·March 27, 2018·4 min read

Detecting Diminishing Dopamine Firing Cells in Brain Could Reveal Earliest Signs of Alzheimer’s

According to researchers, if the ventral tegmental area is unable to produce the correct amount of dopamine for the hippocampus, it will not work efficiently and the impairment can result in dementia.

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

·December 27, 2017·5 min read

How the Brain Selectively Remembers New Places

MIT researchers have identified a brain network that allows the brain to record memories of new places.

Autism Featured Neuroscience

·December 8, 2017·5 min read

Hope for Autism: Optogenetics Shines Light on Social Interactions

Optogenetics helps researchers discover how social behavior and spatial learning are linked in autism.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 10, 2017·3 min read

Discovery Could Lead to New Treatments for Addiction and Anxiety

Researchers have identified a specific network in the brain that appears to be associated with risk and reward assessment.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·November 7, 2017·6 min read

Higher Estrogen Levels Linked to Increased Alcohol Sensitivity in Brain’s Reward Center

Neurons in the ventral tegmental area, an area of the brain considered to be the reward center, fire more rapidly to alcohol when estrogen levels are elevated, a new study reports. The study may shed light on how alcohol addiction develops in some women.

Featured Neuroscience

·October 16, 2017·3 min read

A New Target For Marijuana

Findings shed light on the effect of marijuana on the developing brain and provide a target for cannabis use disorder.

Image shows a stick and ball model of oxytocin.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 29, 2017·6 min read

How ‘Love Hormone’ Oxytocin Spurs Sociability

Researchers pinpoint the brain circuitry involved in social reward and shed new light on oxytocin's role in social behavior.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·July 18, 2017·3 min read

Low-Dose Diazepam Can Increase Social Competitiveness

Researchers from EPFL have uncovered how diazepam, a common anxiolytic, can increase mitochondrial activity in neural pathways associated with motivation.