Unlocking motivation: Grad student leads discovery of how two hippocampus regions team up to fuel goal-driven behavior

New research from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) reveals how two different parts of the hippocampus—the brain’s memory center—team up in a key reward region to help mice, and likely humans, combine memories of places and contexts with the drive to pursue rewards. Better knowledge of how these reward-related circuits process and combine information could shed light on conditions where motivation is disrupted, such as depression, addiction, or anxiety disorders.