Electrical stimulation of mesencephalic cell groups (A9-A10) produces monosynaptic excitatory potentials in rat frontal cortex.

Electrical stimulation of the ventral tegmental area and substantia nigra produces monosynaptic and polysynaptic excitatory postsynaptic potentials in rat frontal neurons that can be recorded intracellularly. The electrophysiological characteristics of the monosynaptic responses and the possibility that dopamine (DA) mediates these events are discussed.