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Cited by 1,718Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchParkinson's Disease Mechanisms and Treatments

The projections of the ventral tegmental area and adjacent regions: a combined fluorescent retrograde tracer and immunofluorescence study in the rat

Swanson, L.W.·1982·Brain Research Bulletin
DOI 10.1016/0361-9230(82)90145-9
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Abstract

The organization of projection neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), and in adjacent parts of the raphe nuclei medial to it (the central and rostral linear, and interfascicular nuclei), the mammillary body (the supramammillary region and the tuberomammillary nucleus), and the substantia nigra have been examined in the rat with Kuypers' retrograde double labeling method, and with a combined retrograde labeling (with true blue)-immunohistochemical method for the demonstration of dopaminergic neurons. First, the distribution, within the VTA and adjacent regions, of dopaminergic and non-dopaminergic cells that project to terminal fields in the telencephalon (nucleus accumbens, lateral septum, pre- and supragenual fields of the anterior limbic cortex, amygdala, dorsal hippocampus, and entorhinal area), in the diencephalon (lateral habenula), and in the brainstem (locus coeruleus, and parabrachial nucleus) was determined. Then, 15 different combinations of injections of the tracers bisbenzimide and true blue into different terminal fields were made to determine whether individual cells in the region of the VTA send collaterals to more than one site. Taken together, the results indicate that essentially separate groups of cells in the VTA and adjacent regions of the raphe project to each terminal field. In addition, each group can be further divided into dopaminergic and non-dopaminergic components, although the proportion of dopaminergic cells in each group can vary from over 80% (e.g., to the nucleus accumbens) to less than 1% (to the lateral habenula and to the locus coeruleus). In addition, it was found that the supramammillary region, which contains a dense extension of the A10 cell group in its medial part, and the tuberomammillary nucleus, project to, or through, most of the regions injected with retrograde tracers. Virtually all of the projections from the VTA and adjacent regions are partially crossed, the percentage of cells on the uninjected side ranging from over 40% (e.g., for locus coeruleus injections) to only about 2% (e.g., for amygdalar injections). Most of the groups of projection neurons in the region of the VTA are considerably intermixed with the exception of those that project to the lateral septum, to the lateral habenula, and to the hippocampal formation, which are concentrated in ventral and medial parts of the VTA, and in the raphe nuclei medial to the VTA. It was concluded that in the ventral part of the midbrain, essentially separate groups of aminergic and non-aminergic neurons in both the reticular formation (VTA) and in the adjacent nuclei of the raphe project bilaterally to a variety of similar terminal fields in the telencephalon, diencephalon, and brainstem. Further work at the single cell level is needed to determine whether these cell groups are differentially innervated by known inputs to the VTA and adjacent regions, most of which appear to descend through the medial forebrain bundle from sites in the limbic system and hypothalamus.

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  • All known drugs of abuse cause dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens, preferentially in the shell, and more broadly throughout the mesolimbic dopamine pathway.

    “All known drugs of abuse cause DA release in the nucleus accumbens (NAC), preferentially in the nucleus accumbens shell region (NACs), and also more broadly throughout the mesolimbic DA pathway (Swanson 1982; Di Chiara and Imperato 1988; Koob and Bloom 1988; Pontieri et al 1995; Pontieri et al 1996; Tanda et al 1997; for a review, see Di Chiara et al 2004).”

    From The behavioral, anatomical and pharmacological parallels between social attachment, love and addiction (2012) · cites this paper as Swanson 1982

  • eYFP expression in DRN DA somata resulted in terminal expression in several regions including mPFC, BNST, lateral hypothalamus, CeA, entorhinal cortex, and basolateral amygdala.

    “Consistent with previous reports, eYFP expression in DRN DA somata resulted in terminal expression in several regions including the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), lateral hypothalamus, central amygdala (CeA), entorhinal cortex, and basolateral amygdala (Hasue and Shammah-Lagnado, 2002, Meloni et al., 2006, Swanson, 1982, Yoshida et al., 1989).”

    From Dorsal raphe dopamine neurons represent the experience of social isolation (2016) · cites this paper as Swanson, 1982

  • The VTA has been defined in several different ways, with two popular versions differing in their inclusion or exclusion of the midline nuclei.

    “The VTA has been defined in several different ways. There are two popular versions, differing in their inclusion or exclusion of the midline nuclei.”

    From Dopamine reward circuitry: Two projection systems from the ventral midbrain to the nucleus accumbens–olfactory tubercle complex (2007) · cites this paper as Swanson, 1982

  • The central linear nucleus contains both dopaminergic and serotonergic neurons.

    “Interestingly, this midline structure contains both dopaminergic (Phillipson, 1979b; Swanson, 1982) and serotonergic (Steinbusch, 1981; Halliday and Tork, 1989) neurons.”

    From Dopamine reward circuitry: Two projection systems from the ventral midbrain to the nucleus accumbens–olfactory tubercle complex (2007) · cites this paper as Swanson, 1982

  • The co-localization values in this study are slightly higher than the 85% value reported by Swanson (1982) for VTA TH neurons projecting to the nucleus accumbens, but within the same range as the 95% or higher values for dopaminergic cells projecting to the dorsal striatum reported by van der Kooy et al. (1981).

    “These values of co-localization are slightly higher than the 85% value for the VTA TH neurons projecting to the nucleus provided by Swanson (1982), although within the same range with 95% or higher values for the dopaminergic cells projecting to the dorsal striatum (van der Kooy et al., 1981).”

    From Dopamine reward circuitry: Two projection systems from the ventral midbrain to the nucleus accumbens–olfactory tubercle complex (2007) · cites this paper as Swanson (1982)

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Authors
Swanson, L. W.
Affiliations
Salk Institute for Biological Studies (US)
Corresponding author
Swanson, L.W.
ORCID
Swanson, L.W.
Venue
Brain Research Bulletin
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
1982-07
Volume
9
Issue
1-6
Pages
321-353
ISSN
0361-9230 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/0361-9230(82)90145-9
OpenAlex
W1997065612
Cited by
1,718
References
114
Citations by year
2026: 17 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 37 · 2023: 34 · 2022: 39 · 2021: 27 · 2020: 50 · 2019: 49 · 2018: 72 · 2017: 55 · 2016: 70 · 2015: 82 · 2014: 67 · 2013: 62 · 2012: 55
FWCI
8.14
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
Locations
  • Brain Research Bulletin (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Parkinson's Disease Mechanisms and Treatments
Keywords
ventral tegmental area, dopaminergic neurons, projection neurons, raphe nuclei, tuberomammillary nucleus, substantia nigra, nucleus accumbens, lateral habenula, locus coeruleus, parabrachial nucleus, lateral septum, amygdala, dorsal hippocampus, entorhinal area, A10 cells, collateral projections
MeSH terms
Animals, Axons, Brain Mapping, Dopamine, Efferent Pathways, Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Limbic System, Locus Coeruleus, Mammillary Bodies, Microscopy, Fluorescence, Neurons, Nucleus Accumbens, Periaqueductal Gray, Red Nucleus, Reticular Formation, Substantia Nigra, Tegmentum Mesencephali, Rats

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