Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Substance Use Disorders Affecting Sleep01:24

Substance Use Disorders Affecting Sleep

225
Substance use disorders involve a pattern of using drugs more extensively than intended and continuing use despite harmful consequences. This includes legal substances like alcohol and nicotine, as well as illegal drugs. These disorders often involve both physical and psychological dependence, reflecting compulsive use of substances that significantly alter thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, contributing to a major public health issue.
Understanding the concepts of physical dependence,...
225
Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena01:15

Drug Abuse and Addiction: Pharmacological Phenomena

676
Drug dependence, abuse, and addiction are complex phenomena that can precipitate various abnormal states. Physical dependence refers to a state of pharmacological adaptation to a drug. This adaptation often results in tolerance—a reduced response to the drug after repeated administrations. When the drug use is abruptly stopped, withdrawal symptoms occur due to the body's need to readjust from the pharmacologically induced imbalance. However, tolerance and withdrawal symptoms do not...
676
Incentive Theory: Pull Theory of Motivation01:18

Incentive Theory: Pull Theory of Motivation

559
Incentive theory, or the "pull theory" of motivation, suggests that external rewards primarily drive behavior. Individuals are motivated to engage in activities when they anticipate a desirable outcome. This is why people often work hard for promotions or study intensively to achieve high grades. These incentives can be tangible, physical rewards such as money or promotions, or intangible, non-physical rewards like praise and social recognition.
The theory differentiates between...
559
Drug Dependence01:17

Drug Dependence

1.2K
Medications are typically administered to achieve therapeutic effects. Some drugs can modify an individual's mood and perception, frequently resulting in various enjoyable experiences. However, this can result in drug dependency, a condition marked by continuous drug use despite potential negative consequences. Drug dependency primarily falls into two categories: psychological and physical dependence. Psychological dependence occurs when the pleasurable feelings induced by the drug...
1.2K
Timing and Consequences on Behavior01:08

Timing and Consequences on Behavior

158
In operant conditioning, the timing of reinforcement is crucial. For animals like rats and cats, immediate reinforcement (within a few seconds) is much more effective than delayed reinforcement. For example, a food reward for a rat needs to follow within 30 seconds of pressing a bar to be effective. 
Humans, however, can respond to delayed reinforcers. We often make decisions between immediate small rewards and delayed larger rewards. This ability to delay gratification is a significant...
158
Instinctive Drift01:05

Instinctive Drift

330
Instinctive drift refers to the tendency of animals to revert to their innate behaviors despite repeated reinforcement. Breland and Breland demonstrated this concept in an experiment with a raccoon. The raccoon was trained to pick up two coins and place them in a container in exchange for food. Initially, the raccoon learned to associate the coins with food, making them a conditioned stimulus or a substitute for food. However, over time, the raccoon became less willing to put the coins into the...
330

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Social reward outcompetes drug seeking dopaminergic ensembles to prevent relapse.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

Psychoactive substances: novel molecular insights and therapeutic potential for Alzheimer's disease.

Translational neurodegeneration·2025
Same author

The activation of catecholamine neurons in the rostral ventrolateral medulla drives ventricular remodeling after myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury.

Basic research in cardiology·2025
Same author

TNFAIP8L2 maintains hair cell function and regulates age-related hearing loss via mTORC1 signaling.

Molecular therapy : the journal of the American Society of Gene Therapy·2025
Same author

Sex differences in motivation to take sucrose following abstinence and environmental enrichment in Long-Evans rats.

Physiology & behavior·2025
Same author

Intermittent fasting and neurodegenerative diseases: Molecular mechanisms and therapeutic potential.

Metabolism: clinical and experimental·2024

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 19, 2025

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats
06:11

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats

Published on: February 20, 2019

7.5K

Effect of Natural Rewards on Substance Use Disorder: An Incentive Sensitization Perspective.

Wei Zheng1, Xiaoxing Liu2, Tangsheng Lu3

  • 1Peking-Tsinghua Centre for Life Sciences and PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, China.

Biological Psychiatry
|June 15, 2025
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Natural rewards like food and social interaction show promise in treating substance use disorder (SUD). This review explores how these rewards, through updated incentive sensitization theory, can counteract drug addiction by influencing desire and pleasure.

Keywords:
Incentive sensitizationNatural rewardsNeurobiological mechanismsSubstance use disorderTherapeutic strategies

More Related Videos

A Procedure to Study Stress-Induced Relapse of Heroin Seeking after Punishment-Imposed Abstinence
08:05

A Procedure to Study Stress-Induced Relapse of Heroin Seeking after Punishment-Imposed Abstinence

Published on: March 23, 2022

2.6K
Assessment of Cocaine-induced Behavioral Sensitization and Conditioned Place Preference in Mice
10:28

Assessment of Cocaine-induced Behavioral Sensitization and Conditioned Place Preference in Mice

Published on: February 18, 2016

17.3K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Sep 19, 2025

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats
06:11

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats

Published on: February 20, 2019

7.5K
A Procedure to Study Stress-Induced Relapse of Heroin Seeking after Punishment-Imposed Abstinence
08:05

A Procedure to Study Stress-Induced Relapse of Heroin Seeking after Punishment-Imposed Abstinence

Published on: March 23, 2022

2.6K
Assessment of Cocaine-induced Behavioral Sensitization and Conditioned Place Preference in Mice
10:28

Assessment of Cocaine-induced Behavioral Sensitization and Conditioned Place Preference in Mice

Published on: February 18, 2016

17.3K

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Psychiatry
  • Addiction Research

Background:

  • Substance use disorder (SUD) involves compulsive drug seeking despite negative consequences.
  • Natural rewards may counteract SUD, but underlying mechanisms require clarification.
  • Existing theories like incentive sensitization offer partial explanations for SUD's neurobiology.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review evidence and neurobiological mechanisms of natural rewards against SUD.
  • To propose an updated incentive sensitization framework for SUD.
  • To enhance understanding of natural and drug reward interactions for novel SUD therapies.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of studies on natural rewards and SUD.
  • Analysis of neurobiological evidence supporting natural reward efficacy.
  • Theoretical framework development based on incentive sensitization theory.

Main Results:

  • Natural rewards (food, social interaction, exercise, enrichment) show protective effects against SUD.
  • Evidence suggests these rewards modulate neurobiological pathways involved in motivation and pleasure.
  • An updated incentive sensitization model is proposed to explain these effects.

Conclusions:

  • Natural rewards offer a promising therapeutic avenue for SUD.
  • Modulating 'wanting' and 'liking' through natural rewards is key.
  • Further research can leverage these findings for innovative SUD treatment strategies.