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Amygdala

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Amygdala
The memory centers that dopamine effects are called the amygdala and hippocampus. The amygdala contains the amygdaloid nuclei, which plays an important role in the modulation of mood (Mervaala et al., 2000). The amygdala itself is an expanded region at the tail of the caudate nucleus and participates in the expression of emotions, control of behavioral activities, and development of moods (McKinley, 2006). The hippocampus is a nucleus located superior to the parahippocampal gyrus that connects to the diencephalon via a structure called the fornix. As its name implies, this nucleus is shaped like a seahorse. Both the hippocampus and the parahippocampal gyrus are essential in storing memories and forming long-term memory (McKinley, 2006). Both …show more content…
The brain has several dopamine pathways with different functions. The drugs that block dopamine synapses produce their benefits by acting on neurons in the DA. This system is a set of neurons that project from the midbrain tegmentum to the limbic system (Kalat, 1998). This neurotransmitter system in the brain is where most drugs abuse their reinforcing effects that cause addiction (Phllips et al., 2003). Control of this system, by the amygdala, can influence the incentive value of the sensory property of food and its modulation by the drive-state of the animal (Phillips at al., 2003). When nicotine is constantly producing more dopamine for these areas of the brain, the brain becomes conditioned to this effect and the process becomes a normal process, when in actuality it is unnatural. A study was conducted on the levels of dopamine within the basal ganglia of the human brain, where nine smokers and ten non-smokers were the subjects. The study revealed that striatal dopamine activity proved to be significantly higher in smokers than non-smokers (Raimo et al., 2000). This shows that cigarette smoking is related to increased dopaminergic activity in the human basil ganglia (Salokangas, 2000). This study proves that the amount of dopamine within the brain of smokers is unnatural compared to the dopamine levels within the brain of non-smokers. When tobacco users …show more content…
The majority of those symptoms could be considered stressors, which is just anything that causes stress. Stress is a condition that allows for a number of physiological changes to occur. The most important physiological change is the release of hormones that are associated with stress. These hormones are released due to a stress system in the mammalian

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