We present data from animal studies showing that the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus-conserved through evolution, compartmentalized, and with a complex pattern of inputs and outputs-has functions that involve formation and updates of action-outcome associations, attention, and rapid decision making. This is in contrast to previous hypotheses about pedunculopontine function, which has served ...

Neural activity in dopaminergic areas such as the ventral tegmental area is influenced by timing processes, in particular by the temporal expectation of rewards during Pavlovian conditioning. Receipt of a reward at the expected time allows to compute reward-prediction errors which can drive learning in motor or cognitive structures. Reciprocally, dopamine plays an important role in the timing o...

The factors underlying epilepsy are multifaceted, but recent research suggests that the brain's neural circuits, which play a key role in controlling the balance between epileptic and antiepileptic factors, may lie at the heart of epilepsy. This article provides a comprehensive review of the neural mechanisms and potential treatment of intractable epilepsy from neural inflammatory responses, me...

Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary „DE-MTA Lendület” Cellular Physiology Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology; Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary MTA-DE Neuroscience Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary MTA-DE-...

20 Anatomical studies have demonstrated that the mesolimbic dopamine system receives a 21 substantial afferent input from a variety of regions ranging from the prefrontal cortex 22 through to the brainstem. However, how these afferents regulate dopamine neuron activity 23 is still largely unknown. The mesopontine tegmentum provides a significant input to ventral 24 tegmental area (VTA) dopamine...

Anatomic studies have demonstrated that the mesolimbic dopamine system receives a substantial afferent input from a variety of regions ranging from the prefrontal cortex through to the brain stem. However, how these afferents regulate dopamine neuron activity is still largely unknown. The mesopontine tegmentum provides a significant input to ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons, and it...

Objective(s): Cholinergic neurons are important neurons in the Pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPT). In this study, nicotinic receptor of the PPT in central cardiovascular regulation in the anesthetized rat was evaluated. Materials and Methods: Saline, acetylcholine (Ach; doses: 90 and 150 nmol), hexamethonium (Hexa; doses: 100 and 300 nmol) and higher doses of Hexa (300 nmol) + Ach (150 nm...