For many people, the thought of a tasty burger or a cold pint of beer conjures up a vivid mental image and drives behaviour. This link between thinking and doing serves a clear function – it motivates ...

Methamphetamine doesn't just spike levels of the pleasure-inducing hormone dopamine in the reward pathways of the brain—it also provokes damaging brain inflammation through similar mechanisms. Meth is ...

In my previous post, I suggested that regular cannabis use gradually shifts the brain into a new adaptive operating state—one ...

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 ...

Nicotine addiction remains one of the most persistent public health challenges worldwide, driven by changes in the brain that reinforce repeated use and make quitting extremely difficult. For decades, ...

GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy may reduce alcohol intake and other addictive behaviours as well as appetite. Researchers think the lateral septum, a brain region involved in reward and memory, ...

Researchers found that adolescents with more symptoms of gaming addiction showed lower brain activity in the region involved in decision-making and reward processing; this blunted response to reward ...

Cannabis potency and use among teenagers has increased in recent years. Researchers are looking at the risks of smoking and ...

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.

Ms. Szalavitz is a contributing Opinion writer who covers addiction and public policy. See more of our coverage in your search results.Encuentra más de nuestra cobertura en los resultados de búsqueda.

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 ...