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The nucleus accumbens (NAcc), also known as the accumbens nucleus or as the nucleus accumbens septi (Latin for nucleus leaning against the septum), is a collection of neurons located where the head of the caudate and the anterior portion of the putamen meet just lateral to the septum pellucidum.
The nucleus accumbens can be divided into two structures -- the nucleus accumbens core and the nucleus accumbens shell. These structures have different morphology and function.
The nucleus accumbens and the olfactory tubercle collectively form the ventral striatum, which is part of the basal ganglia [1]. Image File history File links Gray744. ...
The caudate nucleus is a telencephalic nucleus, one of the input nuclei of the basal ganglia; involved with control of voluntary movement in the brain. ...
The putamen is a structure in the middle of the brain, forming the striatum together with the caudate nucleus. ...
The septum pellucidum, also called the septum lucidum, is a thin, triangular, vertical membrane that separates the lateral ventricles of the brain. ...
Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (960x720, 212 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Entorhinal cortex Cingulate cortex Brodmann area Nucleus accumbens Brodmann area 24 Posterior cingulate ...
Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ...
NeuroNames is a system of nomenclature for the brain and related structures. ...
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) is a huge controlled vocabulary (or metadata system) for the purpose of indexing journal articles and books in the life sciences. ...
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In neuroanatomy, a nucleus is a central nervous system structure that is composed mainly of gray matter, and which acts as a hub or transit point for electrical signals in a single neural subsystem. ...
Look up septum in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Drawing by Santiago Ramón y Cajal of neurons in the pigeon cerebellum. ...
The caudate nucleus is a telencephalic nucleus, one of the input nuclei of the basal ganglia; involved with control of voluntary movement in the brain. ...
The putamen is a structure in the middle of the brain, forming the striatum together with the caudate nucleus. ...
The septum pellucidum, also called the septum lucidum, is a thin, triangular, vertical membrane that separates the lateral ventricles of the brain. ...
Young boy smelling a flower Olfaction, the sense of smell, is the detection of chemicals dissolved in air. ...
Coronal slices of human brain showing the basal ganglia, the striatum and pallidum globus pallidus: external segment (GPe), subthalamic nucleus (STN), globus pallidus: internal segment (GPi), and substantia nigra (SN). ...
The basal ganglia (or basal nuclei) are a group of nuclei in the brain interconnected with the cerebral cortex, thalamus and brainstem. ...
This nucleus is thought to play an important role in reward, laughter, pleasure, and addiction. “Happy†redirects here. ...
An addiction is a recurring compulsion by an individual to engage in some specific activity. ...
Cell types
The principal neuronal cell type found in the nucleus accumbens is the medium spiny neuron. The neurotransmitter produced by these neurons is gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), one of the main inhibitory neurotransmitters of the central nervous system. These neurons are also the main projection or output neurons of the nucleus accumbens. The medium spiny neurons are a special type of inhibitory cells representing approximately 75% of the neurons within the corpus striatum of the basal ganglia. ...
Chemical structure of D-aspartic acid, a common amino acid neurotransmitter. ...
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (usually abbreviated to GABA) is an inhibitory neurotransmitter found in the nervous systems of widely divergent species. ...
While 95% of the neurons in the nucleus accumbens are medium spiny GABA-ergic projection neurons, other neuronal types are also found such as large aspiny cholinergic interneurons. A synapse is cholinergic if it uses acetylcholine as its neurotransmitter. ...
An interneuron (also called relay neuron,association neuron or bipolar neuron) is a term used to describe a neuron which has two different common meanings. ...
Output and input The output neurons of the nucleus accumbens send axon projections to the ventral analog of the globus pallidus, known as the ventral pallidum (VP). The VP, in turn, projects to the mediodorsal (MD) nucleus of the dorsal thalamus, which projects to the prefrontal cortex. Other efferents from the nucleus accumbens include connections with the substantia nigra and pontine reticular formation. Major inputs to the nucleus accumbens include prefrontal association cortices, basolateral amygdala, and dopaminergic neurons located in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), which connect via the mesolimbic pathway. Thus the nucleus accumbens is often described as one part of a cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical loop. The globus pallidus (Latin for pale body) is a sub-cortical structure in the brain. ...
Coronal slices of human brain showing the basal ganglia, globus pallidus: external segment (GPe), subthalamic nucleus (STN), globus pallidus: internal segment (GPi), and substantia nigra (SN). ...
The thalamus (from Greek θάλαμος = bedroom, chamber, IPA= /ˈθæləməs/) is a pair and symmetric part of the brain. ...
The prefrontal cortex is the anterior part of the frontal lobes of the brain, lying in front of the motor and premotor areas. ...
The substantia nigra, (Latin for black substance, Soemering) or locus niger is a heterogeneous portion of the midbrain, separating the pes (foot) from the tegmentum (covering), and a major element of the basal ganglia system. ...
Look up Amygdala in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
The ventral tegmentum or the ventral tegmental area (VTA) is part of the midbrain, lying close to the substantia nigra and the red nucleus. ...
The mesolimbic pathway is one of the neural pathways in the brain that link the ventral tegmentum in the midbrain to the nucleus accumbens in the limbic system. ...
Dopaminergic input from the VTA is thought to modulate the activity of neurons within the nucleus accumbens. These terminals are also the site of action of highly-addictive drugs such as cocaine and amphetamine, which cause a manifold increase in dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens. In addition to cocaine and amphetamine, almost every drug abused by humans has been shown to increase dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens. This article does not cite its references or sources. ...
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. ...
Amphetamine or Amfetamine (Alpha-Methyl-PHenEThylAMINE), also known as, beta-phenyl-isopropylamine, and benzedrine, is a prescription stimulant commonly used to treat Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults and children. ...
Dopamine is a phenethylamine naturally produced by the human body. ...
Research In the 1950s, Olds and Milner implanted electrodes into the septal area of the rat and found that the rat chose to press a lever which stimulated it. It continued to prefer this even over stopping to eat or drink. This suggests that the area is the 'pleasure center' of the brain.[2]
Although the nucleus accumbens has traditionally been studied for its role in addiction, it plays an equal role in processing many rewards such as food, sex, and video games. A recent study found that it is involved in the regulation of emotions induced by music [3] , perhaps consequent to its role in mediating dopamine release. It also has roles in timing, and has long been considered to be the limbic-motor interface (Mogensen). // Music is an art form consisting of sound and silence expressed through time. ...
References - ^ http://www.nlm.nih.gov/cgi/mesh/2007/MB_cgi?mode=&term=Nucleus+Accumbens
- ^ Olds J, Milner P (1954). "Positive reinforcement produced by electrical stimulation of septal area and other regions of rat brain". J Comp Physiol Psychol 47 (6): 419-27. PMID 13233369. article
- ^ Menon, Vinod & Levitin, Daniel J. (2005) The rewards of music listening: Response and physiological connectivity of themesolimbic system." NeuroImage 28(1), pp. 175-184
External links | Brain: telencephalon (cerebrum, cerebral cortex, cerebral hemispheres) | | Primary sulci/fissures | Medial longitudinal, Lateral, Central, Parietoöccipital, Calcarine, Cingulate, Callosal Collateral fissure | | Frontal lobe | Precentral gyrus (Primary motor cortex, 4), Precentral sulcus, Superior frontal gyrus/Frontal eye fields (6, 8, 9), Middle frontal gyrus (46), Inferior frontal gyrus (44-Pars opercularis, 45-Pars triangularis), Orbitofrontal cortex (10, 11, 12, 47) | | Parietal lobe | Somatosensory cortex (Primary (1, 2, 3, 43), Secondary (5)), Precuneus (7m), Parietal lobules (Superior (7l), Inferior (40)), Angular gyrus (39), Intraparietal sulcus, Marginal sulcus | | Occipital lobe | Primary visual cortex (17), Cuneus, Lingual gyrus, 18, 19 - Lateral occipital sulcus | | Temporal lobe | Primary auditory cortex (41, 42), Superior temporal gyrus (38, 22), Middle temporal gyrus (21), Inferior temporal gyrus (20), Fusiform gyrus (37) Medial temporal lobe (Amygdala, Hippocampus, Parahippocampal gyrus (27, 28, 34, 35, 36) | | Cingulate cortex/gyrus | Subgenual area (25), anterior cingulate (24, 32, 33), Posterior cingulate (23, 31), Retrosplenial cortex (26, 29, 30), Supracallosal gyrus | | white matter tracts | Corpus callosum (Splenium, Genu, Rostrum, Tapetum), Septum pellucidum, Ependyma, Internal capsule, Corona radiata, External capsule, Olfactory tract, Fornix (Commissure of fornix), Anterior commissure, Posterior commissure Terminal stria | | Basal ganglia | Striatum (Putamen,Caudate nucleus, Nucleus accumbens), Globus pallidus, Claustrum, Subthalamic nucleus, Substantia nigra | | Other | Insular cortex Olfactory bulb, Anterior olfactory nucleus Septal nuclei Basal optic nucleus of Meynert | | Some categorizations are approximations, and some Brodmann areas span gyri. | |
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