The nucleus accumbens (there are two symmetrical nuclei accumbentes in the human brain) which has been described as an interface between limbic and motor brain systems is the "pleasure center" of the brain selectively activated during the perception of pleasant, emotionally arousing pictures (like this one) and during mental imagery of nice people, laughter and pleasant, emotional scenes. Through still poorly understood mechanisms dopaminergic input from the ventral tegmental area regulates the activity of neurons within the nucleus accumbens. The output neurons of the nucleus accumbens send axon projections to the ventral pallidum which, in turn, projects to the thalamus, which projects to the brain cortex. This
CEREBRART work illustrates the neural basis of pleasure and perhaps the visitors of my
CEREBRART blog will have the additional pleasure of enjoying this picture and activating their own nuclei accumbentes.
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Stanford brain scientists recruited 15 undergraduates and had them bring in photos of their beloved. Brain images showed they had strong activity in the nucleus accumbens.
ReplyDeleteDopamine is indeed involved during the perception of pleasant pictures, but it isn't merely a "brain pleasure chemical". In fact, dopamine has lots of other important functions in the brain, including its role as a feedback signal for predicting rewards.
ReplyDeletecerebrart is simple: keep living your life, and keep smiling about it.
ReplyDeleteSimple? But, according to the authors, the purpose of this cerebrart is to destroy this simple-minded “Two Cultures dichotomy” and to provide a new integrated scientific-artistic concept ...
DeleteVery Interesting Interactions Between the Nucleus Accumbens and Auditory Cortices Predict Music Reward Value - .aesthetic rewards arise from the interaction between mesolimbic reward circuitry and cortical networks involved in perceptual analysis and valuation. The reward value of music is abstract. Science 12 April 2013: Vol. 340 no. 6129 pp. 216-219DOI:10.1126/science.1231059
ReplyDeleteNormally, the nucleus accumbens plays a central role in the reward circuit. But in schizophrenic patients, chaotic or stress-induced dopamine release in the
ReplyDeleteventral striatum including the nucleus accumbens may chaotically interfere with signaling of a prediction error. Increased concentrations of the dopamine metabolite, homovanillic acid in schizophrenic patients have been found in nucleus accumbens. Unfortunately, this cerebrart doesn't show any chaotic features of the nucleus accumbens.
in schizophrenic patients, chaotic dopamine release combines with chaotic glutamate release which creates even more confusion and disorder in the brain. This poses the possibility that chaos in the nucleus accumbens may not be preferentially mediated by chaotic dopamine release .
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