The amygdala has long been associated with emotion and motivation, playing an essential
part in processing both fearful and rewarding environmental stimuli. How can a single …

The brain mechanisms of fear have been studied extensively using Pavlovian fear
conditioning, a procedure that allows exploration of how the brain learns about and later …

I propose a reconceptualization of key phenomena important in the study of emotion—those
phenomena that reflect functions and circuits related to survival, and that are shared by …

We propose a Survival Optimization System (SOS) to account for the strategies that humans
and other animals use to defend against recurring and novel threats. The SOS attempts to …

Midbrain dopamine neurons are well known for their strong responses to rewards and their
critical role in positive motivation. It has become increasingly clear, however, that dopamine …

Anhedonia, or markedly diminished interest or pleasure, is a hallmark symptom of major
depression, schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric disorders. Over the past three …

Recent years have seen a rejuvenation of interest in studies of motivation–cognition
interactions arising from many different areas of psychology and neuroscience. The present …

Anhedonia is a core symptom of major depressive disorder (MDD), the neurobiological
mechanisms of which remain poorly understood. Despite decades of speculation regarding …

Recognition of other's emotions influences the way social animals interact and adapt to the
environment. The neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) has been implicated in different aspects of …

The hippocampus is assumed to retrieve memory by reinstating patterns of cortical activity
that were observed during learning. To test this idea, we monitored the activity of individual …