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nucleus accumbens

This image shows midbrain mouse neurons.

Featured Genetics Neuroscience

·May 23, 2014·3 min read

Researchers Profile Active Genes in Neurons Based on Connections

Researchers have devised a way to create snapshots of gene expression in neurons based on their connections.

This image shows the anatomy to the VTA with the striatum, nucleus accumbens and substantia nigra labelled.

Featured Psychology

·July 21, 2015·3 min read

A New Target For Depression Treatment

Researchers have identified a potential new target to treat recurring depression.

This shows faces made up of network lines

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·September 13, 2019·4 min read

Opiates reduce the brain’s ability to form and maintain synapses

Opiate exposure causes synaptic rewiring in the nucleus accumbens in addition to decreasing dendritic spines. The findings shed light into the neurobiology of opiate relapse.

Autism Featured Neuroscience

·December 8, 2017·5 min read

Hope for Autism: Optogenetics Shines Light on Social Interactions

Optogenetics helps researchers discover how social behavior and spatial learning are linked in autism.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 18, 2019·3 min read

Ketamine reduces drinking in male rats, but not females

Ketamine reduced alcohol intake in male rat models of alcohol use disorder but increased the desire for alcohol in low-consumption females.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·September 11, 2017·5 min read

Protein Links Alcohol Abuse and Changes in Brain’s Reward Center

A new Neuron study reports blocking the action of the mTORC1 protein causes mice to stop problem drinking behaviors. The findings could help develop new treatments for addictive behaviors in people.

This shows a brain surrounded by buildings and a road.

Featured Neuroscience

·April 10, 2026·9 min read

How Your Brain Links “Where to Go” with “Why It Matters”

Researchers have identified a specific group of neurons where spatial memory and emotional drive converge. This "crosstalk" in the nucleus accumbens explains how our brain links location to reward.

The image shows the dopamine pathway with the nucleus accumbens and frontal cortex highlighted.

Featured Neurology

·July 22, 2013·4 min read

Scientists Identify Key Brain Circuits that Control Compulsive Drinking in Rats

Researchers identify circuitry in the brain which drives compulsive drinking in rats, and likely plays a similar role in humans.

The brain diagram highlights the inferior parietal cortex in orange.

Featured Psychology

·May 22, 2013·5 min read

Brain Can Be Trained in Compassion

Using neuroimaging technology, researchers note increased activity in areas of the brain associated with empathy in subjects who underwent compassion training.

Featured Neuroscience

·November 2, 2021·3 min read

The Mechanisms of Addiction

A new study aims to shed light on the roles sub-regions of the nucleus accumbens play in addiction.

Image shows the location of the nucleus accumbens in the brain.

Featured Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·January 3, 2017·5 min read

Gambling Addiction Triggers Same Brain Area as Alcohol and Drug Cravings

Findings suggest brain networks associated with impulse control could be weakened in people with gambling addiction.

This shows a brain with the nucleus accumbens highlighted, showing where the drug activates to prevent opioid relapse behaviors.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·February 13, 2026·7 min read

Glaucoma Drug Repurposed to Block Opioid Cravings and Relapse

An old drug for glaucoma might be the key to stopping opioid relapse. New research shows acetazolamide "resets" the brain's reward center to block cravings.