It is important to highlight that the NAcc plays a crucial role in the functions of several of the other neurocircuits. In particular, dopaminergic reward signals from the NAcc are integrated with activity in the sensorimotor circuit to facilitate the learning of associations between stimuli and responses in the early stages of habit-learning [94]. The NAcc also participates in processing and control of negative emotion along with fronto-limbic regions [154]. Further, regions from other neurocircuits participate in the reward functions of the ventral affective circuit, including the amygdala and vmPFC from the fronto-limbic circuit [49] and the STN from the ventral cognitive circuit [128]. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which participates in emotional processing functions of the fronto-limbic circuit [36], is also critically involved in processing reward signals relayed from the NAcc [135] and has been found to be hyperactive during reward tasks in OCD [155].
