Figure 5. Interdigitation of cortical (Medial Orbital Prefrontal) and limbic (Basolateral Amygdala, Hippocampus) sources of the salient context of reward with VTA DA projections on the dendritic shafts of an NAS medium-spiny neuron. Synaptic contacts with NAS neurons of the more active cortical and limbic efferents are strengthened by dopamine, a process referred to as heterosynaptic plasticity. In this way, dopamine is thought to strengthen the connections between inputs of the salient incentive context and incentive processes integrated in the NASshell. MOC 13 = medial orbital prefrontal cortex, Brodmann's area 13; VTA = ventral tegmental area; DA = dopamine; NASshell = shell subterritory of the nucleus accumbens, a part of the ventral striatum. See text for details.