The importance of the lateral hypothalamus in the regulation of reward and motivation has long been recognized. However, the neuronal network involved in such a hypothalamic regulation of reward remains essentially unknown. Recently, hypocretin-containing neurons, a group of hypothalamic neurons known to be associated with the stability of arousal, have emerged as important structures in the control of brain reward function. This review summarizes a Mini-Symposium presented at the 2006 Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience