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A Fully Automated and Highly Versatile System for Testing Multi-cognitive Functions and Recording Neuronal Activities in Rodents

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Published on: May 3, 2012

Pleasure systems in the brain.

Kent C Berridge¹, Morten L Kringelbach²

¹Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1043, USA.

|May 8, 2015

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Pleasure relies on mesocorticolimbic circuits, but anhedonia in affective disorders signals system breakdown. Research reveals distinct brain systems for "wanting" and "liking" rewards, challenging traditional views of pleasure generation.

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Published on: September 12, 2017

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Psychiatry
Affective Science

Background:

Pleasure is crucial for adaptive functions, mediated by mesocorticolimbic circuitry.
Dysfunctions in the hedonic system cause anhedonia and dysphoria in affective disorders.
Neuroimaging suggests diverse pleasures share common neural pathways.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying pleasure and reward.
To differentiate brain systems responsible for reward wanting versus liking.
To challenge established notions of pleasure generation in the brain.

Main Methods:

Review of human neuroimaging studies on pleasure and reward.
Analysis of brain circuitry involved in hedonic responses.
Comparison of neural substrates for desire versus dread.

Main Results:

A common neural currency underlies diverse pleasurable experiences.
Separate brain systems generate reward 'wanting' (distributed) and 'liking' (hedonic hotspots).
Classic pleasure generators like the mesolimbic dopamine system may not directly produce pleasure.

Conclusions:

Understanding brain pleasure mechanisms is key for treating affective disorders.
Hedonic hotspots are critical for the experience of pleasure.
Emerging insights offer new therapeutic avenues for conditions involving hedonic deficits.