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 ...

Some people simply don’t derive pleasure from listening to music. There is nothing wrong with their hearing, and they enjoy plenty of other experiences, but for some strange reason music does ...

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.

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 ...

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 ...

India, March 26 -- Your stomach may say you are full, but your brain may still carve for snacks (1).

A new study published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience provides evidence that the human brain processes romantic partners differently than close friends, specifically within ...