The researchers temporarily switched off the connection between the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the nucleus accumbens (NAc). As a result, the monkeys’ motivation to work harder for a bigger reward decreased.
The researchers temporarily switched off the connection between the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the nucleus accumbens (NAc). As a result, the monkeys' motivation to work harder for a bigger reward decreased. For the first time ever, neurophysiologists of KU Leuven, Harvard and the University of Kyoto have succeeded in reversibly disabling a connection between two areas in the brains of primates while they were performing cognitive tasks and their whole brain activity was being monitored. The disconnection had a negative impact on the motivation of the animals, but not on their learning behaviour. The study, which was published in Neuron , may eventually lead to more targeted treatments for certain brain disorders. Learning is crucial to man's survival. The brain's reward system plays an important part in this.
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