We've all been there: You sit down for one episode of a reality TV show, and six hours later you're sitting guiltily on the couch, blinking the screen-induced crust off your eyeballs.
Okay. Maybe you haven't been there like our team has. But it's likely you have at least one guilty pleasure, whether it's playing video games, reading romance novels or getting swept into obscure corners of TikTok. It turns out that experiencing – and studying – pleasure is not as straightforward as it might seem. And yet, pleasure is quite literally key to the survival of humanity. So today on the show, we explore the pleasure cycle: What it is, where it lives in the brain and how to have a healthier relationship with the things that make us feel good.
Want more on the brain? Email us the neuroscience you want us to talk about at shortwave@npr.org! (Also please email us if you would like to gush about any of the books you've been loving — romantasy or otherwise!)
Two sisters found they had different recollections of a traumatic childhood experience and learned that human memory is a lot less reliable than we tend to think.
A small study found that electrically stimulating an area deep in the brain allowed people with severe traumatic brain injuries to complete a cognitive test more quickly.
Researchers have identified 46 genes that can disrupt a process that is critical to early brain development. The finding could help scientists find new treatments for disorders including autism.
A severe traumatic brain injury can make it hard to remember recent events or conversations. But a form of brain stimulation appears to ease this memory deficit.
Dopamine is a part of our brain's survival mechanism. It is also part of why sugary foods and social media hook kids. The latest neuroscience can help parents help their kids manage behavior.
Art can make the brain's wiring stronger, more flexible and ready to learn, say the authors of a new book, Your Brain on Art: How the Arts Transform Us.
Mora Leeb was 9 months old when surgeons removed half her brain. Now 15, she plays soccer and tells jokes. Scientists say Mora is an extreme example of a process known as brain plasticity.
Researchers have mapped the more than 500,000 connections in the intricate brain of a fruit fly larva. This map, they say, could help scientists figure out how learning changes the human brain, too.