The amygdala can activate the dopamine system responsible for motivation and reward.

“And this is where things get particularly interesting because the outputs of the amydala have a lot of different areas, but there are two main pathways. One involves the hypothalamus and it also feeds out to our adrenals to create a sense of alertness and action. The other pathway out of the amydala is to a very interesting area that typically is associated with reward and even addiction. The amydaloid complex actually projects to areas of the dopamine system, the so-called nucleus encumbent, the misolyic reward pathway.”