We have long been told a simple story about reward: Dopamine is the "wanting" molecule that drives us toward goals, and opioids are the "liking" molecules that provide the hit of pleasure once we get ...

In two separate studies, researchers learned more about the way that our brains respond to music. One study found that brain neurons synchronize with musical rhythms, while the other showed how ...

When faced with multiple food options and ultimately choosing one, the factors of that decision-making process may be more physiological than previously assumed. A group of scientists led by ...

Some people bounce back from trauma, but others get caught in depressive loops that sap the joy from their lives. Now, scientists at UC San Francisco are learning how the brain creates these divergent ...

In a study in the Journal of Affective Disorders, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute scientists Pearl Chiu and Brooks Casas investigate how brain signals involved in reward learning might help ...

I was a third-year medical student at Northwestern on my ICU rotation the first time I saw a dopamine drip. The patient was pale and motionless, his blood pressure dropping by the minute despite large ...

A new study from Bradley Hospital researchers shows that cannabis use during adolescence is associated with differences in ...

A new study is challenging one of neuroscience’s most enduring ideas: that the brain’s reward system exists to make us feel good. Instead, researchers argue that it is built to optimize energy.