Dopamine Neuron Stimulation caused robust cFOS expression in two places:
NAc & PFC (not basolateral amygdala)
basolateral amygdala receives dopaminergic input but doesn’t change their cFOS expression
very much
dopamine cre mouse line + place optogenetic proteins in dopaminergic mouse lines
used cFOS to show which brain region showed inc. activity
a protein that is made any time a neurone is more active than they usually are)
type of immediate early gene
conclusion
this experiment didn’t show very much
?
Why is cre used so much?
we don't use viral DNA that encodes GCaMP under a dopamine specific promotor
b/c this would not be helpful for researches studying serotonin & other molecules since this is specific
to dopamine
you don't want to make one tool that is useful only for your experiment
instead we take
1. viral DNA that encodes GCaMP when cre is present
a.k.a. cre-dependent virus
same cre-dependent virus can be used in hundreds of different mouse lines
2. a dopamine cre mouse
the same dopamine-cre mice can be used to drive expression of any foreign protein: GFP, ChR2,
GCaMP, OptoD1, etc….
1. & 2. enable immense combinatorial control
hundreds of diff. cre mice have been developed that allow us to target specific populations of
neurones across the brain.
Cre dependent viruses can be reused in any of these mouse lines, which enable us to
manipulate neural activity in any type of neurone.
practical aspect
Gene promotor fragments are often too long to fit inside most viruses
ex: TH
string of DNA cells use to determine if they should make dopamine-related enzymes (like
TH) are too long to put in AAV
long gene promoters
solution: people need to make transgenic mice and add artificial chromosomes (BACs) to cells during embryonic development
stimulating or inhibiting midbrain dopamine neurones
Stimulating or inhibiting midbrain dopamine neurones promotes social interaction
Stimulating or inhibiting midbrain dopamine neurones but these manipulations don’t affect novel
object exploration
Which dopamine projections promote social interactions: NAc or PFC?
inject cre-dependent, ChR2-encoding virus into midbrain of dopamine-cre mice
Optogenetic proteins i.e. CHR2 located = axon terminals
can diffuse everywhere within a cell, therefore, located far from the soma of infected cells
purpose
Activating opsins located in axon terminals is an effective way to get pathway-specific activation or
inhibition
put optical fibre and shine light into a projection target of the dopamine neurones (NAc or PFC)
conclusion
Activating dopamine neurones in the NAc inc. social behaviour, but activating dopamine
neurones in the PFC, doesn’t change social behaviour
Summary of Social interaction manipulations
VTA ChR2 = dopamine cell body stimulation (inc. social interaction)
VTA-NAc CHR2
dopamine axons located in NAc
(inc. social interaction)
NAc WGA/ ChR2
axon terminals that are synapsing in NAc that came from the VTA
not specific to dopamine axons)
VTA NpHR
dopamine cell body inhibition (dec. social interaction)
Optical stimulation of dopamine axons in the PFC causes a conditioned place aversion
test
every time they locked him on the left hand side, they stimulated dopamine axons in the PFC
control
control animals: PFC neurones weren't light sensitive
no difference in time spent in between the two chambers
test animals
animals avoided the conditioned chamber (were PFC was stimulated)
Elevated Plus Maze
test animals: stimulation of dopaminergic axons in PFC
causes them to explore the open arms less
stimulation of anxiety like behaviour
control animals:
conclusion: study shows the importance of studying different pathways
Stimulation of dopamine neurons that project to the PFC creates a place aversion and inc. anxiety
like behaviours
Summary of Social interaction manipulations
Stimulation of dopamine neurons that specifically project to the NAc promotes social interactions.
During social interactions, dopamine neurons that project to the NAc are active.
Optical stimulation of dopamine axons in PFC promotes an “anxiety-like” effect: dec. exploration of
open, exposed areas.
If dopamine release in the NAc promotes social behaviour, what receptors there are important?
90% of neurons in NAc are projection neurons
Half express the dopamine D1 receptor
Blocking dopamine D1 receptors in the NAc blocks inc. in social interaction that is caused by optical
dopamine neuron stimulation.
half express the dopamine D2 receptor
Def NAc projection neurones:
axons leaves the local area
Dopamine neurons can release glutamate and GABA in addition to dopamine, so how can you be
sure that dopamine D1 receptor is sufficient?
Rhodopsin
light-sensitive g-protein coupled receptor
signaling cascade that is very different from dopamine’s.
intracellular portion
mediated by Gt, with dec. cGAMP
Opto-D1
has the extracellular (light sensitive) side from rhodopsin
intracellular (g-protein signaling side) from the dopamine D1 receptor
D1 receptor that is normally activated by the dopamine now responds to light
complicated merger: have to many many different cuts because it crosses the membrane so many
times. (not manipulating protein, manipulating a string of DNA)
D1 receptor
transmembrane protein, one protein crosses the membrane many times
extracellular portion binds dopamine
intracellular portion
mediated by Gs which inc. cAMP
Dopamine D1 receptor activation in the NAc is sufficient to inc. social interactions.
Opto-D1-eYFP
cre-dependent virus that encodes
Drd 1:: Cre
a transgenic mouse that expresses ‘cre’ under control of the dopamine D1 receptor gene
promotor
cells make both normal D1 receptor as well as Opto-D1 receptor shine light in the cage, causes
animals to spend more time with one another.
place Opto-D1 receptor in any neurones in the NAc that usually make D1 receptors.
Activating dopamine D1 receptors can have many consequences for cells. Does the firing rate of
these neurons change following this opto-activation?
Is an increase in firing of dopamine D1 receptor-containing NAc projection neurons sufficient to
promote social interactions?
transgenic mouse that expresses cre-recombinase under control of the dopamine D1 receptor
gene promotor.
shine light, all neurones that make dopamine D1 receptors spike more, but doesn't initiate the
dopamine signalling cascade
Summary: Activating dopamine D1 receptors in the NAc promotes social interactions, as does direct
activation of dopamine D1 receptor-containing NAc projection neurons