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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Oct 4.
Published in final edited form as: Neuron. 2012 Oct 4;76(1):116–129. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2012.08.036

Figure 2. Effects of acetylcholine on activity of dopamine neurons in the mesolimbic circuit.

Figure 2

Salient cues associated with primary rewards increase activity of pedunculopontine tegmental area (PPTg) neurons, inducing acetylcholine release in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) (Futami et al., 1995; Omelchenko and Sesack, 2006). Acetylcholine increases firing of dopamine (DA) neurons in the VTA and is likely to be important for burst firing of these neurons (Maskos, 2008). Salient cues associated with rewards also induce a pause in firing of tonically active cholinergic neurons (ACh TAN) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) (Goldberg and Reynolds, 2011). Decreased release of ACh onto terminals in NAc attenuates DA release due to tonic firing of DA neurons, while preserving DA release in response to phasic firing (Exley and Cragg, 2008).