Using computational models, the researchers studied how the brain's reward-learning system functions in those with depression, especially among individuals experiencing anhedonia, the inability to ...

Research in mice identifies brain circuitry that supports certain reward-based decisions. Every day, our brain makes thousands of decisions, big and small. Any of these decisions -- from the least ...

What is the self-reinforcement hypothesis? A new theory explains how the mesolimbic dopamine system rewards future-oriented mental time travel.

In our day-to-day lives, we're constantly making a slew of decisions, from immediate matters to prospects on the far horizon. But the evolutionary nuts-and-bolts of how our brains weigh these numerous ...

Some people bounce back from trauma, but others get caught in depressive loops that sap the joy from their lives. Now, scientists at UC San Francisco are learning how the brain creates these divergent ...

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 ...

Chronic alcohol consumption profoundly alters gene expression in key brain regions involved in reward, impulse control, and decision-making, according to a study led by researchers at the Institute ...

In a study in the Journal of Affective Disorders, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute scientists Pearl Chiu and Brooks Casas investigate how brain signals involved in reward learning might help ...

Study in mice offers insights into the brain circuitry underlying certain types of reward-based choices. Researchers identified distinct groups of brain cells activated when animals anticipate a ...