Tag: "pleasure" at biology news

In young mice, gregariousness seems to reside in the genes

...contribute to a novel form of natural reward - the pleasure of interacting with other juveniles. At a practical level, the new findings provide a foundation for understanding the motivations that underlie acts of altruism. Moreover, the work may also help influence the development of new, more effective drugs...

Brain's reward circuit activity ebbs and flows with a woman's hormonal cycle

...activated the striatum and circuit areas linked to pleasure and reward more than when in the post-ovulatory phase. The researchers also confirmed that the reward-related brain activity was directly linked to levels of sex hormones. Activity in the amygdala and hippocampus was in lockstep with estrogen lev...

Smokers quit after damage to brain region

...ngs and emotion." The Science study shows that the pleasure of smoking appears to rest on this platform. "It...ng to think that disrupting this region breaks the pleasure feelings associated with smoking," said Damasio, director of the institute and holder of the David D...

Smoking changes brain chemistry

...cortex (ACC), the part of the brain that processes pleasure and pain. The decreased NAA levels were evident regardless of whether or not the patient used a nicotine patch and correlated directly with the patient's smoking history: the greater the number of pack years (one pack per day for one year equals one ...

Tastes great! Study shows brain's response to pleasing -- and changing -- tastes

...implications for understanding the way we perceive pleasure ?and the reasons why some people develop problems,...ug abuse, depression or anorexia, that knock their pleasure response off balance. In a new paper in the November issue of the Journal of Neurophysiology, U-M ...

How the brain learns to become addicted

... compelling than the simple memory of drug-induced pleasure and represent a "rewiring" of the brain into an addictive state. In a preview article on the paper in the same issue of Neuron, NIH neuroscientist Roy Wise commented that "Inasmuch as arousal or stress can trigger drug-seeking in drug-free animals, ...

Grabbing addiction by the tail

... tiny ball of tissue deep in the brain involved in pleasure and motivation ?mis-communicate. Normally, one neuron triggers activity in a neighbor by using neurotransmitters such as glutamate. "This is the 'go' signal," said Wang. "The receiving cell uses glutamate receptors on its surface to listen to the si...

Amphetamines reverse Parkinson's disease symptoms in mice

...ate brain processes that affect movement, emotion, pleasure and mood. Parkinson's disease stems from the degeneration of neurons in a brain region that controls movement. That degeneration, in turn, leads to a shortage of the chemical messenger dopamine. The finding that amphetamines can alter movement indep...

Internet viruses help ecologists control invasive species

...umans transport the eggs on their fishing gear and pleasure boats. Professor Norman Yan of Ontario's York University has demonstrated that predation by the spiny water flea causes an average loss of three zooplankton species. Thus, as the species spreads, it could cause loss of thousands of populations of zo...

Molecular thermometers on skin cells detect heat and camphor

...n detect temperature, texture, and understand both pleasure and pain. A few years ago, the Scripps Research and GNF team, which was led by Scripps Research Assistant Professor Ardem Patapoutian, was the first to clone a protein (TRPV3) that the researchers believed was involved in our ability to sense and de...

The evolutionary triumph of flower power

...appy," McGuire says. "Because they are a source of pleasure ?a positive emotion inducer ?we take care of them. In that sense they're like dogs. They are the pets of the plant world." Psychologist Haviland-Jones had conducted three studies that tested the ability of flowers to induce positive emotion. The obj...

Potential Drug Target For Treating Cocaine Abuse Found

...r within the brain reward system. Dopamine signals pleasure and reward by binding to receptors on the receivin...ng it to build up and send an unceasing message of pleasure ?the cocaine high. Researchers have long searched for "a molecule that would block cocaine's effect...

Chemists identify immune system mechanism for methamphetamine binges

...g from reaching its place of action in the brain's pleasure center, users might require more of the drug because some of it is bound up by antibodies and "soaked up like a sponge," according to the researcher. "If the mechanism we proposed proves true in humans, then it will help explain why addicts go on pr...

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