The challenging diversity of neurons in the ventral tegmental area: a commentary of Miranda-Barrientos, J. et al., Eur J Neurosci 2021.

In 1992, a landmark paper by Johnson and North published in the Journal of Physiology and entitled "Two types of neurone in the rat ventral tegmental area and their synaptic inputs" (Johnson & North, 1992) provided a first glimpse of the diversity of neurons in this part of the brain. The ventral tegmental (VTA) area was initially better known for the presence of dopamine (DA)-containing neurons projecting to the ventral striatum and for its key role in motivated behaviors and drug addiction.