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The dopamine neurons of the dopaminergic pathways synthesize and release the neurotransmitter dopamine. [2] [3] Enzymes tyrosine hydroxylase and dopa decarboxylase are required for dopamine synthesis. [4] These enzymes are both produced in the cell bodies of dopamine neurons. Dopamine is stored in the cytoplasm and vesicles in axon terminals.
The release of dopamine from the mesolimbic pathway into the nucleus accumbens regulates incentive salience (e.g. motivation and desire for rewarding stimuli) and facilitates reinforcement and reward-related motor function learning; [3] [4] [5] it may also play a role in the subjective perception of pleasure.
Areas 1 and 2 receive most of their input from area 3. There are also pathways for proprioception (via the cerebellum), and motor control (via Brodmann area 4). See also: S2 Secondary somatosensory cortex. The human eye is the first element of a sensory system: in this case, vision, for the visual system.
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.
Dopamine receptors are implicated in many neurological processes, including motivational and incentive salience, cognition, memory, learning, and fine motor control, as well as modulation of neuroendocrine signaling. Abnormal dopamine receptor signaling and dopaminergic nerve function is implicated in several neuropsychiatric disorders. [2]
The reward system (the mesocorticolimbic circuit) is a group of neural structures responsible for incentive salience (i.e., "wanting"; desire or craving for a reward and motivation), associative learning (primarily positive reinforcement and classical conditioning), and positively-valenced emotions, particularly ones involving pleasure as a core component (e.g., joy, euphoria and ecstasy).
The combination of dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin is already pretty dreamy, but the brain takes that natural high to the next level when you reach the big O by releasing endogenous (i.e., made ...
Artistic interpretation of the major elements in chemical synaptic transmission. An electrochemical wave called an action potential travels along the axon of a neuron.When the action potential reaches the presynaptic terminal, it provokes the release of a synaptic vesicle, secreting its quanta of neurotransmitter molecules.