Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA)

Ventral tegmental area (VTA) — a small region of the midbrain — is a hub for motivated behaviors, including reward cognition (reward-seeking), associative learning, and positively-valenced emotions, as well as orgasm, and drug-seeking. It’s also involved in psychiatric disorders. The VTA originates dopamine neurotransmitters that fire in response to rewards and reward-predicting cues. It releases other neurotransmitters:  GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) and glutamate. Illicit drugs and stress act on VTA neurons to promote substance use disorders and reward-seeking behavior.