Fig. 1.

Brain reward circuitry. a Neurons in the VTA of the midbrain project to forebrain areas including the NAc, striatum, and cortex, and assign reward value to palatable food. b Perception of pleasure associated with consumption of a palatable food involves neuronal activation in the NAc and striatum, which through activation of opiate peptide receptors disinhibits the lateral hypothalamic area and thereby stimulates feeding. Amy amygdala, GP globus pallidus, NAc nucleus accumbens, VTA ventral tegmental area. Reprinted with permission from Macmillan Publishers: Morton et al. [26]