Cortical glutamate is linked to reward related ventral striate activity: A combined fMRI and 1H-MRS study

Introduction: (1) Processing of rewarding stimuli is associated with increased firing rate of dopamine neurons in the ventral striatum, a core region of the brain reward system. Psychiatric diseases with dysfunctional reward behavior, like schizophrenia, are associated with abnormal dopaminergic neurotransmission and dysfunctional activation of the ventral striatum [1]. (2) A close interaction between dopamine and glutamate has been proposed to play an important role in reward processing and in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia [2].(3) In humans, aspects of dopamine function may be reflected by the BOLD activ…