Talk:Mesocortical pathway
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[edit]I removed the section on the reward pathway, because, as I understand it, the reward pathway is involved in the mesolimbic, not the mesocortical pathway. In case I am wrong, I pasted below the section I removed, so if someone knows better, they can put it back. If you do put it back, please explain why. Perhaps this information belongs an article specifically about the reward pathway, because the mesocortical pathway is not directly, if at all, part of the "reward pathway".
"This pathway is also known as the reward pathway. It consists of direct connections between the ventral tegmental area (VTA), the nucleus accumbens (NAc), and the pre-Frontal Cortex (PFC). The VTA manufactures and stores dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with feelings of pleasure. Behaviors which themselves help us to survive as a species (e.g., eating, drinking, procreating, etc.) are thought to cause a release of dopamine from the VTA, along the reward pathway, to the NA. The NA is thought to play a mediating role, essentially evaluating whether a stimulus is a result of "good" or "bad" behavior (i.e., good or bad for our survival). It then passes the signal up to the PFC, which is widely believed to be directly involved with decision-making. It is further believed the PFC makes the decision to continue or abate the behavior, in large part based on signals received from the NA.
The reward pathway is essential for our survival, and is itself a very powerful mechanism with regards to choice, and behavior. Unfortunately, it is also vulnerable to becoming "hijacked" by substances, such as drugs and alcohol. Such substances cause a large release of dopamine via the reward pathway. The brain is "wired" to respond with feelings of pleasure to natural rewards such as food or sex which are biologically meaningful. Our brain thus interprets the activity that led to those feeling as being good for us. Feelings of immense pleasure (e.g., as caused by cocaine), tell the brain that whatever behavior it just engaged in is very, very good for us, and so we must continue doing it. A consequence of this is that the PFC becomes locked into a pattern of decisions and behaviors which it is hard wired to make, giving rise to compulsive behaviors that are often extremely difficult to control. Essentially, the description of this process also functions as a clinically accepted 'theory of addiction'."