Figure 2.

The regulation of food intake by other brain areas. Vagal afferents bring peripheral signals into the VTA by crossing the brain stem. Dopamine neurons (DA) in the VTA project axons to LHA and NAc. In response to the dopamine neurons projected by VTA, LHA connects higher cortical regions to control food intake. The blue arrows indicate the connections between the different brain areas. The double-sided arrows indicate bidirectional connections. VTA, Ventral tegmental area; NAc, Nucleus accumbens; LHA, Lateral hypothalamus area; DA, Dopamine neurons; DVC, Dorso vagal complex.