Revised: March 19, 2013
Accepted: May 8, 2013
Published online: June 28, 2013
Processing time: 113 Days and 10.1 Hours
The human nucleus accumbens (NA), a major part of the ventral striatum, is the area of continuity between the putamen and head of the caudate nucleus. It consists of two parts, a shell laterally and a core medially. The first is mainly connected to the limbic system and the second to the extrapyramidal motor system. The NA, a major pleasure center of the human brain, acts as a limbic-motor interface and is involved in several cognitive, emotional and psychomotor functions. It has a modulating function in the amygdala-basal ganglia-prefrontal cortex circuit. It is considered as the neural interface between motivation and action. Further, it is a principal modulator of the reward circuits and supplies motor expression to emotional responses. Such a clinical significance could easily explain the intense work taking place in the respective field of basic research. Its exceptional clinical importance justifies the title of the “King of Neurosciences” for this nucleus. Purpose of this editorial is to review the “informational paths” left behind by the few researchers who tried to explore the architecture (gross anatomy) of this ‘kingdom’. The first anatomical study focused on this nucleus came from Neto et al. The most extensive study of the NA gross, imaging, stereotactic and neurosurgical anatomy so far, came from the research efforts of Mavridis et al.
Core tip: The human nucleus accumbens (NA), a major pleasure center of the brain, is a limbic-motor interface involved in several neurological and psychiatric disorders. It became recently a deep brain stimulation target for selected patients. Its exceptional clinical significance justifies its title as the “King of Neurosciences”. Purpose of this editorial is to review the few studies who explored the NA gross anatomy. The first anatomical study focused on this nucleus came from Neto et al. The most extensive study of the NA gross, imaging, stereotactic and neurosurgical anatomy came from the research of Mavridis et al.