The Control of Reward Seeking

Seeking reward and avoiding punishment are two fundamental processes that together guide the appropriate selection of an action from complex choices. Dysfunctional interaction between the two processes can lead to the aberrant situation of reward seeking despite punishment, a maladaptive behavior that characterizes several psychiatric conditions and notably substance abuse disorders (1). Reward seeking has been extensively investigated in brain circuits subserving hedonic control, motivation, and self-control; however, mechanisms that would suppress this behavior are similarly important but are much less known.
Source: Biological Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Commentary Source Type: research