This course will explore the psychobiological basis of motivation. We will start by considering what we mean by motivated behaviour and explore some of the concepts that have been developed to try to explain motivation. After this, we will consider in depth how these motivation concepts help us understand the control of some specific motivated behaviours e.g. eating and drug use. Within this context we will ask about the important psychobiological mechanisms; these include not only the critical brain areas, and neurochemical systems but also the contributions of processes in other parts of the body to motivation. Finally we will also consider what happens when motivation gets out of control or when someone lacks motivation and how this is linked to psychological disorders.