The Dopamine Impels Us to Action as Suggested by the Neuronal Activity in the Ventral Tegmental Area during Avoidance Conditioning

Natalia Yu. Ivlieva,

Natalia O. Timofeeva,

Dmitry A. Ivliev

Published: May 31, 2014

The mesolimbic dopamine system is believed to be a key component in the processing of rewarding information by the brain, although the precise nature of dopamine release remains unknown. Avoidance conditioning combines reward (positive) and aversion (negative) phenomena. Here the activity of 60 neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) was studied in freely moving rabbits during the acquisition and performance of an active avoidance. A total of 48 % of the recorded neurons responded to the conditioned stimulus (CS). A significant predominance of excitatory responses to the (CS) was demonstrated. Two main patterns of cell responses to the CS …