2-Minute Neuroscience: Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) Video Lecture | A-Z Guide to Neuroscience - Personal Learning

Welcome to 2 minute neuroscience, where I
simplistically explain neuroscience topics
in 2 minutes or less.
In this installment I will discuss the ventral
tegmental area.
The ventral tegmental area, or VTA, is found
in the midbrain, situated next to the substantia
nigra.
Although the VTA contains several types of
neurons, it is primarily characterized by
its large population of dopamine neurons.
It is one of the two major dopaminergic areas
in the brain (the other being the substantia
nigra).
VTA dopamine neurons travel from the VTA to
other areas of the brain in several major
pathways.
Two of the most prominent pathways are the
mesocortical and the mesolimbic pathways.
The mesocortical pathway projects from the
VTA to widespread areas of the cerebral cortex,
including the prefrontal, orbitofrontal, and
cingulate cortices as well as sensory and
motor cortices.
The mesocortical projections are very diverse
and the pathway is involved in a wide range
of functions including motivation, emotion,
and executive functions.
The mesolimbic pathway projects from the VTA
to several limbic structures.
The largest projection of this pathway is
to the nucleus accumbens, but other projections
stretch to areas like the amygdala as well.
The mesolimbic pathway also has diverse functions,
but it is most frequently associated with
the reward system, as dopamine signaling along
the mesolimbic pathway is considered to be
important to the processing of rewarding experiences.
When someone uses an addictive drug, for example,
dopamine neurons in the VTA are activated.
These neurons project to the nucleus accumbens
via the mesolimbic pathway, and their activation
causes dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens
to rise.
The effects of these increased dopamine levels
are still not fully understood, but they may
be involved with encoding memories about rewarding
experiences and attributing importance to
environmental stimuli that are associated
with the reward.