ArticleNature communications2025
Ventral tegmental area GABA neurons integrate positive and negative valence.
Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Disinhibition of ventral tegmental area during initial punishment learning causes enduring punishment insensitivity.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- A ventral tegmental area GABAergic projection to the ventral pallidum regulates value-based decision making in mice.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Superior colliculus projections drive dopamine neuron activity and movement but not value.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Flexible updating of reward and punishment contingencies by VTA GABA neurons.Current biology : CB · 2025Article
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Abstract
The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is classically linked to learning and reinforcement via the actions of dopamine neurons. Intermingled VTA GABA neurons are positioned to regulate dopamine, but we lack detailed insight into how this population contributes to behavior. Recording calcium activity in VTA dopamine and GABA neurons, we show that, while dopamine neurons were only responsive to appetitive events, GABA neurons actively encoded both appetitive and aversive stimuli. Critically, GABA neuron activity selectively integrated events when both valences were present. In a motivational conflict task, where rats weighed decisions to avoid shock or seek reward, GABA neuron activity scaled with escalating cost and predicted reward seeking. Optogenetic inhibition of GABA neurons disrupted reward seeking specifically under conditions of motivational conflict. Together, our data show that VTA GABA neurons reflect a broader learning signal, compared to dopamine neurons, that is important for directing economic decision making in complex, multivalent environments.
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