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The mesolimbic dopaminergic system is a midbrain-to-forebrain circuit in which dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) project to the nucleus accumbens and related limbic regions, mediating motivation, reinforcement, and reward (Peng et al., 2022, PMC; Baik, 2013, PMC). In nutritional psychology, it is the primary pathway assigning incentive salience — the “wanting” — to food, is strongly engaged by palatable, energy-dense foods, and is modulated by metabolic signals such as insulin, leptin, and ghrelin, linking it to hedonic eating and food-addiction models (Berridge & Kringelbach, 2020, PMC).
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Encyclopedia of Nutritional Psychology. (2026). Mesolimbic Dopaminergic System. The Center for Nutritional Psychology.
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