Dumont Eric C, Mark Gregory P, Mader Sarah, Williams John T
The Vollum Institute and Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon 97239, USA.
Nat Neurosci. 2005 Apr;8(4):413-4. doi: 10.1038/nn1414. Epub 2005 Feb 27.
Understanding the neurobiology of motivation might help in reducing compulsive behaviors such as drug addiction or eating disorders. This study shows that excitatory synaptic transmission was enhanced in the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis of rats that performed an operant task to obtain cocaine or palatable food. There was no effect when cocaine or food was delivered passively, suggesting that synaptic plasticity in this area is involved in reward-seeking behaviors.
了解动机的神经生物学机制可能有助于减少诸如药物成瘾或饮食失调等强迫行为。这项研究表明,在执行操作性任务以获取可卡因或美味食物的大鼠终纹床核中,兴奋性突触传递增强。当被动给予可卡因或食物时则没有这种效应,这表明该区域的突触可塑性与寻求奖励行为有关。