GLP-1 weight-loss drugs alter brain circuits in the amygdala and dopamine system to reduce the motivation to seek out high-calorie foods.

A new study from the University of Virginia reveals that a widely used class of weight-loss drugs does more than suppress appetite-it directly alters brain circuits that control motivation and reward.

The placebo effect has always sat on the strange side of medicine. Give someone a sugar pill, tell them it is a painkiller, ...

A study published in Nature Medicine identified a link between the placebo effect and immune system function. In the experiment, individuals who generated positive expectations showed a stronger ...

Dopamine—a neurotransmitter responsible for influencing motivation, pleasure, mood and learning in the brain—has experienced a bit of fame in recent years, acting as a sort of buzzword to describe a ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Questions about hunger and fullness come up constantly in my clinic. Many patients try to manage appetite through willpower alone, ...

New research from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) reveals how two different parts of the brain's memory center team up in a key reward region to help mice-and likely humans-combine ...

A recent study published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology provides evidence that using cocaine and alcohol together ...

Methamphetamine doesn’t just spike levels of the pleasure-inducing hormone dopamine in the reward pathways of the brain – it also provokes damaging brain inflammation through similar mechanisms. Meth ...