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The mesolimbic pathway and a specific set of the pathway's output neurons (e.g. D1-type medium spiny neurons within the nucleus accumbens) play a central role in the neurobiology of addiction. [20] [21] [22] Drug addiction is an illness caused by habitual substance use that induces chemical changes in the brain's circuitry. [23]
Dopaminergic pathways (dopamine pathways, dopaminergic projections) in the human brain are involved in both physiological and behavioral processes including movement, cognition, executive functions, reward, motivation, and neuroendocrine control. [1] Each pathway is a set of projection neurons, consisting of individual dopaminergic neurons.
The reward system (the mesocorticolimbic circuit) is a group of neural structures responsible for incentive salience (i.e., "wanting"; desire or craving for a reward and motivation), associative learning (primarily positive reinforcement and classical conditioning), and positively-valenced emotions, particularly ones involving pleasure as a core component (e.g., joy, euphoria and ecstasy).
The brain includes several distinct dopamine pathways, one of which plays a major role in the motivational component of reward-motivated behavior. The anticipation of most types of rewards increases the level of dopamine in the brain, [4] and many addictive drugs increase dopamine release or block its reuptake into neurons following release. [5]
There has been significant advancement in understanding the structural changes that occur in parts of the brain involved in the reward pathway (mesolimbic system) that underlies addiction. [3] Most research has focused on two portions of the brain: the ventral tegmental area, (VTA) and the nucleus accumbens (NAc). [4]
Dopamine dysregulation syndrome (DDS) is a dysfunction of the reward system observed in some individuals taking dopaminergic medications for an extended length of time. It is characterized by severely disinhibited patterns of behavior, [1] leading to problems such as addiction to the offending medication, gambling addiction, or compulsive sexual behavior, [2] along with a general orientation ...
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