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All parts of the brain › Brain chemicals › Dopamine

Where is dopamine made in the brain?

The human brain has around 400,000 dopamine neurons, mainly in two groups in the midbrain, the substantia nigra and the ventral tegmental area (VTA), with a smaller group in the hypothalamus. Their fibres carry it to the caudate nucleus and putamen (the nigrostriatal pathway), the nucleus accumbens (mesolimbic), the prefrontal cortex (mesocortical) and the pituitary gland (tuberoinfundibular). [1][2]

The 3D brain needs JavaScript. The lists below still say where dopamine is made and where it is sent.

Lit: the parts that hold the cells making dopamine (blue) and the parts it is sent to (orange).

Slice

Where dopamine is made is lit in blue, where it is sent in orange. Drag to turn, pinch or scroll to zoom; tap a part or a “light” button to name it on its own; .

Not separate shapes in this atlas; lit: the parts that hold them. Lit in blue: the whole midbrain and hypothalamus, which hold the substantia nigra, ventral tegmental area (VTA) and arcuate and periventricular nuclei of the hypothalamus; the cell groups that make dopamine are too small to be shapes in the BodyParts3D model, so nothing is drawn at a guessed point. [1][2][3]

Lit in orange: the caudate nucleus, putamen, prefrontal cortex and pituitary gland, where its fibres end. The fibres themselves are not drawn: the two colours show where the cells are and where they send dopamine, not the routes in between. [4]

Made in: lit in blue

  • Substantia nigra, lit as the midbrain: A band inside the midbrain on each side; its dopamine neurons sit mainly in its compact part, the pars compacta, which sends the nigrostriatal pathway. [1][2]
  • Ventral tegmental area (VTA), lit as the midbrain: A group of neurons on the floor of the midbrain near its midline, beside the substantia nigra; it sends the mesolimbic and the mesocortical pathways. [2][3]
  • Hypothalamus, lit as the hypothalamus: Its arcuate nucleus and periventricular nucleus have dopamine neurons; neither nucleus is a separate shape in this atlas, so the whole hypothalamus is lit. The arcuate group sends the tuberoinfundibular pathway. [1][2]

Sent to: lit in orange

  • Caudate nucleus (nigrostriatal pathway): Half of the dorsal striatum; it receives dopamine from the substantia nigra pars compacta. [2][1]
  • Putamen (nigrostriatal pathway): The other half of the dorsal striatum; it receives dopamine from the substantia nigra pars compacta along with the caudate nucleus. [2][1]
  • Nucleus accumbens, lit as the caudate nucleus and putamen (mesolimbic pathway): Part of the ventral striatum, where the caudate nucleus and putamen merge; it is not a separate shape in this atlas, so it shows as the lowest front of those two. It receives the VTA’s dopamine. [2][5]
  • Prefrontal cortex (mesocortical pathway): The front of the frontal lobe; the most prominent group of the VTA’s dopamine neurons projects here. [1][2]
  • Pituitary gland (tuberoinfundibular pathway): The hypothalamus’s dopamine reaches it through the tuberoinfundibular pathway and controls the release of some of its hormones, including prolactin. [2][1]
  • Wikipedia counts more than 10 dopamine cell groups and pathways in all; the four above are the major ones it names, and the colours show only those. [2]

The pathways, as the sources name them

  • Nigrostriatal pathway, from the substantia nigra pars compacta to the caudate nucleus and putamen. Involved in behaviours relating to movement and motivation. [2] See What part of the brain controls movement?
  • Mesolimbic pathway, from the VTA to the ventral striatum, which includes the nucleus accumbens and the olfactory tubercle. Often called the reward pathway: involved with incentive salience (the wanting of a reward), motivation and reinforcement learning. [2] See What part of the brain controls reward, pleasure and motivation?
  • Mesocortical pathway, from the VTA to the prefrontal cortex. Involved in cognition and the regulation of executive functions. [2]
  • Tuberoinfundibular pathway, from the hypothalamus (its arcuate nucleus) to the pituitary gland. Controls the secretion of certain hormones from the pituitary gland, including prolactin. [2] See What part of the brain controls hormones?

Good to know

  • Dopamine in the blood does not reach the brain: it cannot cross the blood–brain barrier, so the brain’s dopamine must be made inside the brain. [1]
  • The midbrain group looks dark to the eye: “substantia nigra” is Latin for “black substance”, after the neuromelanin its dopamine neurons hold. [6]

What it takes part in

Each lit with every part that takes part: What part of the brain controls movement? · What part of the brain controls reward, pleasure and motivation? · What part of the brain controls hormones?

Where it is made, each on its own page: Substantia nigra, Ventral tegmental area (VTA), Hypothalamus.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia: Dopamine
  2. Wikipedia: Dopaminergic pathways
  3. Wikipedia: Ventral tegmental area
  4. BodyParts3D 4.0 (3D model measured on this page), © DBCLS, CC BY-SA 2.1 Japan
  5. Wikipedia: Striatum
  6. Wikipedia: Substantia nigra

Facts describe anatomy and normal function only. The 3D model is the adult male BodyParts3D brain (credits and licence); the cell groups that make dopamine have no shape in it, so the parts that hold them are lit. Real brains vary.