Topic: rostromedial tegmental nucleus

In neuroscience, progress in understanding brain function, pathologies and neuroanatomy are often interdependent. Forebrain and cortical brain regions are mostly defined, however, midbrain to hindbrain regions are not as well characterized. Earlier this century, we discovered a structure at the transition between the midbrain to hindbrain regions, in rats, that we named the tail of the ventral tegmental area (tTVA), also known as the rostromedial tegmental nucleus (RMTg). The tVTA is now thought to be the primary inhibitory center of midbrain dopaminergic systems, inhibiting dopamine neurons o

Aims: Compared with non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is characterized by low-voltage and fast electroencephalographic activity, loss of muscle tone, or intermittent muscle twitches. Waking up from REM sleep is necessary for staying alert in animals, yet it is not well known about the mechanism of the transitional signature of REM sleep. Methods: Neuronal activities of the rostromedial tegmental nucleus (RMTg), a structure in the midbrain that is primarily composed of GABAergic neurons, were manipulated using optogenetics. Electroencephalogram and electromyog

The brainstem nucleus incertus (NI) plays an important role in processing aversive stimuli and modulating stress response. In the midbrain, apart from the ventral tegmental area (VTA), the NI also innervates the rostromedial tegmental nucleus (RMTg) – the main inhibitory input to the dopaminergic (DA) system in mammals. In order to better understand the circuit’s anatomy, retrogradely transported viral vectors, carrying genes for fluorescent proteins, were unilaterally injected into the RMTg of Sprague-Dawley rats. The results show that the RMTg, unlike the VTA, receives bilateral innervation