Ventral tegmental area

Ventral tegmental area
Transverse section of mid-brain at level of superior colliculi. (Tegmentum labeled at center right.)
Details
Identifiers
Latin	Area tegmentalis ventralis
NeuroNames	hier-512
NeuroLex ID	Ventral tegmentum
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy []

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) (tegmentum is Latin for covering), also known as the ventral tegmental area of Tsai, or simply ventral tegmentum, is a group of neurons located close to the midline on the floor of the midbrain. The VTA is the origin of the dopaminergic cell bodies of the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system and is widely implicated in the drug and natural reward circuitry of the brain. It is important in cognition, motivation, orgasm, drug addiction, intense emotions relating to love, and several psychiatric disorders. Neurons in the VTA project to numerous areas of the brain, from the prefrontal cortex to the caudal brainstem and several regions in between.

Neurobiologists have often had great difficulty distinguishing the VTA in humans and other primate brains from the substantia nigra (SN) and surrounding nuclei. Originally, the ventral tegmentum was designated as a ‘nucleus’, but over time ‘area’ became the more appropriate term used because of the heterogeneous cytoarchitectonic features of the region and the lack of clear borders that separate it from adjacent regions. Because of the selective limbic-related afferents to the VTA, the cells of the VTA are given the designation A10 to differentiate them from surrounding cells.

The ventral tegmental area is in the midbrain between several other major areas, some of which are described here. The mammillary bodies and the posterior hypothalamus, both included in the diencephalon, extend rostrally from the VTA. The red nucleus is situated laterally and oculomotor fibers are situated ventromedially to the VTA. The pons and the hindbrain lie caudally to the VTA. Finally, the substantia nigra is located laterally to the VTA.