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Figure 2 | Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Figure 2

From: Social ‘wanting’ dysfunction in autism: neurobiological underpinnings and treatment implications

Figure 2

The neural circuitry of reward ‘wanting’ versus reward ‘liking’. The neural circuitry of reward ‘wanting’ comprises the ventral striatum (VS; blue), while that for reward ‘liking’ comprises the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, including the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the dorsal and ventral anterior cingulate cortex (dACC, vACC) (green), which closely interacts with the amygdala (AMY = orange) and the midbrain, including the ventral tegmental area (VTA; purple). This complex network interfaces with motor-related areas and other higher cognitive associative cortices (not shown here) to translate basic reward information into appropriate goal-directed action plans to achieve a desired reward.

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