NeuroanatomyOrganization of ventral tegmental area projections to the ventral tegmental area–nigral complex in the rat
Section snippets
Animals
Experiments were carried out on adult female Wistar albino rats, weighing 180–220 g. All efforts were made to minimize the number of animals used and their suffering. The surgical procedures were performed under general anesthesia with Chloropent (Sigma Chemical Co.; St. Louis, MO, USA; 3.3 ml/kg, i.p.). All the experimental protocols were approved by the local Animal Research Committee and conformed to U.S. National Institutes of Health Guidelines for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
Anterograde tracing experiments
Anterograde tracing experiments
Due to the small size of some VTA nuclei and to the dendritic architecture of VTA neurons, in most cases, VTA injections were not confined to a single VTA nucleus. Having also in mind that VTA projections display gradual changes according to topographical principles, rather than abrupt changes across VTA cytoarchitectonic nuclear divisions (Swanson 1982, Fallon and Moore 1978, Björklund and Lindvall 1984, Ikemoto 2007), the present VTA injections were grouped using as criteria their general
Discussion
The present study is the first to systematically describe VTA projections to the VTA–nigral complex. A summary diagram of our results is shown in Fig. 18. The main conclusions are: 1) The rostral VTA projects weakly to the caudal VTA, but the caudal VTA (especially the paranigral nucleus, caudal linear nucleus and the caudal pole of the VTA) provides very substantial inputs to the rostral VTA. 2) The VTA also innervates the SNc and RR, the heaviest and most widespread projections arising from
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by FAPESP (grant number 05/51607–6) and CAPES. The authors thank Ana Maria Peraçoli Campos for expert technical assistance.
References (73)
- et al.
Efferent projections of the retrorubral nucleus to the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area in cats as shown by anterograde tracing
Brain Res Bull
(1996) - et al.
GABA-labeled terminals form proportionally more synapses with dopaminergic neurons containing low densities of tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactivity in rat ventral tegmental area
Brain Res
(1991) - et al.
Efferent connections of the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area in the rat
Brain Res
(1979) - et al.
Evidence that cholera toxin B subunit (CTb) can be avidly taken up and transported by fibers of passage
Brain Res
(1995) - et al.
PHA-L can be transported anterogradely through fibers of passage
Brain Res
(1988) - et al.
Evidence that Fluoro-Gold can be transported avidly through fibers of passage
Brain Res
(1990) - et al.
Efferent connections of the rostral linear nucleus of the ventral tegmental area in the rat
Neuroscience
(2007) - et al.
An anterograde neuroanatomical tracing method that shows the detailed morphology of neurons, their axons and terminals: immunohistochemical localization of an axonally transported plant lectin, Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin (PHA-L)
Brain Res
(1984) - et al.
Intracellular and extracellular electrophysiology of nigral dopaminergic neurons- 3. Evidence for electrotonic coupling
Neuroscience
(1983) Dopamine reward circuitry: two projection systems from the ventral midbrain to the nucleus accumbens-olfactory tubercle complex
Brain Res Rev
(2007)
Regional differences within the rat ventral tegmental area for muscimol self-infusions
Pharmacol Biochem Behav
Application of coupled oxidation reaction to electron microscopic demonstration of horseradish peroxidase
Brain Res
Subdivisions of the dopamine-containing A8-A9-A10 complex identified by their differential mesostriatal innervation of striosomes and extrastriosomal matrix
Neuroscience
Somatodendritic release of endogenous dopamine: in vivo dialysis in the A10 dopamine region
Neurosci Lett
Distinct nigrostriatal projection systems innervate striosomes and matrix in the primate striatum
Brain Res
Ventral tegmental (A10) system: neurobiologyI. Anatomy and connectivity
Brain Res Rev
Pathway tracing using biotinylated dextran amines
J Neurosci Methods
Uptake of Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin (PHA-L) by axons of passage
J Neurosci Methods
Silver impregnation of dopaminergic systems after radiofrequency and 6-OHDA lesions of the rat ventral
Brain Res
Contingent and non-contingent effects of heroin on mu-opioid receptor-containing ventral tegmental area GABA neurons
Exp Neurol
The projections of the ventral tegmental area and adjacent regions: a combined fluorescent retrograde tracer and immunofluorescence study in the rat
Brain Res Bull
Anatomical evidence for direct connections between the shell and core subregions of the rat nucleus accumbens
Neuroscience
Biotinylated dextran amine as an anterograde tracer for single- and double-labeling studies
J Neurosci Methods
Recent techniques for tracing pathways in the central nervous system of developing and adult mammals
Brain Res Bull
The anterograde neuroanatomical tracer biotinylated dextran-amine: comparison with the tracer Phaseolus vulgaris-leucoagglutinin in preparations for electron microscopy
J Neurosci Methods
Connexin-36 gap junctions mediate electrical coupling between ventral tegmental area GABA neurons
Synapse
Ultrastructural localization of tyrosine hydroxylase in the rat ventral tegmental area: relationship between immunolabeling density and neuronal associations
J Neurosci
Dopamine-containing systems in the CNS
The patterns of afferent innervation of the core and shell in the “accumbens” part of the rat ventral striatum: immunohistochemical detection of retrogradely transported fluoro-gold
J Comp Neurol
The efferent projections of the periaqueductal gray in the rat: a Phaseolus vulgaris-leucoagglutinin studyI. Ascending projections
J Comp Neurol
Projections from the rat prefrontal cortex to the ventral tegmental area: target specificity in the synaptic associations with mesoaccumbens and mesocortical neurons
J Neurosci
Axonal collateral-collateral transport of tract tracers in brain neurons: false anterograde labelling and useful tool
Neuroscience
A direct projection from superior colliculus to substantia nigra for detecting salient visual events
Nat Neurosci
Evidence for the existence of monoamine-containing neurons in the central nervous systemI. Demonstration of monoamines in the cell bodies of brain stem neurons
Acta Physiol Scand
Telencephalic projections of the A8 dopamine cell group
Ann N Y Acad Sci
Catecholamine innervation of the basal forebrainIV. Topography of the dopamine projection to the basal forebrain and neostriatum
J Comp Neurol
Cited by (82)
From chronic stress and anxiety to neurodegeneration: Focus on neuromodulation of the axon initial segment
2022, Handbook of Clinical NeurologyCitation Excerpt :Surprisingly, and as opposed to the role of forebrain cholinergic nuclei, mesopontine cholinergic manipulations seem to regulate emotion-related behavior rather than cognition (Janickova et al., 2019). VTA, which in addition to SN is the main source of brain DA, also sends abundant, topographically organized projections to SN (Ferreira et al., 2008) and can thus directly affect the activity of SN DA neurons. Human imaging studies have shown increased connectivity between distinct clusters SN and VTA during novelty and anticipation of reward (Krebs et al., 2011).
MRI maps, segregation, and white matter connectivity of the human hypothalamus in health
2021, Handbook of Clinical NeurologyFunctional neuroanatomical review of the ventral tegmental area
2019, NeuroImageOrganization of dopamine and serotonin system: Anatomical and functional mapping of monosynaptic inputs using rabies virus
2018, Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior