Korean J Physiol Pharmacol.  2022 Sep;26(5):307-312. 10.4196/kjpp.2022.26.5.307.

Distinct cell populations of ventral tegmental area process motivated behavior

• Kim MJ
• Kaang BK

• KMID: 2532760
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4196/kjpp.2022.26.5.307

Abstract

It is well known that dopamine transmission from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) modulates motivated behavior and reinforcement learning. Although dopaminergic neurons are the major type of VTA neurons, recent studies show that a significant proportion of the VTA contains GABAergic and type 2 vesicular glutamate transporter (VGLUT2)-positive neurons. The non-dopaminergic neurons are also critically involved in regulating motivated behaviors. Some VTA neurons appear to co-release two different types of neurotransmitters. They are VGLUT2-DA neurons, VGLUT2-GABA neurons and GABA-DA neurons. These co-releasing neurons show distinct features compared to the neurons that release a single neurotransmitter. Here, we review how VTA cell populations wire to the other brain regions and how these projections differentially contribute to motivated behavior through the distinct molecular mechanism. We summarize the activities, projections and functions of VTA neurons concerning motivated behavior. This review article discriminates VTA cell populations related to the motivated behavior based on the neurotransmitters they release and extends the classical view of the dopamine-mediated reward system.

Keyword

Dopamine; GABA; Glutamate; Motivation; Ventral tegmental area

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 Distinct cell populations in ventral tegmental area (VTA) process motivated behavior. (A) Three cell populations in VTA; dopaminergic neurons (TH-positive), glutamatergic neurons (VGluT2-positive), and GABAergic neurons (VGAT-positive), with each afferent projection regarding the motivated behavior. (B) Distribution of each cell population in VTA. PFC, prefrontal cortex; NAc, nucleus accumbens; VP, ventral pallidum; MSNs, medium spiny neurons; LHb, lateral habenula; DRN, dorsal raphe nucleus.

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