Kent Berridge, PhD, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Michigan

The Spence Lecture Series is sponsored by the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences in honor of the late Professor Kenneth W. Spence, chair of the department from 1942-1964.

Abstract: Liking and wanting usually go together for pleasant rewards, but turn out to have separable brain mechanisms.  ‘Liking’ is generated by a surprisingly frail and tiny network of hedonic hotspots in brain limbic structures, whereas ‘wanting' for pleasures has a much more robust and larger brain network involving dopamine systems.  The distinction between liking and wanting systems has implications for understanding mood disorders in several clinical conditions, including addictions, depression and schizophrenia.