Communication between the brain's auditory and reward circuits is the reason why humans find music rewarding, according to new research published in JNeurosci. Despite no obvious biological benefits, ...

Researchers have identified one of the key brain circuits for deciding the value of a reward based on the rewards that others have received, known as socially subjective reward valuation. A better ...

University of Virginia researchers have shown that newer oral GLP-1 weight-loss drugs directly alter brain circuits tied to motivation and reward, not just appetite. These medications engage a pathway ...

Both animals and humans are motivated to seek natural rewards to feel pleasure but also avoid unpleasant and aversive stimuli that predict pain, loss and danger. Disruption of reward-related neural ...

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have created a single-nucleus RNA-sequencing resource to generate molecular signatures of cell types in five key regions of the human brain ...

Myelin is a fatty substance that forms an insulating sheath around the axons of neurons. In mice, drugs of abuse induce neuronal-activity-regulated changes in the myelination of neurons in the brain’s ...

A new brain connection discovered by University of California, Irvine researchers can explain how early-life stress and adversity trigger disrupted operation of the brain's reward circuit, offering a ...

From falling in love to chasing goals, your brain’s reward circuit quietly shapes your desires, habits, and motivation. Key players like the ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens use dopamine ...

A new brain connection can explain how early-life stress and adversity trigger disrupted operation of the brain's reward circuit, offering a new therapeutic target for treating mental illness.

“May the muse be with you.” How many times have you recited that line when encouraging others struggling with how to write something? How often have you yourself wished you could channel your muse to ...

Why do so many people relapse after quitting cocaine? A new study from The Hebrew University reveals that a specific "anti-reward" brain circuit becomes hyperactive during withdrawal-driving ...

Although you might never have consciously considered it, it's very likely that when you receive a reward, part of the value that you place on it depends on what other people have received as similar ...