Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Framing Effects

Framing Effects

Information is everywhere and its presentation—such as how and when items are presented—can impact our perceptions and decisions surrounding the info. This broad concept umbrellas framing effects—influences that occur due to the way information is framed in its appearance, whether it’s purely the order or the specific wording of a message. Let’s take a look at numerous ways in which two versions of something can objectively say the same thing, yet we respond in...

Avoidance Learning and Learned Helplessness

Avoidance Learning and Learned Helplessness

Avoidance learning and learned helplessness are critical concepts in understanding behavioral responses to negative stimuli.
Avoidance learning occurs when an organism learns that a specific behavior can prevent an unpleasant outcome. For example, a student who receives a bad grade may start studying harder to avoid future poor grades. This behavior persists even when the negative outcome is no longer present. Avoidance learning is powerful because it maintains behavior in the absence of the...

Excitatory and Inhibitory Effects of Neurotransmitters

Excitatory and Inhibitory Effects of Neurotransmitters

When an action potential reaches the presynaptic axon terminal, it releases neurotransmitters from the neuron into the synaptic cleft at a chemical synapse. The released neurotransmitter can be excitatory or inhibitory. The critical criteria commonly used to determine whether a molecule is a neurotransmitter at a chemical synapse are the molecule's presence in the presynaptic neuron. Second, its release is in response to strong presynaptic depolarization. And lastly, the presence of...

Reinforcement

Reinforcement

Positive and negative reinforcement are key concepts in operant conditioning, a learning process where the consequences of a behavior affect the likelihood of that behavior being repeated.
Positive reinforcement occurs when a behavior is followed by the presentation of a rewarding stimulus, increasing the frequency of that behavior. For example:

Empathy

Empathy

Some researchers suggest that altruism operates on empathy. Empathy is the capacity to understand another person’s perspective, to feel what he or she feels. An empathetic person makes an emotional connection with others and feels compelled to help (Batson, 1991). Empathy can be expressed in several ways, including cognitive, affective, and motor.

Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification

Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification

Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Astrocyte reactivity by alcohol dependence in the central amygdala.

Brain, behavior, and immunity·2026

Same author

Astrocyte Reactivity by Alcohol Dependence in the Central Amygdala.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Medial prefrontal cortical neurotransmitters reactive to relapse-promoting and relapse-suppressing cues in male rats trained to self-administer cocaine or alcohol.

Addiction neuroscience·2026

Same author

Alcohol use disorder-associated gene FNDC4 alters glutamatergic and GABAergic neurogenesis in neural organoids.

The Journal of clinical investigation·2026

Same author

Chronic Alcohol Drinking Impairs Recognition Memory And Insulin-Associated Genes In The Medial Prefrontal Cortex.

Molecular neurobiology·2025

Same author

Environmental Enrichment Suppresses Food Seeking and Increases Inhibitory Interneuron Excitability While Decreasing Corticothalamic Neuronal Recruitment in the Prelimbic Cortex.

The European journal of neuroscience·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 23, 2025

Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effect of Induced Emotion on Grammar Learning

Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effect of Induced Emotion on Grammar Learning

Published on: January 29, 2020

Motivating Effects of Negative-hedonic Valence Encoded in Engrams.

Hermina Nedelescu¹, Elias Meamari¹, Nami Rajaei¹

¹Department of Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037.

Research Square

|March 10, 2025

Summary

This study reveals how alcohol-associated cues trigger compulsive drinking by altering brain pathways. These findings shed light on the neural basis of alcohol dependence and relapse vulnerability.

Keywords:

Engrams learning negative reinforcement positive reinforcement reward dysregulation

More Related Videos

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Memory-Enhancing Effect of Emotion

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Memory-Enhancing Effect of Emotion

Published on: May 4, 2011

Studying Food Reward and Motivation in Humans

Studying Food Reward and Motivation in Humans

Published on: March 19, 2014

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 23, 2025

Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effect of Induced Emotion on Grammar Learning

Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effect of Induced Emotion on Grammar Learning

Published on: January 29, 2020

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Memory-Enhancing Effect of Emotion

Brain Imaging Investigation of the Memory-Enhancing Effect of Emotion

Published on: May 4, 2011

Studying Food Reward and Motivation in Humans

Studying Food Reward and Motivation in Humans

Published on: March 19, 2014

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Behavioral Neuroscience
Addiction Research

Background:

Engrams, or neuronal alterations, encode context-reward associations influencing behavior.
Understanding hedonic state representation in brain circuits is key to processing emotional stimuli.
The mechanisms by which environmental cues drive compulsive behavior after alleviating negative states remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

Investigate engrams encoding conditioned effects of alcohol cues during withdrawal state reversal.
Identify brain regions involved in these associative learning processes.
Elucidate the neural basis of compulsive alcohol seeking and relapse.

Main Methods:

Studied alcohol-dependent rats.
Examined engram recruitment in response to alcohol-associated stimuli and withdrawal reversal.
Focused on the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT), central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA), and Dorsal Striatum (DS).

Main Results:

Documented engram recruitment in the PVT, CeA, and DS.
These engrams encode associations between negative hedonic state reversal and environmental contexts.
Suggests a neural mechanism for compulsive alcohol seeking.

Conclusions:

Engram encoding of negative hedonic state reversal contributes to compulsive alcohol seeking.
These neural mechanisms may underlie vulnerability to relapse in alcohol dependence.
Dysregulation of reward pathways to an allostatic level is implicated.