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

The Powerful Brain Chemistry of Flavor Obsession Picture this: you're walking past a bakery and suddenly, the smell of fresh ...

Scientists are testing whether GLP-1 drugs can help to cut cravings for cigarettes, alcohol and opioids — as well as food.

Why do so many people relapse after quitting cocaine? A new study from The Hebrew University reveals that a specific "anti-reward" brain circuit becomes hyperactive during withdrawal-driving ...

Scientists have found that the process of adaptive myelination, which helps the brain learn new skills, can also promote addiction to opioids. Our brains, even in adulthood, continually adapt to what ...

Our brain's reward system processes and reinforces pleasurable experiences, motivating us to seek out and engage in rewarding ...

Remarkable scientific progress over the past five decades has helped us develop knowledge of how drugs of abuse induce pleasure, reinforce use, and lead to the compulsive self-administration we call ...

The cerebellum ("little brain") is tucked underneath the basal ganglia; it sits in the back of the skull below the cerebrum. Source: CLIPAREA l Custom media/Shutterstock Neuroscientists have unearthed ...

Increasing the levels of chemicals naturally produced in the body called endocannabinoids may thwart the highly addictive nature of opioids such as morphine and oxycodone while maintaining the drugs' ...