Reward system

Reward System

Reward system

The reward system is a group of neural structures responsible for incentive salience (i.e., motivation and "wanting", desire, or craving for a reward), associative learning (primarily positive reinforcement and classical conditioning), and positive emotions, particularly ones which involve pleasure as a core component (e.g., joy, euphoria and ecstasy).

Overview

Reward is the attractive and motivational property of a stimulus that induces appetitive behavior, also known as approach behavior, and consummatory behavior. A reward is an action or object that is desired or valued by someone as a result of the actions of the person. The brain reward system is a brain-wide network that generates goal-directed behavior and experience of pleasure.

Function

The reward system motivates animals to approach beneficial stimuli (i.e., natural rewards such as food, water, and sexual contact) and avoid harmful or unpleasant stimuli (i.e., punishment). The "wanting" of incentive salience, the "learning" of knowledge, and the "liking" of hedonic pleasure are all components of the reward system.

Neuroanatomy

The reward system includes the ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens, and ventral pallidum, among other regions. The dopamine pathways, particularly the mesolimbic pathway and mesocortical pathway, are considered to be the most important neurocircuitry of the reward system.

Neurochemistry

The release of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens is so consistently tied with pleasure that neuroscientists refer to the region as the brain's pleasure center. All drugs of abuse, with the exception of some, cause a particularly powerful surge of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens.

See also

• Addiction
• Motivation
• Pleasure principle (psychology)
• Reinforcement

References

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