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Pleasure and pain: Study shows brain's 'pleasure chemical' is involved in response to pain too
10-18-2006 · EurekAlert!For years, the brain chemical dopamine has been thought of as the brain's "pleasure chemical," and studies have linked the addictive properties of drugs like cocaine to their effects on the dopamine system. But now, a new study adds a new twist to dopamine's fun-loving reputation: pain.
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Keywords: pleasure, pain, study, shows, brain, chemical, involved, response, show
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04-22-2007 · EurekAlert!
Serotonin is a major signaling chemical in the brain, and it has long been thought to be involved in aggressive behavior in animals and humans. Another brain chemical signal, neuropeptide Y (aka neuropeptide F in invertebrates), is also known to affect an array of behaviors in many species, including territoriality in mice. A new study at The Neurosciences Institute (San Diego) shows that these two chemicals also regulate aggression in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster.
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- Some antipsychotic drugs may be missing their mark
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- Study shows response to financial loss parallels brain's processing of pain
05-04-2007 · EurekAlert!
People process information about financial loss through mechanisms in the brain similar to those used for processing physical pain, according to a new imaging study. The results could provide a new understanding of excessive gambling.
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- Tastes great! Study shows brain's response to pleasing -- and changing -- tastes
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We all have tastes we love, and tastes we hate. And yet, our "taste" for certain flavors and foods can change over time, as we get older or we get tired of eating the same old thing. Now, a new study shows what's going on in the brain when we taste something we like, or develop a liking for something we once hated.
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- New neuroimaging study identifies 'brain signature' for cigarette cravings
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A new brain imaging study by researchers in the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania shows that cigarette cravings in smokers who are deprived of nicotine are linked with increased activation in specific regions of the brain. Using a novel method of measuring brain blood flow developed at Penn, this study is the first to show how abstinence from nicotine produces brain activation patterns that relate to urges to smoke.
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03-13-2007 · EurekAlert!
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01-08-2008 · EurekAlert!
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- Why losing money may be more painful than you think
05-01-2007 · EurekAlert!
Losing money may be intrinsically linked with fear and pain in the brain, scientists have discovered. In a Wellcome Trust study published today in the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers have shown that during a gambling task, losing money activated an area of the brain involved in responding to fear and pain.
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- Food Restriction Increases Dopamine Receptor Levels in Obese Rats
10-25-2007 · Brookhaven National Laboratory
A brain-imaging study of genetically obese rats conducted at Brookhaven provides more evidence that dopamine - a brain chemical associated with reward, pleasure, movement, and motivation - plays a role in obesity. Scientists found that genetically obese rats had lower levels of dopamine D2 receptors than lean rats. They also demonstrated that restricting food intake can increase the number of D2 receptors, partially attenuating a normal decline associated with aging.
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