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Introduction Over sixty years ago two neuropsychologists implanted an electrode just a little too deep. This was the first hint of how specific areas of the brain, particularly the limbic system, contributed to reinforcement. And since that time researchers have identified a number of the brains pathways and structures that deliver different rewards through a variety of stimulus. Today neuropsychologists believe that understanding how the brain generates pleasure can lead to better treatment for addiction and depression and even to a new science of Happiness. (Kringelbach & Berridge, 2012) Literary Review In 1954 Peter Milner, at McGill University, was testing a theory that rats could be motivated by stimulating the reticular formation, a section of the brain stem.(Alfred, 2013) He hoped that the rats would associate the choice they made with the stimulus and didnt have much success. Around this time Milner met James Olds a social Psychologist at Harvard; Olds was looking for someone like Milner to get started in the field of studying the brain. (Alfred, 2013) Within a week of studying the rat brain atlas and anatomy book Olds was given the task of implanting the electrodes into the rats brains. After practicing with a few electrodes he was competent enough to operate independently. In his independence he made a few harmless adjustments during the procedure. One of Olds rats started acting very peculiar when it was stimulated. It would step forward, sniffing and searching as it moved.(Kringelbach & Berridge, 2012) Immediately after the stimulus would stop the rat would return to its normal behavior. They set up a new experiment to discover what made the subject react this way. Instead of managing the stimulus

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themselves, they installed a lever in the rats box that would allow the subject to administer the stimulus without any external influences. This would imply that the stimulus was arousing or rewarding for the subject. This rat was persistent at self-stimulating and it raised a lot of important questions: Was the rat subservient to the stimulus? Could its behavior be completely controlled simply by stimulating the certain area of the brain?(Alfred, 2013) While tempting to answer these questions, they hit a wall. Only the one rat would behave this certain way. After a lot more failed experiments, Milner started to think that he had implanted the electrode incorrectly. One of the assistants suggested taking an X-ray and they found the electrode had been displaced seven millimeters away from the reticular formation, and was instead in contact with the hypothalamus.(Alfred, 2013) Over the next several years the researchers were able to pinpoint areas in the brain that were responsible for creating this sensation in the rats. And for the next few years they pinpointed the areas in the brain, posterior and anterior hypothalamus, responsible for the rats reaction and called them the pleasure center. Do humans have this same type of reward system? Psychiatrist Robert Heath of Tulane University, in 1954, Launched a controversial program to surgically implant electrodes in the brains of patients institutionalized with epilepsy, schizophrenia, depression and other severe neurological conditions. (Kringelbach & Berridge, 2012) He believed that by locating the biological seat of these disorders and stimulating the areas he could cure these individuals. His results were exceptional. Patients that were nearly catatonic could be made to smile and communicate. As soon as the stimulation stopped, they returned to their normal behavior. Heath then fitted a group of patients with buttons they could press when they felt the urge. Some felt the urge quite frequently. (Kringelbach & Berridge, 2012)

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These experiments helped to define a set of structures in the brain called the pleasure center. And in the last sixty years it has helped Neurobiologists identify the chemicals that send and receive. Pleasure is a complex experience that encompasses everything from anticipation and desire to sensation and satisfaction. (Kringelbach & Berridge, 2012) Several brain regions work together in this reward center which includes the nucleus accumben, medial forebrain bundle and hypothalamus. About ten years ago Martin L. Kringelbach, director of Hedonia, and Kent C. Berridge, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Michigan, began wondering whether the act of electrical self-stimulation was really the best measure of pleasure. What do subjects actually enjoy? In their studies they found food as window through which pleasure can be observed. The researchers discovered that pleasure does not arise in the brain where past thinking said it should. In their experiments they flooded these areas with dopamine or removed the dopamine completely. Rats were injected with amphetamines to boost the dopamine levels and they showed no more enjoyment for food than rats that were not stimulated. The rats depleted of dopamine actually had to be fed so they wouldnt starve to death. Kringelbach and Berridge believe that stimulation of the pleasure electrodes produces a desire for more stimulus, a wanting affect more than a liking effect. Application In a way I have seen rats on a lever. The stimulus is amphetamines and when it is introduce to a human the response in the reward center is euphoric like nothing on earth. After a few months of abuse they no longer feel pleasure from the drug and their lives are falling apart they still want to self-stimulate.

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Conclusion Neuroscience and Psychology is a fascinating and growing field. The advancements in biological technology such as PET, FMRI and EEG scans are allowing researchers to apply a stimulus to a patient and then pinpoint the reaction in areas of the brain, hot spots. By mapping the brain and how it chemically reacts to external influences is going to be the key to helping people that suffer from depression, addiction and other mind bugs that are creating discomfort. It would be awesome to see this research find a stimulus that didnt have addiction, like with most pharmaceutical drugs, as part of the cure. It will be interesting to see the developments in this area of research. I would like them to see if they can control the levels of dopamine that is produced when the brain is stimulated. When an addict starts to feel that desire to use all they have to do is hit the button and the sensation could be leveled off.

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References

Alfred, K. (2013). The Pleasure Center. Retrieved from http//alfre.dk/thepleasurecenter Kringelbach, M. L., & Berridge, K. C. (2012). The Joyful Mind. Scientific American, August 2012, 40-45. Schacter, D. L., & Gilbert, D. T., & Wegner, D. M. (2011) The Neural Elements of Operant Conditioning. Understanding Psychology, 182-183.