Apathy and anhedonia are common syndromes of motivation that are associated with a wide
range of brain disorders and have no established therapies. Research using animal models …

Attention is critical to high-level cognition and attention deficits are a hallmark of neurologic
and neuropsychiatric disorders. Although years of research indicates that distinct …

The positive-negative axis of emotional valence has long been recognized as fundamental
to adaptive behavior, but its origin and underlying function have largely eluded formal …

While trait positive emotionality and state positive-valence affect have long been the subject
of intense study, the importance of differentiating among several “discrete” positive emotions …

Experiences affect mood, which in turn affects subsequent experiences. Recent studies
suggest two specific principles. First, mood depends on how recent reward outcomes differ …

Generous behaviour is known to increase happiness, which could thereby motivate
generosity. In this study, we use functional magnetic resonance imaging and a public pledge …

How consciousness appeared much earlier in evolutionary history than is commonly
assumed, and why all vertebrates and perhaps even some invertebrates are conscious …

Improvements in understanding the neurobiological basis of mental illness have
unfortunately not translated into major advances in treatment. At this point, it is clear that …

A crystal-clear, scientifically rigorous argument for the existence of free will, challenging
what many scientists and scientifically minded philosophers believe. Philosophers have …

Emotions ubiquitously impact action, learning, and perception, yet their essence and role
remain widely debated. Computational accounts of emotion aspire to answer these …