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Updated: Apr 15, 2026

Studying Food Reward and Motivation in Humans
Published on: March 19, 2014
'Liking' and 'wanting' food rewards: brain substrates and roles in eating disorders
1Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. berridge@umich.edu
Abstract:
What brain reward systems mediate motivational 'wanting' and hedonic 'liking' for food rewards? And what roles do those systems play in eating disorders? This article surveys recent findings regarding brain mechanisms of hedonic 'liking', such as the existence of cubic-millimeter hedonic hotspots in nucleus accumbens and ventral pallidum for opioid amplification of sensory pleasure. It also considers brain 'wanting' or incentive salience systems important to appetite, such as mesolimbic dopamine systems and opioid motivation circuits that extend beyond the hedonic hotspots. Finally, it considers some potential ways in which 'wanting' and 'liking' might relate to eating disorders.
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