Involvement of the ventral tegmental area in a rodent model of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an anxiety disorder of considerable prevalence in individuals who have experienced a traumatic event. Studies of the neural substrate of this disorder have focused on the role of areas such as the hippocampus, the amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex. We show that the ventral tegmental area (VTA), which directly modulates these areas, is part of this circuitry.