Editing Ventral tegmental area (section)

=== Outputs ===

The two primary efferent fiber projections of the VTA are the [[mesocortical pathway|mesocortical]] and the [[mesolimbic pathway]]s, which correspond to the [[prefrontal cortex]] and [[nucleus accumbens]] respectively.<ref name="Malenka pathways">{{cite book |vauthors=Malenka RC, Nestler EJ, Hyman SE |veditors=Sydor A, Brown RY | title = Molecular Neuropharmacology: A Foundation for Clinical Neuroscience | year = 2009 | publisher = McGraw-Hill Medical | location = New York | isbn = 9780071481274 | pages = 147–148, 154–157 | edition = 2nd | chapter = Chapter 6: Widely Projecting Systems: Monoamines, Acetylcholine, and Orexin | quote=Neurons from the SNc densely innervate the dorsal striatum where they play a critical role in the learning and execution of motor programs. Neurons from the VTA innervate the ventral striatum (nucleus accumbens), olfactory bulb, amygdala, hippocampus, orbital and medial prefrontal cortex, and cingulate cortex. VTA DA neurons play a critical role in motivation, reward-related behavior, attention, and multiple forms of memory.&nbsp;... Thus, acting in diverse terminal fields, dopamine confers motivational salience ("wanting") on the reward itself or associated cues (nucleus accumbens shell region), updates the value placed on different goals in light of this new experience (orbital prefrontal cortex), helps consolidate multiple forms of memory (amygdala and hippocampus), and encodes new motor programs that will facilitate obtaining this reward in the future (nucleus accumbens core region and dorsal striatum).&nbsp;... DA has multiple actions in the prefrontal cortex. It promotes the "cognitive control" of behavior: the selection and successful monitoring of behavior to facilitate attainment of chosen goals. Aspects of cognitive control in which DA plays a role include working memory, the ability to hold information "on line" in order to guide actions, suppression of prepotent behaviors that compete with goal-directed actions, and control of attention and thus the ability to overcome distractions.&nbsp;... Noradrenergic projections from the LC thus interact with dopaminergic projections from the VTA to regulate cognitive control.&nbsp;...}}</ref><ref name="Mesolimbic pathway source">{{cite journal | vauthors = Nechifor M | title = Magnesium in drug dependences | journal = Magnesium Research | volume = 21 | issue = 1 | pages = 5–15 | date = March 2008 | pmid = 18557129 | doi = 10.1684/mrh.2008.0124 | doi-broken-date = 1 November 2024 }}</ref> In addition, experiments in rodents have identified a mesohabenular pathway consisting of VTA neurons that do not release [[dopamine]], but [[glutamate]] and [[GABA]].<ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1016/j.neuron.2013.08.023| issn = 0896-6273| volume = 80| issue = 4| pages = 1039–1053| last1 = Stamatakis| first1 = Alice M.| last2 = Jennings| first2 = Joshua H.| last3 = Ung |first3 = Randall L.| last4 = Blair| first4 = Grace A.| last5 = Weinberg| first5 = Richard J.| last6 = Neve| first6 = Rachael L.| last7 = Boyce| first7 = Frederick| last8 = Mattis| first8 = Joanna| last9 = Ramakrishnan| first9 = Charu| last10 = Deisseroth| first10 = Karl| last11 = Stuber| first11 = Garret D.| title = A Unique Population of Ventral Tegmental Area Neurons Inhibits the Lateral Habenula to Promote Reward| journal = Neuron| date = 2013-11-20| pmid = 24267654| pmc = 3873746| url = }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal| doi = 10.1038/nn.3823| issn = 1546-1726| volume = 17| issue = 11| pages = 1543–1551| last1 = Root| first1 = David H.| last2 = Mejias-Aponte| first2 = Carlos A.| last3 = Zhang| first3 = Shiliang| last4 = Wang| first4 = Hui-Ling| last5 = Hoffman| first5 = Alexander F.| last6 = Lupica| first6 = Carl R.| last7 = Morales| first7 = Marisela| title = Single rodent mesohabenular axons release glutamate and GABA| journal = Nature Neuroscience| date = November 2014| pmid = 25242304| pmc = 4843828}}</ref> Other VTA projections, which utilize [[dopamine]] as their primary [[neurotransmitter]], are listed below.<ref name="Malenka pathways" />
* Ventral tegmental area (VTA) projections<ref name="Malenka pathways" />

:* VTA → [[Amygdala]]<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Mingote S, Chuhma N, Kusnoor SV, Field B, Deutch AY, Rayport S | title = Functional Connectome Analysis of Dopamine Neuron Glutamatergic Connections in Forebrain Regions | journal = The Journal of Neuroscience | volume = 35 | issue = 49 | pages = 16259–71 | date = December 2015 | pmid = 26658874 | pmc = 4682788 | doi = 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1674-15.2015 }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite journal | vauthors = Tang W, Kochubey O, Kintscher M, Schneggenburger R | title = A VTA to basal amygdala dopamine projection contributes to signal salient somatosensory events during fear learning | journal = The Journal of Neuroscience | pages = JN–RM–1796-19 | date = April 2020 | volume = 40 | issue = 20 | pmid = 32277045 | doi = 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1796-19.2020 | pmc = 7219297 }}</ref>
:*VTA → [[Entorhinal cortex]]
:* VTA → [[Cingulate gyrus]]
:* VTA → [[Hippocampus]]
:* VTA → [[Nucleus accumbens]]
:* VTA → [[Olfactory bulb]]
:* VTA → [[Prefrontal cortex]]