Sexual behavior causes activation and functional alterations of mesolimbic systems : neurobiology of motivation and reward.

TL;DRAbstract

There is increasing evidence that the various drugs of abuse converge upon common reward pathways in the brain.While it is clear that these circuits are involved in drug-induced reward and reinforcement, less is known about how these systems function when activated by normal motivated behaviors such as sexual behavior.Like drugs of abuse, sexual behavior is a rewarding and reinforcing behavior.Sexual behavior, however, is generally not considered an "addictive" behavior.Thus, understanding how neural circuits are activated by normal motivated behaviors may lead to a better understanding of the pathology of drug addiction.The first set of studies investigated the mechanisms by which sexual behavior activates the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system -a critical component of the neural circuitry regulating motivation and reward.These studies found that both sexual experience and sex-associated environmental cues cause endogenous opioid release and activation of DA producing neurons in the vent

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