Kent C. Berridge[1] (born 1957) is an American academic, currently working as a professor of psychology (biopsychology) and neuroscience at the University of Michigan.
He also studies natural syntactical chains of behavior (e.g. grooming; taste response patterns) in animals with colleague Dr. J. Wayne Aldridge.
Berridge has helped identify "hedonic hotspots" in the brain, such as the nucleus accumbens and ventral pallidum, where opioid, endocannabinoid, and GABA neurotransmission coordinate the “liking” of tastes.
This means drug cues are nearly impossible for addicts to ignore, and when they are encountered they can lead to intense cravings and/or relapse.
Berridge and Robinson helped redefine the role of mesolimbic dopamine in the brain,[8] which had previously been viewed as a pleasure neurotransmitter.