Ventral tegmentum

WikiDoc Resources for Ventral tegmentum
Articles
Most recent articles on Ventral tegmentum Most cited articles on Ventral tegmentum Review articles on Ventral tegmentum Articles on Ventral tegmentum in N Eng J Med, Lancet, BMJ
Media
Powerpoint slides on Ventral tegmentum Images of Ventral tegmentum Photos of Ventral tegmentum Podcasts & MP3s on Ventral tegmentum Videos on Ventral tegmentum
Evidence Based Medicine
Cochrane Collaboration on Ventral tegmentum Bandolier on Ventral tegmentum TRIP on Ventral tegmentum
Clinical Trials
Ongoing Trials on Ventral tegmentum at Clinical Trials.gov Trial results on Ventral tegmentum Clinical Trials on Ventral tegmentum at Google
Guidelines / Policies / Govt
US National Guidelines Clearinghouse on Ventral tegmentum NICE Guidance on Ventral tegmentum NHS PRODIGY Guidance FDA on Ventral tegmentum CDC on Ventral tegmentum
Books
Books on Ventral tegmentum
News
Ventral tegmentum in the news Be alerted to news on Ventral tegmentum News trends on Ventral tegmentum
Commentary
Blogs on Ventral tegmentum
Definitions
Definitions of Ventral tegmentum
Patient Resources / Community
Patient resources on Ventral tegmentum Discussion groups on Ventral tegmentum Patient Handouts on Ventral tegmentum Directions to Hospitals Treating Ventral tegmentum Risk calculators and risk factors for Ventral tegmentum
Healthcare Provider Resources
Symptoms of Ventral tegmentum Causes & Risk Factors for Ventral tegmentum Diagnostic studies for Ventral tegmentum Treatment of Ventral tegmentum
Continuing Medical Education (CME)
CME Programs on Ventral tegmentum
International
Ventral tegmentum en Espanol Ventral tegmentum en Francais
Business
Ventral tegmentum in the Marketplace Patents on Ventral tegmentum
Experimental / Informatics
List of terms related to Ventral tegmentum

Overview

The ventral tegmentum or the ventral tegmental area (VTA) (tegmentum, Latin for covering) is part of the midbrain, lying close to the substantia nigra and the red nucleus.

Pathways

The VTA consists of dopamine, GABA, and glutamate neurons, and is part of two major dopamine pathways:

1. the mesolimbic pathway, which connects the VTA to the nucleus accumbens
2. the mesocortical pathway, which connects the VTA to cortical areas in the frontal lobes.

Functions

The ventral tegmentum is considered to be part of the pleasure system, or reward circuit, one of the major sources of incentive and behavioural motivation. Activities that produce pleasure tend to activate the ventral tegmentum, and psychostimulant drugs (such as cocaine) directly target this area. Hence, it is widely implicated in neurobiological theories of addiction.

It is also shown to process various types of emotion and security motivation, where it may also play a role in avoidance and fear-conditioning.

Presence of Gap Junctions

The VTA has been shown have have a large network of GABA neurons that are interconnected via Gap junctions.

See also

• List of regions in the human brain
• dopamine
• mesocortical pathway
• mesolimbic pathway
• nucleus accumbens

External links

• Oades R, Halliday G (1987). "Ventral tegmental (A10) system: neurobiology. 1. Anatomy and connectivity". Brain Res. 434 (2): 117–65. PMID 3107759. (file not found!)
• Swanson, L.W. (1982). "The projections of the ventral tegmental area and adjacent regions: a combined fluorescent retrograde tracer and immunofluorescence study in the rat". Brain Res. 9: 321–53. PMID 6816390.
• Yamaguchi T, Sheen W, and Morales M. (2007). "Glutamatergic neurons are present in the rat ventral tegmental area". Eur J Neuroscience. 25: 106–118. PMID 17241272.CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
• Scripps Research article about Serotonin Receptors and Drug Abuse, regarding the serotonin-laden VTA.