iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) – Scientists in London were rewarded one million Euro for their three decades of research on the brain’s reward center according to a report from BBC News.
Professors Wolfram Schultz, Peter Dayan, and Ray Dolan are winners of The Brain Prize, which BBC News calls the biggest prize in the field of neuroscience. The three scientists consider the reward a “great honor.”
Professor Colin Blakemore of the Brain Prize selection committee said of the winners: “The implications of these discoveries are extremely wide-ranging, in fields as diverse as economics, social science, drug addiction and psychiatry”.
Their research reveals the role of the chemical dopamine in the brain when humans make decisions. In discussing day-to-day decisions such as where to eat and what gifts to buy for friends and family, Professor Dayan told the BBC, “Reward is exactly how we optimize those choices.”
Their studies show dopamine triggers brain cells to respond to decisions whenever there is a reward or a potential for a reward. Professor Schultz says people desire a new car or to be promoted at work because “individuals that have more reward have a higher chance of survival.” He calls that desire a “biological process.”
Professor Dolan warned the BBC that the reward system “can often have negative effects,” leading to habits such as excessive gambling, compulsive shopping habits, and obesity.
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