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 ...

North Texas researchers identify gene changes in brain reward circuits that may point to new treatments for those struggling ...

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 ...

Romantic love is often described as a feeling, but brain imaging suggests it is also a long running neural project that reshapes how we experience reward, stress and safety. When infatuation settles ...

A small group of people experience no pleasure from music despite normal hearing and intact emotions. Brain imaging reveals that their auditory and reward systems fail to properly communicate, leaving ...