reward circuit
Brain's motivation system
The reward circuit is a network of brain structures that produces feelings of pleasure and motivation.
When you eat something delicious, have sex, or accomplish a goal, this system releases dopamine, reinforcing the behavior.
The term appears frequently in discussions of addiction, where drugs hijack the reward circuit: Cocaine floods the reward circuit with dopamine, creating intense but short-lived euphoria.
- dopamineReward-linked neural messenger
- pleasureHappy, satisfied feeling
- pleasure centerBrain region triggering enjoyment
- brainSeat of cognition
- brain chemistryBrain's chemical signaling processes
craving · addiction · motivation · desire · anticipation · rush · hit · high · instant gratification · neurotransmitter · reinforcement · positive reinforcement · seeking · wanting · compulsion · trigger · pathway · stimulus
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