ArticleCurrent biology : CB2020
Ventral Tegmental Dopamine Neurons Control the Impulse Vector during Motivated Behavior.
Article in Current biology : CB, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 74 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
74 citing papers in PubMed, 106 citations in OpenAlex.
- Dopamine D2-receptor blockade in humans disrupts the effect of effort on learning.PLoS biology · 2026Trial
- Effects of KCNQ potassium channel modulation on ventral tegmental area activity and connectivity in individuals with depression and anhedonia.Molecular psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Disruption of dopamine D2/D3 system function impairs the human ability to understand the mental states of other people.PLoS biology · 2024Trial
- Sleep EEG oscillations and synaptic plasticity in memory consolidation across NREM and REM sleep.Dialogues in clinical neuroscience · 2027Review
- Acute fentanyl induces opposing directions of changes in tonic and phasic dopamine release patterns and impairs Pavlovian task performance.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Resolution of anhedonia-like symptoms in patients treated for obesity with tirzepatide: A three-case series.Obesity pillars · 2026Article
- Prediction error correlates in the striosome-dopamine circuit emerge from information gain.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Article
- Sex-specific relationships between stress coping and avoidance behavior in adult mice.Biology of sex differences · 2026Article
- Demonstrating the ability of GABAergic cells in the zona incerta to modulate motivation.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- A dual-color miniature endoscope for calcium imaging in behaving mice.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- VTA-forebrain connectivity moderates adaptive behavior.Brain structure & function · 2026Review
- Sex-specific relationships between stress coping and avoidance behavior.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- VTA dopaminergic neuronal activity during NREM sleep is modulated by learning and facilitates motor memory consolidation.Science advances · 2025Article
- Elucidating an anterior cingulate circuit for self-initiated actions and rescue of Parkinsonian akinesia.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Subsecond dopamine fluctuations do not specify the vigor of ongoing actions.Nature neuroscience · 2025Article
- Cortical dopaminergic signaling mediates planning of directional movements.Science advances · 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
- Striatal Pathways for Action Counting and Steering.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Cracking the Valence Code: Patterned Facial Kinematics and Neural Signatures of Emotional Expressions in Mice.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
14 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is a major source of dopamine, especially to the limbic brain regions. Despite decades of research, the function of VTA dopamine neurons remains controversial. Here, using a novel head-fixed behavioral system with five orthogonal force sensors, we show for the first time that the activity of dopamine neurons precisely represents the impulse vector (force exerted over time) generated by the animal. Distinct populations of VTA dopamine neurons contribute to components of the impulse vector in different directions. Optogenetic excitation of these neurons shows a linear relationship between signal injected and impulse generated. Optogenetic inhibition paused force generation or produced force in the backward direction. At the same time, these neurons also regulate the initiation and execution of anticipatory licking. Our results indicate that VTA dopamine controls the magnitude, direction, and duration of force used to move toward or away from any motivationally relevant stimuli.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.