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Oct 30, 2023 · The nucleus accumbens functions as an important modulation center between the limbic and the motor systems because of its input from the limbic system and its output to motor nuclei of the basal ganglia. The nucleus accumbens is involved in various cognitive, emotional, and psychomotor functions.
- Medical Content
- 22 min
The Dopaminergic Mesolimbic System and Reward. The mesolimbic system, also known as the reward system, is composed of brain structures that are responsible for mediating the physiological and cognitive processing of reward.
- 10.1007/978-3-030-81147-1_4
- 2021
- Location
- Role of The Nucleus Accumbens in The ‘Reward Circuit ‘
- Other Nucleus Accumbens Function
- Conditions Associated with The Nucleus Accumbens
- References
The nucleus accumbens (NAcc) is located in the basal forebrain and is a major structure of the ventral striatum, an area of the brain associated with the limbic system, and regulates limbic functionsof motivation, affect, and reward. There is a NAcc in each cerebral hemisphere, on the left and the right sides, and it is situated between the caudate...
The most widely recognized function of the NAcc is its role in the brain’s reward circuit.The NAcc is a component of a major dopamine pathway of the brain called the mesolimbic pathway. The mesolimbic dopamine pathway is stimulated during rewarding experiences. Essentially, when we do something which is rewarding, such as eating a favorite food or ...
The exact role of the NAcc in the processing of rewards is unclear and believed to be more complex than was originally thought. It is thought that the NAcc is likely involved in learning about rewards, as well as the stimuli that are associated with them. The NAcc also seems to be important in stimulating reward-seeking behaviors and the selection ...
Substance use disorders
Typically, with repeated exposure to a reward, the rewarding feeling will wane. However, with drugs of abuse, the functioning of the reward system can become overwhelming since the effects of these drugs do not wane after repeated exposure. This can be one of the reasons why people develop substance use disorders. Drugs of abuse tend to increase dopamine in the NAcc or change synaptic plasticity, whereas non-abused drugs generally do not affect dopamine in the NAcc or synaptic plasticity. The...
Mood disorders
As the NAcc is involved with cognitive and emotional functions, it may be involved in psychiatric conditions such as mood disorders. Patients with mood disorders have been found to have reduced NAcc activation (Heller et al., 2009). Patients with mood disorders were also found to have reduced NAcc volume in comparison to those without mood disorders (Baumann et al., 1999). A study used deep brain stimulation (a therapy for severe depression that proves resistant to other treatment methods) on...
Anxiety disorders
Due to connections to emotional regions of the brain, specifically the amygdala, the NAcc may be linked to anxiety conditions, which are also thought to be related to emotional regions. It was found that fear memories and anxiety induced by stress appear to be influenced by mechanisms in the NAcc (Du et al., 2019). Deep brain stimulation has been applied to the NAcc of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), an anxiety disorder, resulting in significant improvements of their sympto...
Berns, G. S., McClure, S. M., Pagnoni, G., & Montague, P. R. (2001). Predictability modulates human brain response to reward. Journal of neuroscience, 21(8), 2793-2798. Bewernick, B. H., Hurlemann, R., Matusch, A., Kayser, S., Grubert, C., Hadrysiewicz, B., Axmacher, N., Lemke, M., Cooper-Mahkorn, D., Cohen, M. X., Brockmann, H., Lenartz, D., Sturm...
Mar 19, 2015 · The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is a major component of the ventral striatum and has long been thought to be a key structure involved in mediating motivational and emotional processes, the limbic-motor interface, and the effects of certain psychoactive drugs.
The nucleus accumbens receives dopaminergic inputs from the ventral tegmental area, which connect via the mesolimbic pathway. The nucleus accumbens is often described as one part of a cortico-basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical loop. Dopaminergic inputs from the VTA modulate the activity of GABAergic neurons within the nucleus accumbens.
The nucleus accumbens (NAcc) is a central component of the limbic system of the brain. This is based on its innervation by limbic structures, including excitatory afferents from the ventral hippocampus and the basolateral amygdala, and the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) .
The Nucleus Accumbens: A Comprehensive Review. Stereotact Funct Neurosurg. 2015;93 (2):75-93. doi: 10.1159/000368279. Epub 2015 Feb 18. Authors. Sanjay Salgado 1 , Michael G Kaplitt. Affiliation. 1 Laboratory of Molecular Neurosurgery, Department of Neurological Surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, N.Y., USA. PMID: 25720819.
