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ventral tegmental area

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·April 3, 2022·4 min read

Midbrain Projection to the Basolateral Amygdala Encodes Anxiety-Like Behaviors

A ventral tegmental area dopamine neuron circuit that projects to the basolateral amygdala selectively controls anxiety-like behaviors, but not depression-like behaviors.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·March 23, 2022·5 min read

Motivation to Achieve Goals May Depend on Anxiety Level

The motivation to exert sustained effort to achieve a goal following stress exposure depends on an individual's level of trait anxiety. The expression of CRHR1 in dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area connects anxiety to either boosted or diminished motivation levels.

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Featured Neuroscience

·December 2, 2021·4 min read

Tracking the Neurons That Make Us Social

The motivation to invest in social interactions is closely linked to the reward system via the activation of dopaminergic neurons.

Featured Neuroscience

·September 2, 2021·4 min read

Beyond Dopamine: New Reward Circuitry Discovered

Researchers have identified a new reward system in the brain. The study found long-range GABA neurons from the ventral tegmental area to the ventral nucleus accumbens shell are engaged in reward and reinforcement behaviors. This GABAergic projection inhibits cholinergic interneurons.

Featured Neuroscience

·August 8, 2021·4 min read

How Dopamine Plays a Key Role in Consciousness

Study reveals how dopamine may have a central role in maintaining our consciousness.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 10, 2021·4 min read

Brainfood: Researchers Find Brain Area Associated with Craving Protein

Study reveals the role the ventral tegmental area of the brain plays in craving protein-rich foods.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·April 6, 2021·4 min read

Leptin Puts the Brakes on Eating via Novel Neurocircuit

Researchers have identified novel neurocircuitry between midbrain structures which are modulated by leptin to control eating behaviors in mice.

This shows the brain with the VTA highlighted

Featured Neuroscience

·March 15, 2021·5 min read

How the Brain Learns From Subconscious Stimuli

When the ventral tegmental area was stimulated, monkeys were better able to identify details associated with subconscious visual stimuli they were exposed to.

This shows the location of the VTA and NAc in the brain

Featured Neuroscience

·August 25, 2020·5 min read

Researchers Reversibly Disable Brain Pathway in Primates

Researchers temporarily switched off the neural pathway between the ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens in primate models, negatively impacting motivation, but not learning.

Electrophysiology Featured Neuroscience

·August 3, 2020·3 min read

Green Apple Flavor in Vapes Enhances Nicotine Reward

Common green apple flavorant farnesene enhances nicotine reward in mouse models. The flavorant is also rewarding on its own. Researchers say with or without nicotine, flavored vapes, especially those containing farnesene, pose potential neurological risks, including addiction.

Featured Neuroscience

·June 2, 2020·3 min read

Estrogen’s role in the sex differences of alcohol abuse

Estrogen level fluctuations appear to play a role in alcohol use disorder in women. Reducing the number of estrogen receptors in the ventral tegmental area decreased binge drinking behaviors in female mouse models.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles

·May 4, 2020·4 min read

Exercise boosts motor skill learning via changes in brain’s transmitters

Neurons in the caudal pedunculopontine nucleus, an area of the brain that regulates motor coordination, switch neurotransmitters from acetylcholine to GABA as a result of exercise. The switch appears to provide feedback control that regulates motor coordination and skill learning.