THE NEUROCHEMISTRY OF BEHAVIOR - DOPAMINE AND MOTIVATION

The biogenic amine dopamine, one of the various molecules which transm its information between neurons of the brain, provides a particularly interesting candidate for research in physiological psychology. This n eurotransmitter is thought to be involved in a number of basic behavio ral functions like motivation, learning, psychomotor mechanisms, atten tion, and functional disturbances, including drug addiction, schizophr enia, and Parkinson's disease. In this short review, data obtained fro m animal studies will be summarized which deal with the relationships between brain dopamine function and normal motivated behavior, on the one hand, and addiction as a disturbance of motivational mechanisms, o n the other. Special attention will be given to the dopaminergic inner vation of the nucleus accumbens and its possible role as a substrate o r correlate of reward, reinforcement, psychomotor activation or incent ive salience.