Euphoria (emotion)

Euphoria (pronunciation: ⁱ/juːˈfɔːriə/) is an affective state in which a person experiences pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain drugs, many of which are addictive, can cause euphoria, which at least partially motivates their recreational use. Similarly, certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to emotionally arousing music, music-making, and dancing, can induce a state of euphoria. Euphoria is also a symptom of certain neurological or neuropsychiatric disorders, such as mania.Romantic love and components of the human sexual response cycle are also associated with the induction of euphoria.

According to Kent Berridge, an affective neuroscientist, intense euphoria occurs from the simultaneous activation of every hedonic hotspot within the brain's reward system.