ArticleThe Journal of comparative neurology2019
Relative contributions and mapping of ventral tegmental area dopamine and GABA neurons by projection target in the rat.
Article in The Journal of comparative neurology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 76 papers.
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Who cites it
76 citing papers in PubMed, 121 citations in OpenAlex.
- Oxytocin reduces the functional connectivity between brain regions involved in eating behavior in men with overweight and obesity.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2020Trial
- Depolarization block paradoxically drives surges of neurotransmitter release during seizure activity.Epilepsia · 2026Article
- Article
- N,N-Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) Acutely Exposed to Mouse Ventral Tegmental Area IJournal of neurochemistry · 2026Article
- Multimodal characterization of transcriptionally defined ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Stress resilience is associated with transcriptional remodeling in the VTA.Cell reports · 2026Article
- VTA-forebrain connectivity moderates adaptive behavior.Brain structure & function · 2026Review
- Sexually-motivated song correlates with opioid- and dopamine-related gene expression in the rostral nucleus accumbens of male European starlings.Behavioural brain research · 2026Article
- Cortico-Striatal-Midbrain Circuit Dysregulation Underlying MK-801 Induced Impulsivity and the Ameliorative Effects of SEP.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Prediction error coding as the computational basis for nocifensive and nocifensive-like behaviors.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Article
- 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
- Recruitment of specific dopamine neuron sub-circuits by opioids.Addiction neuroscience · 2025Article
- A lateralized pathway for associating nutrients with flavors.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Dysregulation of Hedonic Processing in Chronic Pain: Insights from Preclinical Data.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- Ventral tegmental area GABA neurons integrate positive and negative valence.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Stress resilience is associated with transcriptional remodeling in the VTA.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- How dopamine guides our social world.Pharmacological reviews · 2025Review
- Ventral tegmental area GABA neurons integrate positive and negative valence.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Untangling the multifaceted VTA responses to stress.Trends in neurosciences · 2025Review
- 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
16 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is a heterogeneous midbrain structure that contains dopamine (DA), GABA, and glutamate neurons that project to many different brain regions. Here, we combined retrograde tracing with immunocytochemistry against tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) or glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) to systematically compare the proportion of dopaminergic and GABAergic VTA projections to 10 target nuclei: anterior cingulate, prelimbic, and infralimbic cortex; nucleus accumbens core, medial shell, and lateral shell; anterior and posterior basolateral amygdala; ventral pallidum; and periaqueductal gray. Overall, the non-dopaminergic component predominated VTA efferents, accounting for more than 50% of all projecting neurons to each region except the nucleus accumbens core. In addition, GABA neurons contributed no more than 20% to each projection, with the exception of the projection to the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray, where the GABAergic contribution approached 50%. Therefore, there is likely a significant glutamatergic component to many of the VTA's projections. We also found that VTA cell bodies retrogradely labeled from the various target brain regions had distinct distribution patterns within the VTA, including in the locations of DA and GABA neurons. Despite this patterned organization, VTA neurons comprising these different projections were intermingled and never limited to any one subregion. These anatomical results are consistent with the idea that VTA neurons participate in multiple distinct, parallel circuits that differentially contribute to motivation and reward. While attention has largely focused on VTA DA neurons, a better understanding of VTA subpopulations, especially the contribution of non-DA neurons to projections, will be critical for future work.
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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.