Cited by 1,108Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchNeural and Behavioral Psychology Studies

Ventral tegmental area: cellular heterogeneity, connectivity and behaviour

Morales, Marisela, Margolis, Elyssa B.·2017·Nature reviews. Neuroscience

Abstract

Dopamine-releasing neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) have central roles in reward-related and goal-directed behaviours. VTA dopamine-releasing neurons are heterogeneous in their afferent and efferent connectivity and, in some cases, release GABA or glutamate in addition to dopamine. Recent findings show that motivational signals arising from the VTA can also be carried by non-dopamine-releasing projection neurons, which have their own specific connectivity. Both dopamine-releasing and non-dopamine-releasing VTA neurons integrate afferent signals with local inhibitory or excitatory inputs to generate particular output firing patterns. Various individual inputs, outputs and local connections have been shown to be sufficient to generate reward- or aversion-related behaviour, indicative of the impressive contribution of this small population of neurons to behaviour.

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Crossref · 10.1038/nrn.2016.165

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  • Ventral midbrain dopamine neurons are diverse, project to different regions, and can release neurotransmitters besides dopamine.

    “Dopamine neurons of the ventral midbrain (DANs) comprise a diverse population of neurons targeting different regions and capable of releasing multiple neurotransmitters in addition to dopamine.31,103,104”

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Authors
Morales, M., & Margolis, E. B.
Affiliations
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (US)
  • University of California, San Francisco (US)
Corresponding author
Morales, Marisela
Venue
Nature reviews. Neuroscience
Published
2017-01-05
Volume
18
Issue
2
Pages
73-85
ISSN
  • 1471-003X (ISSN-L)
  • 1471-0048
OpenAlex
W2569240731
Cited by
1,108
References
145
Citations by year
2026: 96 · 2025: 130 · 2024: 125 · 2023: 114 · 2022: 123 · 2021: 147 · 2020: 120 · 2019: 117 · 2018: 96 · 2017: 39 · 2013: 1
FWCI
12.54
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Nature reviews. Neuroscience (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
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
Keywords
ventral tegmental area, neuronal heterogeneity, dopaminergic neurons, motivation, projection neurons
MeSH terms
Animals, Models, Neurological, Motivation, Neural Pathways, Synaptic Transmission, Reward, Ventral Tegmental Area, Glutamic Acid, Dopaminergic Neurons, GABAergic Neurons

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