The mesolimbic pathway, sometimes referred to as the reward pathway, is a dopaminergic pathway in the brain. The pathway connects the ventral tegmental area in the midbrain to the ventral striatum of the basal ganglia in the forebrain. The release of dopamine from the mesolimbic pathway into the nucleus accumbens regulates incentive salience (e.g. motivation and desire for rewarding stimuli) and facilitates reinforcement and reward-related motor function learning; it may also play a role in the

Brain Reward System: Schematic Representation of Dopaminergic Projections that make up the Brain Reward System: The brain’s reward system is organized around dopaminergic neurons whose cell bodies are primarily located in the ventral tegmental area, or VTA. These neurons send projections to multiple brain regions, forming pathways that help the brain detect, evaluate, and pursue rewarding experiences. One major route is the mesolimbic pathway, which projects from the VTA to the ventral striatum,