Caudate nucleus reward

Taylor JR, Robbins TW (1986) 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the nucleus accumbens, but not of the caudate nucleus, attenuate enhanced responding with reward-related stimuli produced by intra-accumbens d-amphetamine. Psychopharmacology 90 390-397. 

Dopamine is synthesized from its precursor, L-dopa in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and in neurons that project to other regions, including the nucleus accumbens. From the ventral tegmental area (VTA axons from dopaminergic neurons project into the posterior dorsal caudate nucleus and putamen. Dopamine is involved in mental activities, including motivation and reward-seeking, as well as motor activity. 

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