VTA, Ventral Tegmental Area

It is a Midbrain nuclei

Function

• VTA, in particular the VTA dopamine neurons, serve several functions in the
  • Reward system, motivation,
  • Cognition
  • Drug addiction

• It process various types of emotion output from the amygdala (Avoidance and fear-conditioning
• Respond to novel stimuli, unexpected rewards, and reward-predictive sensory cues
• Obsessive behaviors