nucleus accumbens
1
8.4
- noun
- /ˈnjuːkliəs əˈkʌmbənz/
- Specialized
:
núcleo accumbens
- The researchers also tracked activity in the nucleus accumbens, a part of the brain involved in the processing of rewards.
- prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens
The VTA functions in close partnership with a different structure called the nucleus accumbens or NA.
- The VTA functions in close partnership with a different structure called the nucleus accumbens or NA.
- When you set a goal that excites you, you're activating a part of your brain called the nucleus accumbens and the insula.
- But if you hit the pleasure centers, an area called the nucleus accumbens, too often or too hard, it begins to wear them out.
- So men have it and it's linked to when that occurs, it's linked to a brain circuit known as the nucleus accumbens.
- We're all kind of like junkies sprailed on some sort of flea infested mattress, but we like super drug dripping into our nucleus accumbens.
- But yeah, the nucleus accumbens is an area that is also very complicated because it has a lot of functions.
Examples
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They observed elevated activity in the nucleus accumbens when a subject's rank within the group increased.
Blog text (18) -
The researchers also tracked activity in the nucleus accumbens, a part of the brain involved in the processing of rewards.
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So, again, we have a very ancient system called the nucleus accumbens, which is the pleasure system.
Blog text (7) -
But yeah, the nucleus accumbens is an area that is also very complicated because it has a lot of functions.
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When you set a goal that excites you, you're activating a part of your brain called the nucleus accumbens and the insula.
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We know from an fMRI brain activation study that looking at pictures of cute baby faces in young women who have not had children causes activation in a dopamine-containing limbic brain area, the nucleus accumbens.
Blog text (27) -
So things like warmth, food, shelter, sex—all of those things that are good for either us as individuals or for our species—and the nucleus accumbens tends to underlie all of that.
Blog text (7) -
When an alcoholic takes a drink, the nucleus accumbens sends impulses to the rest of the reward system.
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The study found that two brain areas, called the insula and nucleus accumbens, are highly active when people with gambling addiction experience cravings.
Surface Forms
Morphology
nucleus + accumbens
This is a technical Latin anatomical label: 'accumbens' is not a common English word and the term is a specialized name rather than a compositional phrase. Knowing 'nucleus' (core) would not let a B1 learner infer that the expression denotes a brain region specifically involved in reward and motivation, so the meaning is not derivable from the parts.
Etymology
Nucleus accumbens comes from old Latin words: nucleus meaning 'small core' and accumbens meaning 'lying against'. The name gives a clear image of a tiny core that rests against another brain part, and that small spot helps deal with 'reward' and pleasure.