Jump to content

Medial forebrain bundle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 217.205.102.202 (talk) at 12:00, 5 November 2006. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

The Medial forebrain bundle is a portion of the brain between the ventral tegmentum and the hypothalamus. It is associated with communicating pleasure to the limbic system.

Electrical stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle through an implanted electrode, known as intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS), is potently reinforcing and rewarding; laboratory animals will work for ICSS, and humans report that ICSS is intensely pleasurable. This is due to the medial forebrain bundle's relationship to the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the nucleus accumbens (nAcc or Acb). The nAcc is a recognized reward center, and the pathway from the VTA to the nAcc through the medial forebrain bundle is implicated in addictive drug processes. The axons of the medial forebrain bundle are the projections of VTA neurons to the nAcc. This reward system is largely dopaminergic.

Stub icon

This anatomy article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Medial_forebrain_bundle&oldid=85835980"