In rewarding brain stimulation (RBS), electrodes are inserted into the brain and are used to activate brain regions in or related to the dopamine system, notably the medial forebrain bundle (MFB) and/or ventral tegmental area (VTA). Stimulating these regions raises dopamine concentrations in the brain, particularly in the striatum and frontal cortex (Garris et al 1997, Fiorino et al 1993, Bean & Roth 1991). Sharp increases in dopamine concentrations is the brain's natural signal for importance and reward, and animals work very hard to receive RBS. Importantly, RBS has been used to motivate rats to perform difficult behaviours such as heavy physical exercise and learning (Burgess et al 1991 , Garner et al 1991 , Hermer-Vasquez et al 2005). iPlant programming describes how RBS could be used to help motivate difficult behaviours in humans.
YouTube: What is rewarding brain stimulation?
Early research
Olds & Milner (1954) showed that rats will press a lever to receive electrical stimulation of septal nuclei. Indeed, the rats pressed to stimulate to the exclusion of all other rewards, until finally fainting from exhaustion. Robert Heath (1963, 1972) infamously showed that rewarding brain stimulation (RBS) can be similarly used to drive arbitrary behaviours also in humans. José Delgado (1968) developed the technique further and speculated on large-scale use of RBS in human communities.
Characterizing RBS
RBS research in the 70s, 80s and 90s established that RBS activates the dopamine system similarly to addictive drugs and natural rewards (Wise 1996). Indeed, the bulk of RBS research to date focuses on biochemical and functional characterization of the neural substrate of RBS. Importantly, considerable attention has been devoted to quantifying RBS-induced dopamine release in various brain regions (Garris et al 1997, Fiorino et al 1993, Bean & Roth 1991).
Using RBS to motivate difficult behaviours
A handful of researchers have developed RBS as a way of motivating specific behaviours, e.g. treadmill-running (Burgess et al 1991), weight-lifting (Garner et al 1991), remote-controlled movement in three dimensions (Talwar et al 2002) and learning (Hermer-Vasquez et al 2005). In recent experiments, researchers have used wireless RBS implants that stimulate the MFB and VTA bilaterally (Xu et al 2004). iPlant programming describes how similar implants could help people perform difficult behaviours such as physical exercise, learning or research.
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