ArticleThe Journal of comparative neurology2014
GABAergic and glutamatergic efferents of the mouse ventral tegmental area.
Article in The Journal of comparative neurology, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 132 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
132 citing papers in PubMed, 225 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mesolimbic and mesocortical pathways differentially support fentanyl-context associations.Psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Methamphetamine potentiates the use of outcome-specific associations via a hypothalamic-dopamine circuit.Neuron · 2026Article
- N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) Acutely Exposed to Mouse Ventral Tegmental Area IJournal of neurochemistry · 2026Article
- Stress resilience is associated with transcriptional remodeling in the VTA.Cell reports · 2026Article
- VTA-forebrain connectivity moderates adaptive behavior.Brain structure & function · 2026Review
- The Role of the Ventral Tegmental Area in Reward and Addiction: A Comprehensive Review.Neurosciences (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) · 2026Review
- Projection-defined ventral tegmental area neurons exhibit fentanyl-induced molecular and functional adaptations that differentially support drug-context associations.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Ventral tegmental area GABA neurons integrate positive and negative valence.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Superior Colliculus Projections Drive Dopamine Neuron Activity and Movement But Not Value.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025Article
- Stress resilience is associated with transcriptional remodeling in the VTA.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Superior colliculus projections drive dopamine neuron activity and movement but not value.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Ventral tegmental area GABA neurons integrate positive and negative valence.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Translating stress systems: corticotropin releasing factor, its receptors, and the dopamine system in nonhuman primate models.Genomic psychiatry : advancing science from genes to society · 2025Article
- Ventral tegmental area interneurons revisited: GABA and glutamate projection neurons make local synapses.eLife · 2025Article
- Chronic Fluoxetine Treatment Desensitizes Serotoninergic Inhibition of GABAergic Inputs and Intrinsic Excitability of Dorsal Raphe Serotonin Neurons.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- An endogenous GLP-1 circuit engages VTA GABA neurons to regulate mesolimbic dopamine neurons and attenuate cocaine seeking.Science advances · 2025Article
- Ventral tegmental area interneurons revisited: GABA and glutamate projection neurons make local synapses.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Midbrain KCC2 downregulation: Implications for stress-related and substance use behaviors.Current opinion in neurobiology · 2024Review
- Midbrain glutamatergic circuit mechanism of resilience to socially transferred allodynia in male mice.Nature communications · 2024Article
- Mesoaccumbal glutamate neurons drive reward via glutamate release but aversion via dopamine co-release.Neuron · 2024Article
72 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 4 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The role of dopaminergic (DA) projections from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in appetitive and rewarding behavior has been widely studied, but the VTA also has documented DA-independent functions. Several drugs of abuse, act on VTA GABAergic neurons, and most studies have focused on local inhibitory connections. Relatively little is known about VTA GABA projection neurons and their connections to brain sites outside the VTA. This study employed viral-vector-mediated cell-type-specific anterograde tracing, classical retrograde tracing, and immunohistochemistry to characterize VTA GABA efferents throughout the brain. We found that VTA GABA neurons project widely to forebrain and brainstem targets, including the ventral pallidum, lateral and magnocellular preoptic nuclei, lateral hypothalamus, and lateral habenula. Minor projections also go to central amygdala, mediodorsal thalamus, dorsal raphe, and deep mesencephalic nuclei, and sparse projections go to prefrontal cortical regions and to nucleus accumbens shell and core. These projections differ from the major VTA DA target regions. Retrograde tracing studies confirmed results from the anterograde experiments and differences in projections from VTA subnuclei. Retrogradely labeled GABA neurons were not numerous, and most non-tyrosine hydroxylase/retrogradely labeled cells lacked GABAergic markers. Many non-TH/retrogradely labeled cells projecting to several areas expressed VGluT2. VTA GABA and glutamate neurons project throughout the brain, most prominently to regions with reciprocal connections to the VTA. These data indicate that VTA GABA and glutamate neurons may have more DA-independent functions than previously recognized.
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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.