The Gut and Heart's Role in Reward Processing

Senegal Alfred Mabry^1*Minel Arinel²

• ¹Department of Psychology, College of Human Ecology, Cornell University, Ithaca, Illinois, United States
• ²School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States

Research on the inter-organ regulation of affective and internal states is rapidly developing. Bidirectional communication pathways between the brain and the periphery, such as the gut and the heart, have evolved to ensure survival by aligning reward states with physiological needs. These conserved mechanisms optimize behaviors like resource acquisition, energy expenditure, and adaptation to changing environments. From the cognitive science of learning to clinical interventions for addiction, reward mechanisms are central. As researchers seek to investigate unconscious and conscious reinforcement, they will increasingly need a guide to the gut-and heart-mediated reward concomitants and circuits. This mini-review synthesizes empirical findings on gut and heart neural circuitry, highlighting studies that demonstrate how signals from these organs influence reward states. Then, it examines comparative neuroscience work on physiological signals from the gut and heart in relation to reward states, affective disorders, and mind-body interventions, while framing these processes within their adaptive significance.