Ventral pallidum

The ventral pallidum (VP) is a structure within the basal ganglia of the brain. It is an output nucleus whose fibres project to thalamic nuclei, such as the ventral anterior nucleus, the ventral lateral nucleus, and the medial dorsal nucleus. The VP is a core component of the reward system which forms part of the limbic loop of the basal ganglia,^[1] a pathway involved in the regulation of motivational salience, behavior, and emotions. It is involved in addiction.

The VP contains one of the brain's pleasure centers, which mediates the subjective perception of pleasure that results from "consuming" certain rewarding stimuli (e.g., palatable food).^[1]

Anatomy

The ventral pallidum lies within the basal ganglia, a group of subcortical nuclei. Along with the external globus pallidus, it is separated from other basal ganglia nuclei by the anterior commissure.

Limbic loop

The limbic loop is a functional pathway of the basal ganglia, in which the ventral pallidum is involved. It (and the