dopamine pathway

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

any of several neural circuits in the brain that use dopamine as their primary neurotransmitter; the mesolimbic pathway connecting the ventral tegmental area to the nucleus accumbens underlies reward, motivation, and addiction; the mesocortical pathway projects to the prefrontal cortex and modulates working memory and executive function; the nigrostriatal pathway connecting the substantia nigra to the striatum controls voluntary movement, and its degeneration causes the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease