Posted January 25, Reviewed by Kaja Perina. Eating, having sex , and making money are rewarding pursuits that drive human behavior. The degree of motivation that compels someone to obtain edible, erotic, or economic rewards varies from person to person and fluctuates from adolescence to old age. That said, a new meta-analysis identifies how basal ganglia brain regions typically process food, sex, and money rewards.
These findings Arsalidou et al. Basal ganglia refers to interconnected subcortical structures of gray matter e. Historically, basal ganglia brain regions were viewed primarily as part of the motor system that facilitates the physical actions required to obtain a reward or achieve a particular goal.
However, there is increasing evidence that basal ganglia brain regions are also involved in a wide range of cognitive and emotional functions. After the cerebral cortex sends a motor command to pursue a reward, the basal ganglia orchestrate the appropriate physical actions via skeletal muscle movements. Basal ganglia brain regions play a key role in driving hard-wired habitual behaviors associated with substance use disorders and addiction.
In recent years, countless studies have shown that brain regions in the basal ganglia facilitate reward-driven behaviors.
What makes this recent meta-analysis of different brain imaging studies significant is that it unearths how food, sex, and money rewards engage specific clusters of neurons in the basal ganglia and favor other brain regions in slightly different ways.
