Dopamine has long been a buzzword for those thinking about mood, happiness, and attention. But what if dopamine isn't the "feel-good" chemical we've been told it is? A new study suggests we may have ...

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 ...

Initial impressions determined in just 0.1 secondsPsychological research suggests that facial recognition upon first meeting ...

In our day-to-day lives, we're constantly making a slew of decisions, from immediate matters to prospects on the far horizon. But the evolutionary nuts-and-bolts of how our brains weigh these numerous ...

Individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and those with autism spectrum disorder both experience atypical responses to rewards, but their brain activity patterns differ in opposite ...

People who are depressed very often show reduced interest in experiencing or obtaining pleasure, a symptom called anhedonia that research has traced to dysfunction in the brain’s reward system. In ...

A study published in Nature Medicine identified a link between the placebo effect and immune system function. In the experiment, individuals who generated positive expectations showed a stronger ...

This article predates Brown Brothers Media’s ownership of Science Blog and has not been reviewed under our current editorial process. It is preserved as part of the publication’s archive. The brain ...

Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly say GLP-1 drugs slowed aging clocks, but the data are early and unreviewed. Here is what patients should know. Had Gestational Diabetes or Postpartum Depression? Large Study ...

A study of 46 children found that higher ultra-processed food intake was associated with stronger brain reward responses and ...

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 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.