Part of the basal ganglia, the ventral striatum computes reward prediction error and invigorates behavior toward goals. It interfaces with PFC (choice), amygdala (valence), and hippocampus (context), shaping habits and motivation; dysregulation figures in addiction and anhedonia. The ventral striatum (and its heart, the nucleus accumbens) is the brain’s motivational switchboard. Dopamine surges here mark moments of reward and anticipation, linking desire to action. It’s where pleasure, prediction, and persistence converge — the point where curiosity becomes motion.