P/S Q

[avalonisland888]

Isn't the basal ganglia also involved in emotion especially since dopamine is involved in this area?

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[lumya]

Dopamine is involved with emotion but the basal ganglia is involved with motor function, not emotions.

 

[avalonisland888]

Dopamine is involved with emotion but the basal ganglia is involved with motor function, not emotions.

Hm...I see. So even though dopamine is produced by the substantial nigra which is a basal ganglia structure, we should think of it as a structure involved only with motor functions and not emotions? The below sorta confused me

 

[lumya]

I think I should clarify that dopamine is involved in reward-system also it’s not entirely responsible for eliciting emotion. If you look at research studies, there’s a lot exploring the non motor aspects of the basal ganglia but nothing has definitely clarified. The google quick summary is going to pull all keywords without giving weight to what it is involved with. Additionally, if you look up the neural network for emotions you will see that the other three systems are included. For the purposes of the MCAT you don’t need to know every effect a brain system is involved in. Rather that dopamine is important in learning and motor control, and how diseases like Parkinson’s and schizophrenia are affected by changes in the NT levels.

 

[JimKimSlim]

Dopamine exerts its effects on SO MANY different brain areas besides emotions. It's also produced in different brain areas as well as exogenously added from your diet. However, MCAT doesn't go that far into neuroscience. Just remember what's on the KA 300 notes, if you're using them.