ArticleMolecular psychiatry2013
Co-activation of VTA DA and GABA neurons mediates nicotine reinforcement.
Article in Molecular psychiatry, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 87 papers.
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Who cites it
87 citing papers in PubMed, 152 citations in OpenAlex.
- A Cre-dependent lentiviral vector for neuron subtype-specific expression of large proteins.FEBS letters · 2026Article
- Dynamic changes in chloride homeostasis coordinate midbrain inhibitory network activity during reward learning.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Nicotinic Receptors in the Medial Habenula to Interpeduncular Nucleus Pathway: Modulators of Reward, Aversion and Emotion.The European journal of neuroscience · 2025Review
- Ventral tegmental area GABA neurons integrate positive and negative valence.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Adolescent nicotine exposure and persistent neurocircuitry changes: unveiling lifelong psychiatric risks.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Review
- Ventral tegmental area GABA neurons integrate positive and negative valence.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Nicotine engages a VTA-NAc feedback loop to inhibit amygdala-projecting dopamine neurons and induce anxiety-like behaviors.Nature communications · 2025Article
- From Smoking to Vaping: The Motivation for E-cigarette Use at the Neurobiological Level-A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2025Article
- Article
- Cross-species dissection of the modular role of the ventral tegmental area in depressive disorders.Neuroscience · 2025Review
- Nicotine and neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors: unraveling the mechanisms of nicotine addiction.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2025Review
- Midbrain KCC2 downregulation: Implications for stress-related and substance use behaviors.Current opinion in neurobiology · 2024Review
- Nicotine addiction: More than just dopamine.Current opinion in neurobiology · 2023Review
- Article
- β2 nAChR Activation on VTA DA Neurons Is Sufficient for Nicotine Reinforcement in Rats.eNeuro · 2023Article
- Impact of the gut microbiome on nicotine's motivational effects and glial cells in the ventral tegmental area in male mice.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2023Article
- The oxytocin receptor rs2254298 polymorphism and alcohol withdrawal symptoms: a gene-environment interaction in mood disorders.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2023Article
- Net gain and loss: influence of natural rewards and drugs of abuse on perineuronal nets.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2023Review
- Activity of a direct VTA to ventral pallidum GABA pathway encodes unconditioned reward value and sustains motivation for reward.Science advances · 2022Article
- Article
27 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
20 authors at 7 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Smoking is the most important preventable cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. This nicotine addiction is mediated through the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR), expressed on most neurons, and also many other organs in the body. Even within the ventral tegmental area (VTA), the key brain area responsible for the reinforcing properties of all drugs of abuse, nicotine acts on several different cell types and afferents. Identifying the precise action of nicotine on this microcircuit, in vivo, is important to understand reinforcement, and finally to develop efficient smoking cessation treatments. We used a novel lentiviral system to re-express exclusively high-affinity nAChRs on either dopaminergic (DAergic) or γ-aminobutyric acid-releasing (GABAergic) neurons, or both, in the VTA. Using in vivo electrophysiology, we show that, contrary to widely accepted models, the activation of GABA neurons in the VTA plays a crucial role in the control of nicotine-elicited DAergic activity. Our results demonstrate that both positive and negative motivational values are transmitted through the dopamine (DA) neuron, but that the concerted activity of DA and GABA systems is necessary for the reinforcing actions of nicotine through burst firing of DA neurons. This work identifies the GABAergic interneuron as a potential target for smoking cessation drug development.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.