title: Neurocircuitry of drug reward.
abstract: In recent years, neuroscientists have produced profound conceptual and mechanistic advances on the neurocircuitry of reward and substance use disorders. Here, we will provide a brief review of intracranial drug self-administration and optogenetic self-stimulation studies that identified brain regions and neurotransmitter systems involved in drug- and reward-related behaviors. Also discussed is a theoretical framework that helps to understand the functional properties of the circuitry involved in these behaviors. The circuitry appears to be homeostatically regulated and mediate anticipatory processes that regulate behavioral interaction with the environment in response to salient stimuli. That is, abused drugs or, at least, some may act on basic motivation and mood processes, regulating behavior-environment interaction. Optogenetics and related technologies have begun to uncover detailed circuit mechanisms linking key brain regions in which abused drugs act for rewarding effects. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled 'NIDA 40th Anniversary Issue'.
authors.affiliation: Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 251 Bayview Blvd., Suite 200, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA. Electronic address: satoshi.ikemoto@nih.gov.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ikemoto
authors.forename: Antonello
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bonci
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000494:pharmacology; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000187:drug effects; D062308:Optogenetics; D012201:Reward; D012653:Self Stimulation; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs
keywords: Dopamine; Drug reward; Emotion; Median raphe nucleus; Motivation; Supramammillary nucleus; Ventral striatum; Ventral tegmental area