Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Pathways from central nucleus of the amygdala to downstream areas then control defensive behavior (freezing) and autonomic and endocrine responses. Recent studies implicate the prelimbic cortex in fear expression as well, possibly by way of its connections to the basal and then to the central nucleus of the amygdala. [1]
Frontostriatal circuits are neural pathways that connect frontal lobe regions with the striatum and mediate motor, cognitive, and behavioural functions within the brain. [1] They receive inputs from dopaminergic , serotonergic , noradrenergic , and cholinergic cell groups that modulate information processing. [ 2 ]
The mesolimbic pathway, sometimes referred to as the reward pathway, is a dopaminergic pathway in the brain. [1] The pathway connects the ventral tegmental area in the midbrain to the ventral striatum of the basal ganglia in the forebrain. The ventral striatum includes the nucleus accumbens and the olfactory tubercle. [2]
Pavlovian fear conditioning is a behavioral paradigm in which organisms learn to predict aversive events. [1] It is a form of learning in which an aversive stimulus (e.g. an electrical shock) is associated with a particular neutral context (e.g., a room) or neutral stimulus (e.g., a tone), resulting in the expression of fear responses to the originally neutral stimulus or context.
Dopaminergic pathways (dopamine pathways, dopaminergic projections) in the human brain are involved in both physiological and behavioral processes including movement, cognition, executive functions, reward, motivation, and neuroendocrine control. [1] Each pathway is a set of projection neurons, consisting of individual dopaminergic neurons.
Brief activation of an excitatory pathway can produce what is known as long-term depression (LTD) of synaptic transmission in many areas of the brain. LTD is induced by a minimum level of postsynaptic depolarization and simultaneous increase in the intracellular calcium concentration at the postsynaptic neuron.
A neural pathway connects one part of the nervous system to another using bundles of axons called tracts. The optic tract that extends from the optic nerve is an example of a neural pathway because it connects the eye to the brain; additional pathways within the brain connect to the visual cortex.
The biology of depression is the attempt to identify a biochemical origin of depression, as opposed to theories that emphasize psychological or situational causes. Scientific studies have found that different brain areas show altered activity in humans with major depressive disorder (MDD). [1]