Eco-collectibles function as visual proof of one’s values, displayed like badges of climate-conscious identity.

The pleasure associated with chocolate comes from the firing of neurons in diverse brain areas, including the nucleus accumbens, ventral tegmental area, and orbitofrontal cortex.

This reward-seeking impulse is located deep in the brain in two areas, the nucleus accumbens and the ventral tegmental area (VTA).

Axons continue to grow to the orbital prefrontal cortex during adolescence. This image illustrates the dual-viral injection method used to label nucleus accumbens-projecting ventral tegmental area ...

Normal mice have BDNF in the ventral tegmental area, but a minimal amount in the nucleus accumbens. The defeated mice showed an increased amount of BDNF in the nucleus accumbens.

Reference: Al-Hasani R, Gowrishankar R, Schmitz GP, et al. Ventral tegmental area GABAergic inhibition of cholinergic interneurons in the ventral nucleus accumbens shell promotes reward reinforcement.

The reward generated by social interactions is critical for promoting prosocial behaviors. Here we present evidence that oxytocin (OXT) release in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a key node of the ...

An atlas of transcriptionally defined cell populations in the rat ventral tegmental area. Cell Reports, 2022; 39 (1): 110616 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.110616 ...