What is the core?
nucleus accumbens (NA) is a small part of the brain that is important for motivation, pleasure and addiction. This cluster of neurons sometimes calls the brain "center of pleasure", modulating the effects of a neurotransmitter dopamine, which depends on many nerve circuits. Nucleus accumbens is a connection in brain paths that cause addiction and depression. Damage to this area of the brain causes lack of motivation and inhibits addictive behavior.
There are two Accumbens cores, one placed in each brain hemisphere in a striát, a subcortical area that helps control the planned movement of the body. They are composed of the inner core and the outer septum. Both are associated with the limbic system of their relevant hemisphere, the collection of neuronal groups in the time lobe, which affects emotions and motivation of behavior. One limbic area, amygdala, modulates strong emotional reactions and habits. It is assumed that the core of accumbensmesi amygdalou and various motor reactions that accompany the creation of habits.
, associated with other other parts of the brain that modules cycles for behavior for behavior, Accumbens core is part of a set of nerve roads that facilitate learning new behavior by a pleasant strengthening. When the brain processes something that deserves a reward - such as favorite food or narcotics - releases dopamine and serotonin. A neurotransmitter dopamine induces a feeling of pleasure while serotonin is a calming influence. The nearby set of nerve fibers, the ventral tegment area, produces dopamine and sends it to the Accumbens' core.
Laboratory studies point to the relationship between addiction and release of seratonine and dopamine in the Accumbens' core. The increase in these neurotransmitters triggers neural activity correlation with high addicts and a sense of reward on which addiction depends. When people long for a substance, nerve activity increases in anticipation of future pleasure. The surgical destruction of this area of the brain in rats addicted to drugs causedAnd that animals have lost interest in drugs. The side effect was that rats also lost general motivation of behavior.
historically, research was motivated behavior and drug addiction to rodents with a primary source of knowledge about the Accumbens' core. In addition to some isolated research in the 50s and 70s of the 20th century, few scientists were able to test a role in influencing human moods. In 2005 and 2007, however, neurosurgeons working on deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease provided evidence that depression was improved when electric pulses were applied to the applied. Surgical data has proposed electrical stimulation of the area to increase the function of dopamine and could alleviate great depression.