During periods of hunger, hormones heighten the reactivity of food - related
reward circuits in the brain, particularly in the striatum.
16 Sweet treats and alcohol fire up many of the same
reward circuits in the brain.
Not exact matches
The
brain encourages these contortions, activating
reward circuits in response to biased reasoning that gives a high akin to a junkie's.
For some people, palatable foods invoke such a strong response
in the
brain's
reward circuit — and so dramatically alter their biology — that willpower will rarely, if ever, be sufficient to resist eating those foods once they are around.
A wide variety of vertebrates also are known to have «
reward circuits»
in their
brains.
Looking inside the
brains of animals exposed to chronic social defeat stress, the scientists observed hyperactive firing of neurons
in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a critical part of a
reward circuit.
Brain scans showed the drug affected the same
reward circuit that it did
in animals.
The mice cranked out this protein
in their
reward circuits, a
brain area that drives us to seek pleasure - inducing experiences and a key component
in addiction.
In that third round, the participants responded positively, activating areas in their brains that some scientists call the «reward circuit» — or the «ventral striatum.&raqu
In that third round, the participants responded positively, activating areas
in their brains that some scientists call the «reward circuit» — or the «ventral striatum.&raqu
in their
brains that some scientists call the «
reward circuit» — or the «ventral striatum.»
Recent studies have demonstrated that falling
in love — or the love a mother has for an infant, which is so powerful — is driven by these
reward processes, and it actually engages the same [
brain]
circuit that gives priority of that behavior over anything else, just like
in addiction.
This pruning changes the relative density of receptors
in the
circuit linking the area of the
brain involved with processing
rewards (the basal ganglia) and the area of the
brain implicated
in inhibition and control (the prefrontal cortex).
The
circuit incorporates
brain regions involved
in reward and pleasure, leading the authors to consider that social dysfunction may stem from reduced enjoyment
in social interaction.
Even more surprisingly, the researchers observed that areas of the
brain, the globus pallidus and the substantia nigra, which participate
in the
reward circuit (activated when we love something), were more involved
in people who do not like cheese than
in those who do.
For decades, clinical and pre-clinical research considered that opiate consumption caused permanent changes
in the
brain's
reward circuits, resulting
in a persistent vulnerability to relapse.
To map how the same sense can be perceived differently
in the
brain, the NYU Langone team, led by postdoctoral fellow Kishore Kuchibhotla, PhD, monitored nerve
circuit activity
in mice when the animals expected, and did not expect, to get a water
reward through a straw - like tube (that they see) after the ringing of a familiar musical note.
For voles, the profound lifestyle change seems to have occurred when previously separate
circuits in the male
brain — one for processing social recognition, another for
reward — became biochemically linked.
Not only do rats return over and over again to the place they were tickled, the handling triggers the neurotransmitter dopamine
in key
reward - related
brain circuits in the rodents, he says.
Brain imaging studies have shown that stimulation over this region modulates the functioning of fronto - striatal
circuits, leading to the release of dopamine, a key neurotransmitter
in reward processing.
First, hunger does not increase the engagement of
reward and motivation
circuits in the
brain.
Prior research showed that the mPOA is important for social and reproductive behavior
in all vertebrate species studied from fish to human, but it has been unclear whether this area drives social motivation through
circuit connections with
reward systems
in the
brain.
Serge Luquet's team at the «Biologie Fonctionnelle et Adaptative» laboratory (CNRS / Université Paris Diderot) has demonstrated part of the answer: triglycerides, fatty substances from food, may act
in our
brains directly on the
reward circuit, the same
circuit that is involved
in drug addiction.
Kimberly Young, PhD, an NIH / NIDA Post-doctoral Fellow at Penn, and first author of the study explained that, «Drug
reward and motivation is largely mediated by dopamine transmission
in the
brain's
reward circuit — even drug «reminder cues» can cause dopamine release.
The researchers think that a junk diet causes lasting changes
in the
reward circuit parts of the rats»
brain, for example, the orbitofrontal cortex, an area of the
brain responsible for decision - making.
«The
circuits in our
brain that allow us to focus on a particular task, especially a task that leads to
reward, are well known,» said Michael Platt, the James S. Riepe University Professor
in Penn's psychology, neuroscience and marketing departments.
Monkeys typically find other monkeys impossible to ignore, and this experiment was no exception: the monkeys often failed at the
reward task because they looked at the faces, especially if the faces depicted emotion.When humans are torn between paying attention to two different things, it triggers a «conflict»
circuit in a
brain region called the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) which is part of a larger
brain structure controlling rational thought and emotions.Using a tiny sensor implanted
in the dACCs of the monkeys, Platt's group was able to measure the electrical activity of single neurons.
A powerful
brain circuit that responds to
rewarding events has just been discovered
in a
brain region previously associated with controlling reactions to fear and pain.
The
circuit is a key component of the
brain's
reward system, according to researchers from Stanford University
in Palo Alto, Calif..
In addition, novel activities flood the
brain's
reward circuits, creating an experience that brings you both more pleasure.
The researchers found that when the participants» curiosity had been sparked, there was not only increased activity
in the hippocampus, which is the region of the
brain involved
in the creation of memories, but also
in the
brain circuit that is related to
reward and pleasure.
We hypothesised that functional variations
in the DRD4 gene expressed preferentially
in brain regions of the
reward circuit might modulate sensitivity to maternal stimuli, which
in turn might result
in infants» differential sensitivity to aspects of care - giving behaviour.
«New experiences activate the
brain's
reward system, flooding it with dopamine and norepinephrine - which are the same
brain circuits that are ignited
in early romantic love».
For positive emotional faces, considering the spreading effects of activation of secure base schema, it was assumed that both levels (high and low) of attachment anxiety are associated with increased activities
in brain circuits that are responsible for positive emotions and the regions belonging to the
reward system.
Although the NAcc has received more attention for its role
in the
brain's
reward circuit (Knutson and Cooper, 2005), it also plays a role
in encoding aversive events and punishment (McCutcheon et al., 2012).