Although curbing cravings can be difficult, particularly if you are already in a pattern of indulging, it is possible to better understand your cravings and make even small changes that have a lasting impact on your willpower.
Why do we seem so incapable of accomplishing a goal that we set for ourselves and truly desire? Part of the answer has to do with timing. Winter is not an ideal season to successfully execute big changes.
When you learn something new -- a sequence of letters, for example -- an ancient structure known as the midbrain sends squirts of the chemical dopamine to your prefrontal cortex, effectively tagging the new information as "for your immediate attention."
While it's profoundly difficult predicting the developmental trajectory of any single individual, new research suggests we can influence the odds that people will retreat within themselves or unleash the fundamentally human drive to explore and create.
A curious dialogue has developed with the publication of Naomi Wolf's Vagina: A New Biography, one hellbent on poking holes in her central theme that the connection between the vagina and the brain influences a woman's mood and creativity.
Prescription drug addiction affects men and women, young and old, employed and unemployed, and those suffering from mental illness and those who don't. In short, no group is immune.
Depressed people don't choose to be sick. They want to be well. Believe me, I know, because I know I'm sick -- but I also know that I am more than my disease.
Dr. Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, has studied the neural pathways of addiction and believes that we've got to protec...
You might have heard the expression "You're as young as your arteries," and it's true. But keeping your arteries young can seem like a mysterious thing for many people. Now some clarity is at hand, and it's worth pausing to consider.
Each year, nearly 450,000 Americans die from smoking related illnesses. So why do smokers continue to light up when statistics like these make it clear that they should quit?
What does it really mean for the brain to experience pleasure? That's the question neuroscientist David Linden asks in his new book "The Compass of Pl...
By Traci Pedersen
Psych Central
Whether it's responding to a good experience or a bad one, the brain's reward center is the home of the "thrill" in t...
NEW YORK — Whether it's the Beatles or Beethoven, people like music for the same reason they like eating or having sex: It makes the brain release a...
For me, the most powerful moment of Inside Job was something the CEO of a large bank said. "We can't control our greed," the CEO acknowledged, in a rare moment of candor and insight. "You should regulate us more."
The extreme stimulation of today's enticements can hijack our brains. We may not be safe from addiction when it comes to unrestricted access to super stimulating natural reinforcers.
Have you ever wondered why we find some people attractive, are drawn to a verdant landscape, enjoy looking at a great work of art or drool over a sleek sports car?