Journal
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
Volume 32, Issue 41, Pages 14094-14101Publisher
SOC NEUROSCIENCE
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3370-12.2012
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Funding
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
- Universite de Strasbourg
- Universite Bordeaux Segalen
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche [ANT-11-bsv4-002]
- U.S. Public Health Service [MH067937]
- Italian Ministry of University [PRIN 200928EEX4]
- National Eye Institute
- National Institutes of Health [MH094489, DA034431]
- State of California Research Program for Alcoholism and Addiction
- NIH-NIDA
- Medical University of South Carolina
- Adir (Servier)
- Lilly France
- Missions-Cadres
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A new mesopontine structure exerting a strong influence on dopamine systems has recently been defined: the tail of the ventral tegmental area/rostromedial tegmental nucleus (tVTA/RMTg). This review presents a neuroanatomical, physiological, and behavioral overview of some of the recent and ongoing research on this brain region and its relationship with dopamine systems. The tVTA/RMTg sends dense GABA projections to VTA and substantia nigra neurons. The inhibitory influence of tVTA/RMTg on dopamine neurons is supported by both neuroanatomical and electrophysiology data. The latter studies also reveal the tVTA/RMTg as a substrate for morphine and cannabinoid action on dopamine cells. In primates, the tVTA/RMTg has been implicated in reward prediction error signals, through a basal ganglia-lateral habenula-tVTA/RMTg-dopamine-basal ganglia circuit. In rodents, the tVTA/RMTg has been shown to play a critical role in aversive behaviors, particularly those involving behavioral inhibition, such as freezing and avoidance. These findings highlight the functional importance of the tVTA/RMTg as a major GABA brake for dopamine systems.
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