AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -This pathway may be the brain system that is abnormal or functioning abnormally in psychoses, such as schizophrenia. It is thought to be associated with the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, which include avolition, alogia and flat affect.

Detailed explanation-2: -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 subjective perception of pleasure.

Detailed explanation-3: -2.The Mesocortical Pathway Decreased dopamine in the mesocortical projection to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is postulated to be responsible for negative and depressive symptoms of schizophrenia. Nicotine releases dopamine in the mesocortical pathways alleviating negative symptoms (self-medication hypothesis).

Detailed explanation-4: -A number of investigators propose that negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia are associated with hypofunction of the mesocortical pathway. This tract is made up of dopaminergic neurons that project from the ventral tegmental area to the prefrontal cortex.