Synonyms
Ventral tegmental area
Definition
The mesolimbic dopamine system arises from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of the midbrain located medial to the substantia nigra and ventral to the red nucleus. The VTA dopaminergic neurons are controlled by inputs from throughout the central nervous system. In turn, VTA neurons project to limbic structures of the brain including the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex. The VTA dopaminergic projections are important for encoding rewarding stimuli in the nucleus accumbens and cognition in the prefrontal cortex. Drugs of abuse utilize the nucleus accumbens rewarding pathway and dopaminergic dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex may underlie some forms of schizophrenia.
Cross-References
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References and Readings
Fields, H. L., Hjelmstad, G. O., Margolis, E. B., & Nicola, S. M. (2007). Ventral tegmental area neurons in learned appetitive behavior and positive reinforcement. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 30, 289–316.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
McQuiston, R. (2018). Mesolimbic Dopaminergic Projections. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_335
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_335
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-57110-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-57111-9
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences