About Odessa Regional Medical Center Odessa Regional Medical Center is a Hospital in Odessa, TX.
The most important reward pathway in brain is the mesolimbic dopamine system. This circuit (VTA-NAc) is a key detector of a rewarding stimulus.
Dopamine not only contributes to the experience of pleasure, but also plays a role in learning and memoryâtwo key elements in the transition from liking something to becoming addicted to it. According to the current theory about addiction, dopamine interacts with another neurotransmitter, glutamate, to take over the brainâs system of reward-related learning. This system has an important role in sustaining life because it links activities needed for human survival (such as eating and sex) with pleasure and reward.