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REVIEW article

Front. Behav. Neurosci.
Sec. Motivation and Reward
Volume 18 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2024.1420028
This article is part of the Research Topic Brain reward and aversion circuits: progress review on current and future breakthroughs View all articles

The Nucleus Accumbens in Reward and Aversion Processing: Insights and Implications

Provisionally accepted
Ying Xu Ying Xu Yingjie Lin Yingjie Lin Ming Yu Ming Yu Kuikui Zhou Kuikui Zhou *
  • University of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Qingdao, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The nucleus accumbens (NAc), a central component of the brain's reward circuitry, has been implicated in a wide range of behaviors and emotional states. Emerging evidence, primarily drawing from recent rodent studies, suggests that the function of the NAc in reward and aversion processing is multifaceted. Prolonged stress or drug use induces maladaptive neuronal function in the NAc circuitry, which results in pathological conditions. This review aims to provide comprehensive and up-to-date insights on the role of the NAc in motivated behavior regulation and highlights areas that demand further in-depth analysis. It synthesizes the latest findings on how distinct NAc neuronal populations and pathways contribute to the processing of opposite valences. The review examines how a range of neuromodulators, especially monoamines, influence the NAc's control over various motivational states. Furthermore, it delves into the complex underlying mechanisms of psychiatric disorders such as addiction and depression and evaluates prospective interventions to restore NAc functionality.

    Keywords: Addiction, Aversion, Depression, Nucleus Accumbens, Reward

    Received: 19 Apr 2024; Accepted: 26 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Xu, Lin, Yu and Zhou. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Kuikui Zhou, University of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Qingdao, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.