Dopamine-releasing neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) have central roles in
reward-related and goal-directed behaviours. VTA dopamine-releasing neurons are …

Ventral tegmental area (VTA) neuron firing precedes behaviors elicited by reward-predictive
sensory cues and scales with the magnitude and unpredictability of received rewards. These …

Opioids are the most potent analgesics in clinical use; however, their powerful rewarding
properties can lead to addiction. The scientific challenge is to retain analgesic potency while …

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) and in particular VTA dopamine (DA) neurons are
postulated to play a central role in reward, motivation and drug addiction. However, most …

Dopaminergic afferents arising from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) are crucial elements in
the neural circuits that mediate arousal, motivation, and reinforcement. Two major targets of …

Environmental cues, through Pavlovian learning, become conditioned stimuli that guide
animals toward the acquisition of rewards (for example, food) that are necessary for survival …

Dopaminergic neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) play a critical role in motivation
and reinforcement of goal-directed behaviors. Furthermore, excitation of these neurons has …

Broad action potentials (APs) and dopamine (DA) D2 receptor (D2R)-mediated inhibition are
widely used to identify midbrain DA neurons. However, when these measures are taken …

The midbrain ventral tegmental area (VTA) projection to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) is
implicated in motivation and reinforcement. A significant number of NAc medium spiny …

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) contributes to reward and motivation signaling. In addition
to the well established populations of dopamine (DA) or GABA VTA neurons, glutamatergic …