The nucleus accumbens is a tiny element of the human brain triggered when we experience something enjoyable, and used to help ...

A small region of the brain, known as the ventral tegmental area (VTA), plays a key role in how we process rewards. It produces dopamine, a neuromodulator that helps predict future rewards based on ...

In the human brain, the hormone insulin also acts on the most important neurotransmitter for the reward system, dopamine. Insulin lowers the dopamine level in a specific region of the brain (striatum) ...

Few things crush the spirit like the sensation of giving up. We all know the feeling, when you thought a goal was in reach, then realize you just don’t have enough of whatever it takes to get there.

The human brain is constantly flooded with sights, sounds and sensations, yet only a fraction of those experiences become ...

Past social trauma is encoded by a population of stress/threat-responsive brain cells that become hyperactivated during subsequent interaction with non-threatening social targets. As a consequence, ...

Until now, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was related to alterations in the brain affecting attention and cognitive processes. Researchers at ...

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.—Joe Hilton was inside an MRI machine, wearing a $1 million helmet and goggles showing him pictures of heroin being cooked in a spoon and injected into an arm. Doctors behind a glass ...

Share on Pinterest Turning to high-fat and sugary comfort foods can be a response to stress. d3sign/Getty Images A new study shows that stress combined with eating high-calorie ‘comfort’ food can ...