What role do brain dopamine and opioid systems play in the mediation of reward? Do these
neurotransmitter systems mediate pleasure? Are reward and pleasure identical? What …

Microinjection of opioid agonists, such as morphine, into the nucleus accumbens shell
produces increases in eating behavior (ie 'wanting'for food). This study (1) reports direct …

Nucleus accumbens μ-opioid stimulation causes marked increases in the intake of highly
palatable foods, such as a high-fat diet. However, to date there has been little examination of …

There is a long-standing interest in the role of endogenous opioid peptides in feeding
behavior and, in particular, in the modulation of food reward and palatability. Since drugs …

It generally is assumed that a common neural substrate mediates both the palatability and
the reward value of nutritive events. However, recent evidence suggests this assumption …

Our previous studies have shown that stimulation of mu-opioid receptors within the nucleus
accumbens preferentially enhances intake of palatable food containing sucrose and fat; …

The nucleus accumbens (NAcc) has been implicated as an important reward site for the
mediation of unconditioned reinforcers such as food. Although both μ-selective and δ …

Rationale: Endogenous opioids have been implicated in the hedonic evaluation of food and
palatability. Opioids may also be involved in alcohol intake, as there is a positive correlation …

The current studies were designed to evaluate whether incentive motivation for palatable
food is altered after manipulations of opioid, GABAergic, and dopaminergic transmission …

Opioid signaling in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) regulates feeding behavior, having
particularly strong effects on consumption of highly palatable foods. Since macronutrient …