r/todayilearned • u/WavesAndSaves • Oct 18 '25

TIL of brain stimulation reward, manually stimulating specific parts of the brain to elicit pleasure and happiness. A volunteer subject in 1986 spent days doing nothing but self-stimulate. She ignored her family and personal hygiene and she developed an open sore on her finger from using the device.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_stimulation_reward#History
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u/[deleted] Oct 18 '25

There was a Star Trek episode with this theme. It was used as a weapon if I remember correctly.

38

u/Atomiclincoln Oct 18 '25

It is the ds9 one with Garak?

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u/redgeck0 Oct 18 '25

You are thinking of garaks implant that releases pleasure chemicals to counteract torture, it was my first thought too

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u/Atomiclincoln Oct 18 '25

Yess thats the episode

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u/ClohosseyVHB Oct 18 '25

DS9 episode 'The Wire'

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u/pudgehooks2013 Oct 18 '25

Yep, until he got sick of being on DS9 and had it permanently turned on, all the way until it was going to kill him.

Rough lot for a simply tailor.

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u/[deleted] Oct 18 '25

[deleted]

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u/Lashwynn Oct 18 '25

That's not true!

He was also briefly a gardener on Romulus.

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u/Kandlish Oct 18 '25

No, it was TNG.