Our brains are constantly looking for ways to make our lives easier. When a behavior leads to something rewarding, the brain ...

MIT neuroscientists have found that the brain's sensitivity to rewarding experiences—a critical factor in motivation and attention—can be shaped by socioeconomic conditions. In a study of 12 to ...

Every day, our brain makes thousands of decisions, big and small. Any of these decisions—from the least consequential, such as picking a restaurant, to the more important, such as pursuing a different ...

Recent evidence suggests that a single dose of the psychedelic compound psilocybin reduces the drive to seek out rewards, ...

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 ...

LifeStance Health reports that being a sports fan can boost mental health by enhancing well-being, easing loneliness and ...

Credit card reward points do more than save money—they can reshape how your brain makes spending decisions. Neuroscience ...

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 ...

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 ...

Using computational models, the researchers studied how the brain's reward-learning system functions in those with depression, especially among individuals experiencing anhedonia, the inability to ...