| Ventral Tegmental Area |
Article Index for Ventral |
Information AboutVentral Tegmental Area |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT VENTRAL TEGMENTUM | |
| midbrain | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
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The ventral tegmentum or the '''ventral tegmental area''' (VTA) ('''tegmentum''', Latin for ''covering'') is part of the Midbrain , lying close to the Substantia Nigra and the Red Nucleus . It is rich in Dopamine and Serotonin neurons, and is part of two major dopamine Pathways : # the Mesolimbic Pathway , which connects the VTA to the Nucleus Accumbens # the Mesocortical Pathway , which connects the VTA to Cortical areas in the Frontal Lobe s. The ventral tegmentum is considered to be part of the Pleasure system, or Reward Circuit , one of the major sources of incentive and behavioural motivation. Activities that produce pleasure tend to activate the Ventral Tegmentum , and Psychostimulant drugs (such as Cocaine ) directly target this area. Hence, it is widely implicated in neurobiological theories of Addiction . It is also shown to process various types of Emotion and security motivation, where it may also play a role in avoidance and fear- Conditioning . SEE ALSO
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