News tagged with reward system

Vertebrates share ancient neural circuitry for complex social behaviors: study

Humans, fish and frogs share neural circuits responsible for a diversity of social behavior, from flashy mating displays to aggression and monogamy, that have existed for more than 450 million years, biologists at The University ...

Biology / Other

created May 31, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

American Express plants money trees in "Farmville"

American Express on Tuesday began letting lovers of Zynga games plant money trees on "Farmville" acreage.

Technology / Business

created May 22, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 2

New leads on the causes of alcoholism

In order to develop new medications for alcoholism, researchers need to understand how alcohol acts on the brain's reward system. A previously unknown mechanism has been shown to block the rewarding effects of alcohol on ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Apr 04, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Genetic changes behind sweet tooth

The substance ghrelin plays an important role in various addictions, such as alcoholism and binge-eating. It also impacts on sugar consumption, which is due, in part, to genetic factors, reveals new research from the University ...

Medicine & Health / Genetics

created Apr 04, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Integrity of the brain's reward system is linked to relapse following treatment

The brain reward system (BRS) is involved in developing/maintaining addictive disorders, as well as relapse. New findings show that alcohol dependent individuals -- both future abstainers and relapsers -- have significantly ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Mar 15, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Unlocking the secrets of our compulsions

Researchers have shed new light on dopamine's role in the brain's reward system, which could provide insight into impulse control problems associated with addiction and a number of psychiatric disorders.

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Dec 08, 2010 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Drug decreases alcohol cravings

Rapamycin, an FDA-approved drug prescribed to prevent the rejection of transplanted organs, has been shown for the first time to decrease excessive alcohol consumption, binge drinking, and alcohol-seeking behavior in rodents. ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Nov 02, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Why the craving for cocaine won't go away

People who have used cocaine run a great risk of becoming addicted, even after long drug-free periods. Now researchers at Linköping University and their colleagues can point to a specific molecule in the brain as a possible ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Sep 16, 2010 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Biochemical pathway may link addiction, compulsive eating

Ezlopitant, a compound known to suppress craving for alcohol in humans, was shown to decrease consumption of sweetened water by rodents in a study by researchers at the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center, which is affiliated ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Sep 01, 2010 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Sensitivity to alcohol odors may indicate a genetic predisposition to alcohol dependence

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are DNA sequence variations that occur when a single nucleotide in the genome sequence is altered. Prior research suggested an association between SNPs in a gene that encodes aspects ...

Medicine & Health / Medical research

created Sep 01, 2010 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Psychopaths' brains wired to seek rewards, no matter the consequences

The brains of psychopaths appear to be wired to keep seeking a reward at any cost, new research from Vanderbilt University finds. The research uncovers the role of the brain's reward system in psychopathy ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Mar 14, 2010 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (27) | comments 18 | with audio podcast

Alterations in the brain's reward system related to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Until now, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was related to alterations in the brain affecting attention and cognitive processes. Spanish researchers at Universitat Autňnoma de Barcelona and the Vall d'Hebron ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Feb 03, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Glutamate can play key role in drug impact on brain

(PhysOrg.com) -- Addiction disorders of various kinds are a major health and social problem, and our knowledge of how the brain’s reward system functions needs to be enhanced. Uppsala researchers now shows an unexpected effect ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Dec 16, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

New therapy gives hope for very severe depression

Thanks to a new method there is a reason for hope for patients with very severe depression. German physicians at the University Clinics of Bonn and Cologne have treated ten patients with deep brain stimulation. ...

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

created Nov 02, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 4

Deficits in brain's reward system observed in ADHD patients

A brain-imaging study conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory provides the first definitive evidence that patients suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Sep 08, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0