ArticleAddiction biology2021
Alcohol dependence activates ventral tegmental area projections to central amygdala in male mice and rats.
Article in Addiction biology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- CeA-projecting VTA neurons contribute to alcohol withdrawal-induced anxiety-like behavior in male and female rats.Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.) · 2026Article
- Age-impaired remyelination is associated with dysregulated microglial transitions.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Characteristics of the amygdala and its subregions in premenstrual syndrome/premenstrual dysphoric disorder patients.Zhong nan da xue xue bao. Yi xue ban = Journal of Central South University. Medical sciences · 2025Review
- Analgesic effect of oxytocin in alcohol-dependent male and female rats.Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.) · 2025Article
- Neural Circuitries and Alcohol Use Disorder: Cutting Corners in the Cycle.Current topics in behavioral neurosciences · 2025Review
- Chronic alcohol withdrawal-associated increases in VTAAdvances in drug and alcohol research · 2025Article
- The Formation and Function of the VTA Dopamine System.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Antagonists of the stress and opioid systems restore the functional connectivity of the prefrontal cortex during alcohol withdrawal through divergent mechanisms.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- The dopaminergic system mediates the lateral habenula-induced autonomic cardiovascular responses.Frontiers in physiology · 2024Article
- Review
- Chronic inflammatory pain promotes place preference for fentanyl in male rats but does not change fentanyl self-administration in male and female rats.Neuropharmacology · 2023Article
- Quantitative Analysis of Gene Expression in RNAscope-processed Brain Tissue.Bio-protocol · 2023Article
- Reciprocal midbrain-extended amygdala circuit activity in preclinical models of alcohol use and misuse.Neuropharmacology · 2022Review
- Incentive motivation: 'wanting' roles of central amygdala circuitry.Behavioural brain research · 2021Review
- Forebrain-Midbrain Circuits and Peptides Involved in Hyperalgesia After Chronic Alcohol Exposure.Alcohol research : current reviews · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The neural adaptations that occur during the transition to alcohol dependence are not entirely understood but may include a gradual recruitment of brain stress circuitry by mesolimbic reward circuitry that is activated during early stages of alcohol use. Here, we focused on dopaminergic and nondopaminergic projections from the ventral tegmental area (VTA), important for mediating acute alcohol reinforcement, to the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA), important for alcohol dependence-related negative affect and escalated alcohol drinking. The VTA projects directly to the CeA, but the functional relevance of this circuit is not fully established. Therefore, we combined retrograde and anterograde tracing, anatomical, and electrophysiological experiments in mice and rats to demonstrate that the CeA receives input from both dopaminergic and nondopaminergic projection neurons primarily from the lateral VTA. We then used slice electrophysiology and fos immunohistochemistry to test the effects of alcohol dependence on activity and activation profiles of CeA-projecting neurons in the VTA. Our data indicate that alcohol dependence activates midbrain projections to the central amygdala, suggesting that VTA projections may trigger plasticity in the CeA during the transition to alcohol dependence and that this circuit may be involved in mediating behavioral dysregulation associated with alcohol dependence.
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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.