Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Motivation is the driving force that elicits a certain behaviour from an organism in order to satisfy the drive or seek a particular goal. Motivation can be induced by physiological drives such as hunger, thirst or pain, as well as by events in the external environment.
Nociceptin is an opioid peptide regulating important brain functions, including motivation and 2stress responses. Here, the authors develop and validate a genetically encoded sensor as a tool for high-resolution detection of endogenous nociceptin in living animals.
Siva, Bauer et al. use a motion-compatible brain imager to detect task-related brain activity in human participants walking in place. The feasibility of positron emission tomography (PET) neuroimaging of people performing motor tasks or who cannot remain still, is demonstrated.
A study in mice helps to resolve a debate surrounding striatal DA dynamics and reward benefit or cost and also reveals motivation and transient striatal DA release have a bidirectional causal relationship.
Sensory association learning is impaired in people with insulin resistance but can be restored following a one-time intervention with liraglutide. These findings provide ample evidence for metabolic signals as modulators of adaptive behaviour and suggest a potential role for GLP-1 receptor agonists in obesity management.