Lina Begdache, Binghamton University, State University of New York
It’s been a stressful year, and for 61% of US adults, a year of unwanted weight change too. This isn’t surprising, as stress, eating and motivation are all linked through hormones in the brain.
New research demonstrates that it is more difficult to learn something new if the information had been rewarded in the past. In fact, the higher the reward, the worse the future learning.
Parkinson’s is a motor disease which can affect eye movement.
Lucky Business/ Shutterstock
Dopamine fasting has fast become a fad in the Silicon Valley, as a way to reset the brain’s feel-good chemical. Many religions have advocated fasting for some of the same reasons.
Ozzy Osbourne and wife Sharon Osbourne after Ozzy received a Golden God Award at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods ceremony in London on June 11, 2018.
Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP Photo
Ozzy Osbourne, famous for biting heads off bats, heavy metal music and a reality TV show, announced he has Parkinson’s disease. A Parkinson’s specialist explains the disease and recent advances.
Methamphetamine abuse (right) decreases dopamine transporter activity in the brain.
National Institute on Drug Abuse
We fall sway to fake news because it grabs our attention through outlandish claims, suggests false memories and contains appeals to our emotions that align with our politics.
The average Canadian adult consumes more than triple the daily limit of 25g added sugar recommended by the World Health Organization.
(Unsplash/muhammad ruqiyaddin)
Sugar triggers dopamine “hits” in the brain, making us crave more of it. Sugar also disrupts memory formation.
We knew people with Parkinson’s disease were at heightened risk of developing addictive behaviours like gambling. Our research gives insight into why this is.
From shutterstock.com
Philip Mosley, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
About one in six people who take the most common medication for Parkinson’s disease will develop addictive behaviours. We found whether this happens depends on a person’s unique brain structure.
Male and female brains are different at every level. Science is continuing to uncover how these differences affect health and disease.
From shutterstock.com
Parkinson’s disease is twice as common in men than in women. A sex gene called SRY, found only in men, could go some way to explaining this – and might pave the way for potential treatments.
An array of positron emission tomography or PET images.
Yok_onepiece/Shutterstock
When you engage in recreational gambling, you’re not simply playing against the odds – you’re battling an enemy trained in the art of deceit and subterfuge who uses human nature against you.
Video games have inspired a revolution in university teaching. Pictured here is a scene from the popular game Fortnite Battle Royale.
(Sergey Galyonkin, Epic Games Berlin via Wikimedia Commons)
University course designers are harnessing the addictive quality of video games to develop ‘Serious educational games’ that engage and motivate students.