Rendezvous in Hedonia

Psychiatrist Morten Kringelbach: Our basic pleasures are caused by feelings intimately related to food, sex and social interaction. On a neural level, such sensations are first detected by sensory receptors located throughout the body. These are then decoded in the sensory regions of the brain.  Pleasure is not just a mere stimulation of such receptors, but the result of interactions between anticipation, evaluation and stored away sensations.

Pleasure can therefore be seen as a sweet mix of desire, pleasant sensations and learning.

Understanding the nature of pleasure will help to treat affective disorders.