Editing Ventral tegmental area (section)

{{short description|Group of neurons on the floor of the midbrain}}
{{Infobox brain
| Name            = Ventral tegmental area
| Latin           = area tegmentalis ventralis
| Image           = 3D Medical Animation Mid-Brain Different Parts.jpg
| Caption         = Ventral tegmentum shown in the [[tegmentum]]
| Image2          = Gray712.png
| Caption2        = Transverse section of mid-brain at level of superior colliculi. (Tegmentum labeled at center right.)
| IsPartOf        =
| Components      =
| Artery          =
| Vein            =
| acronym = VTA
| part_of = [[Midbrain]]
}}

The '''ventral tegmental area''' ('''VTA''') ('''tegmentum''' is Latin for ''covering''), also known as the '''ventral tegmental area of Tsai''',<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Phillipson OT | title = Afferent projections to the ventral tegmental area of Tsai and interfascicular nucleus: a horseradish peroxidase study in the rat | journal = The Journal of Comparative Neurology | volume = 187 | issue = 1 | pages = 117–43 | date = September 1979 | pmid = 489776 | doi = 10.1002/cne.901870108 | s2cid = 38687887 }}</ref> or simply '''ventral tegmentum''', is a group of neurons located close to the [[sagittal plane|midline]] on the floor of the [[midbrain]]. The VTA is the origin of the [[dopaminergic]] cell bodies of the [[mesocorticolimbic projection|mesocorticolimbic dopamine system]] and other [[dopamine pathway]]s; it is widely implicated in the drug and natural [[reward system|reward circuitry]] of the [[human brain|brain]].  The VTA plays an important role in a number of processes, including [[reward system|reward cognition]] ([[motivational salience]], [[associative learning]], and [[valence (psychology)|positively-valenced]] emotions) and [[orgasm]],<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Holstege G, Georgiadis JR, Paans AM, Meiners LC, van der Graaf FH, Reinders AA | title = Brain activation during human male ejaculation | journal = The Journal of Neuroscience | volume = 23 | issue = 27 | pages = 9185–93 | date = October 2003 | pmid = 14534252 | doi = 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.23-27-09185.2003 | pmc = 6740826 }}</ref> among others, as well as several [[psychiatric disorders]]. Neurons in the VTA project to numerous areas of the brain, ranging from the [[prefrontal cortex]] to the caudal [[brainstem]] and several regions in between.