Opioid gene variant in adolescents reduces reward, may increase later substance abuse risk

Health Problems

Adolescents with a particular variant of an opioid receptor gene have less response in a part of prefrontal cortex that evaluates rewards, compared to those with the other version of the gene, say researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC). For the study, presented Monday at Neuroscience 2018, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience (abstract #7517), the investigators […]

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The reward system in the brain affects our judgments

Health Problems

We make judgements quite rationally or “by the gut.” Not only experience and relevant information play an important role, but also our preferences. A study by the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Cologne shows how the reward system in the brain conveys judgements affected by one’s own desires. “In complex, confusing situations, we run the risk of making […]

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