Research progress on the involvement of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area in the regula-tion of anxiety-like behavior / 中国神经精神疾病杂志

ABSTRACT

Anxiety disorders,dopaminergic neurons and ventral tegmental area(VTA)are related closely.VTA dopaminergic neurons play an important role in the regulation of anxiety.Numerous research results in animals indicated that the VTA dopaminergic neurons,involving in multiple neural pathways,respectively regulate anxiety-like behavior in physiological or pathological condition.Dopamine,the main neurotransmitters in VTA regulates anxiety through dopamine D1 and D2 receptors.In addition,the VTA glutamate,GABA and acetylcholine also play directly or indirectly roles in regulating anxiety.The clinical imaging research showed that the integrity of dopaminergic VTA structural of anxiety disorder group is lower than healthy control.Current researches of VTA dopamine neurons involving in the regulation of anxiety-like behavior is developing at a high speed and deserving further exploration,which will further elucidate the pathogenesis and provide new ideas for prevention and treatment of anxiety disorders.