Hot Off the Press – January 2026
Published in Nature Communications by Flavia Barbano and Marisela Morales et al. of the NIDA IRP Neuronal Networks Section.
Summary
This study demonstrates that the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a brain region central to motivation and reward, contains tightly organized local circuits that shape behavior in distinct ways. The researchers show that different types of nearby neurons communicate directly with each other and influence how animals experience reward, aversion, eating, and learning. Glutamate-only-releasing neurons promote reward-related responses and suppress food intake, while GABA-only-releasing neurons primarily act on dopamine cells and generate aversive responses. Both pathways also interfere with learning and memory linked to food-seeking. Together, these findings highlight that the VTA is not just a relay for dopamine signals but a complex local network that helps balance motivation, feeding, and emotional responses.
Publication Information
VTA monosynaptic connections by local glutamate and GABA neurons and their distinct roles in behavior Journal Article
In: Nat Commun, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 8500, 2025, ISSN: 2041-1723.
