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The mesolimbic pathway, sometimes referred to as the reward pathway, is a dopaminergic pathway in the brain. The pathway begins in the ventral tegmental area of the midbrain and connects to the nucleus accumbens. It is the most significant neural pathway in the brain in which changes occur in all known forms of addiction.〔〔〔〔 ==Anatomy== The following structures are considered to be a part of the mesolimbic pathway: ;Ventral tegmental area :The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is a part of the midbrain. It consists of dopaminergic, GABAergic, and glutamatergic neurons.〔Pierce RC, Kumaresan V. 2006. The mesolimbic dopamine system: The final common pathway for the reinforcing effect of drugs of abuse? ''Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews'' 30:215-38〕 The VTA communicates with the nucleus accumbens via the medial forebrain bundle. ;Nucleus accumbens :The nucleus accumbens is found in the ventral striatum and is composed of medium spiny neurons.〔Zhang TA, Maldve RE, Morrisett RA. 2006. Coincident signaling in mesolimbic structures underlying alcohol reinforcement. ''Biochemical Pharmacology'' 72:919-27〕〔Purves D et al. 2008. Neuroscience. Sinauer 4ed. 754-56〕 It is subdivided into limbic and motor subregions known as the shell and core.〔 The medium spiny neurons receive input from both the dopaminergic neurons of the VTA and the glutamatergic neurons of the hippocampus, amygdala, and medial prefrontal cortex. When they are activated by these inputs, the medium spiny neurons' projections release GABA onto the ventral pallidum.〔 The release of dopamine in this structure drives the mesolimbic system. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mesolimbic pathway」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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