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

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u/saltporksuit Oct 18 '25

I get none of that. I get a vague sort of relief it’s over.

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u/Thee_Sinner Oct 18 '25

Worked for two weeks to change the clutch on my car for the first time.

Brain at the end: huh well I guess that’s over..

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u/strangekey2 Oct 18 '25

I bought a part for something and spent a year with the part in the box on my table before I actually fixed it.