Brain perturbation studies allow detailed causal inferences of behavioral and neural
processes. Because the combination of brain perturbation methods and neural …

Digitized neuroanatomical atlases that can be overlaid onto functional data are crucial for
localizing brain structures and analyzing functional networks identified by neuroimaging …

To understand the connectome of the axonal arborizations of dopaminergic midbrain
neurons, we investigated the anterograde spread of highly sensitive viral tracers injected …

Rodent studies have demonstrated the role of the mesoaccumbal circuit in reinforcement-
based learning. Importantly, however, while phasic activity of the ventral tegmental area …

Decision-making is always coupled with some level of risk, with more pathological forms of
risk-taking decisions manifesting as gambling disorders. In macaque monkeys trained in a …

The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is a midbrain structure at the heart of the dopaminergic
system underlying adaptive behavior. Endogenous firing rates of dopamine cells in the VTA …

As a non-radiative, non-invasive imaging technique, functional magnetic resonance imaging
(fMRI) has excellent effects on studying the activation of blood oxygen levels and functional …

Perception improves by repeated practice with visual stimuli, a phenomenon known as
visual perceptual learning (VPL). The interplay of attentional and neuromodulatory reward …

Summary fMRI studies have shown that pairing a task-irrelevant visual feature with electrical
micro-stimulation of the ventral tegmental area (VTA-EM) is sufficient to increase the sensory …

Neurofunctional coupling between the dopaminergic midbrain (ie, ventral tegmental area,
VTA) and higher-order visual regions may contribute to food craving, leading to the onset or …