Septal nuclei
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Septal_nuclei".

The septal nuclei are structures in the middle anteroventral cerebrum that are composed of medium-size neurons grouped into medial, lateral, and posterior groups. The septal nuclei receive reciprocal connections from the hippocampus, amygdala, hypothalamus, midbrain, habenula, cingulate gyrus, and thalamus.

The septal nuclei play an important role in reward and reinforcement. In the 1950s, Olds & Milner showed that rats with electrodes implanted in this area will self-stimulate repeatedly (i.e. press a bar to receive electrical current that will stimulate the neurons) in order to experience a pleasurable feeling^[1].

External links

• BrainMaps at UCDavis septal%20nuclei

References:

1. OLDS, J., MILNER, P. - Positive reinforcement produced by electrical stimulation of septal area and other regions of rat brain. J Comp Physiol Psychol, 1954, Dec;47(6):419-27.