The term 'dopamine reward' is being used too loosely as shorthand for anything that feels good, but there are two distinct pleasure circuits in the brain: one for wanting and reward (diffuse, easy to trigger, impossible to satiate) and one for pleasure and liking (opioid system, smaller, harder to trigger, saitable).
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Richard CytowicEvidence Quote
“But there are two pleasure circuits that exist in the brain. One related to wanting and reward and the other to pleasure and liking. The two systems differ in how easy they are to trigger. Now, the wanting and reward system is very easy to trigger...But it's impossible to satiate. And this is the basis of the hedonistic treadmill.”
Created: 8/12/2026, 6:39:44 PM
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