Neuroscience of Reward and Motivation

These flashcards cover key concepts related to motivation, reward systems, dopamine function, and the associated psychological conditions outlined in the lecture notes.

Reward

An event that produces a pleasant or positive affective experience.

Motivation

Energizing of behavior in pursuit of a goal.

Reinforcement

Related to observable behavior; includes negative reinforcement.

Primary rewards

Rewards that fulfill basic needs, such as food and sex.

Secondary rewards

Rewards that are not essential for survival, such as money.

Dopamine (DA)

A monoamine neurotransmitter involved in mood, learning, attention, and reward.

Mesolimbic pathway

Brain pathway important for mediating pleasure and awarding experiences.

Ventral tegmental area (VTA)

Origin of dopamine cell bodies associated with reward pathways.

Schizophrenia

A severe thought disorder marked by dissociative thinking and hallucinations.

Positive symptoms of schizophrenia

Presence of abnormal behaviors such as delusions and hallucinations.

Negative symptoms of schizophrenia

Absence of normal behaviors, which can include flattened emotional responses.

Pre-pulse inhibition

A reduction in startle response due to a weak pre-stimulus; often impaired in schizophrenia.

Dopamine Theory of Schizophrenia

Suggests that schizophrenia is associated with excessive dopamine activity.

Amphetamine Psychosis

Schizophrenic-like symptoms caused by prolonged use of stimulant drugs.

Chlorpromazine

An antipsychotic drug that blocks dopamine receptors to alleviate schizophrenia symptoms.

Limbic system

Set of structures involved in emotion, learning, and memory, closely connected with the nucleus accumbens.

Nucleus accumbens (NAC)

Region in the brain involved in the processing of rewards.

Medial forebrain bundle (MFB)

Neural pathway connecting reward-related brain regions; contains dopamine fibers.

Incentive salience

The motivational properties of cues that predict rewards, enhancing craving.

Anticipation of reward

The drive and craving generated in anticipation of receiving a reward.

Habenula

Part of the epithalamus that integrates reward and aversion information.

Dopamine pathways

Neural networks in the brain associated with the transmission of dopamine and reward.

Dopamine and aversion

Dopamine neuron activity can signify aversive events in addition to rewarding ones.

Chronic schizophrenia

Gradual onset of schizophrenia requiring long-term management and support.

Acute schizophrenia

Sudden onset with a generally better prognosis for recovery.

D1 and D2 receptors

Main classes of dopamine receptors involved in various neural functions.

Substance Use Disorders

Disorders related to addiction, affecting millions and often parallel to dopamine pathway dysfunction.

Drug craving

A powerful desire for drugs enhanced by incentive salience and dopamine signaling.

Reward prediction error

The difference between expected and received rewards, influencing learning processes.

Positive reinforcement

Increasing the likelihood of a behavior by presenting a rewarding stimulus.

Brain stimulation reward

Behavioral experiments showing the strong motivation of subjects (e.g., rats) to fulfill brain stimulation over other rewards.

Euphoric high

The intense pleasure associated with reward, often measured with dopamine levels in the NAC.