Modified viral-genetic mapping reveals local and global connectivity relationships of ventral tegmental area dopamine cells
Dopamine cells in the ventral tegmental area (VTADA) are critical for a variety of motivated behaviors. These cells receive synaptic inputs from over 100 anatomically defined brain regions, which enables control from a distributed set of inputs across the brain. Extensive efforts have been made to m...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2022-05-01
|
| Series: | eLife |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/76886 |
| _version_ | 1818018432973537280 |
|---|---|
| author | Kevin Beier |
| author_facet | Kevin Beier |
| author_sort | Kevin Beier |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Dopamine cells in the ventral tegmental area (VTADA) are critical for a variety of motivated behaviors. These cells receive synaptic inputs from over 100 anatomically defined brain regions, which enables control from a distributed set of inputs across the brain. Extensive efforts have been made to map inputs to VTA cells based on neurochemical phenotype and output site. However, all of these studies have the same fundamental limitation that inputs local to the VTA cannot be properly assessed due to non-Cre-dependent uptake of EnvA-pseudotyped virus. Therefore, the quantitative contribution of local inputs to the VTA, including GABAergic, DAergic, and serotonergic, is not known. Here, I used a modified viral-genetic strategy that enables examination of both local and long-range inputs to VTADA cells in mice. I found that nearly half of the total inputs to VTADA cells are located locally, revealing a substantial portion of inputs that have been missed by previous analyses. The majority of inhibition to VTADA cells arises from the substantia nigra pars reticulata, with large contributions from the VTA and the substantia nigra pars compacta. In addition to receiving inputs from VTAGABA neurons, DA neurons are connected with other DA neurons within the VTA as well as the nearby retrorubal field. Lastly, I show that VTADA neurons receive inputs from distributed serotonergic neurons throughout the midbrain and hindbrain, with the majority arising from the dorsal raphe. My study highlights the importance of using the appropriate combination of viral-genetic reagents to unmask the complexity of connectivity relationships to defined cells in the brain. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T07:39:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0d877b4f9eab4ac69256e022f53b8958 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T07:39:11Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-0d877b4f9eab4ac69256e022f53b89582022-12-22T02:05:33ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2022-05-011110.7554/eLife.76886Modified viral-genetic mapping reveals local and global connectivity relationships of ventral tegmental area dopamine cellsKevin Beier0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4934-1338Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Neurobiology and Behavior, Biomedical Engineering, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, United StatesDopamine cells in the ventral tegmental area (VTADA) are critical for a variety of motivated behaviors. These cells receive synaptic inputs from over 100 anatomically defined brain regions, which enables control from a distributed set of inputs across the brain. Extensive efforts have been made to map inputs to VTA cells based on neurochemical phenotype and output site. However, all of these studies have the same fundamental limitation that inputs local to the VTA cannot be properly assessed due to non-Cre-dependent uptake of EnvA-pseudotyped virus. Therefore, the quantitative contribution of local inputs to the VTA, including GABAergic, DAergic, and serotonergic, is not known. Here, I used a modified viral-genetic strategy that enables examination of both local and long-range inputs to VTADA cells in mice. I found that nearly half of the total inputs to VTADA cells are located locally, revealing a substantial portion of inputs that have been missed by previous analyses. The majority of inhibition to VTADA cells arises from the substantia nigra pars reticulata, with large contributions from the VTA and the substantia nigra pars compacta. In addition to receiving inputs from VTAGABA neurons, DA neurons are connected with other DA neurons within the VTA as well as the nearby retrorubal field. Lastly, I show that VTADA neurons receive inputs from distributed serotonergic neurons throughout the midbrain and hindbrain, with the majority arising from the dorsal raphe. My study highlights the importance of using the appropriate combination of viral-genetic reagents to unmask the complexity of connectivity relationships to defined cells in the brain.https://elifesciences.org/articles/76886dopaminerabiesmonosynaptic tracingventral tegmental areainhibition |
| spellingShingle | Kevin Beier Modified viral-genetic mapping reveals local and global connectivity relationships of ventral tegmental area dopamine cells eLife dopamine rabies monosynaptic tracing ventral tegmental area inhibition |
| title | Modified viral-genetic mapping reveals local and global connectivity relationships of ventral tegmental area dopamine cells |
| title_full | Modified viral-genetic mapping reveals local and global connectivity relationships of ventral tegmental area dopamine cells |
| title_fullStr | Modified viral-genetic mapping reveals local and global connectivity relationships of ventral tegmental area dopamine cells |
| title_full_unstemmed | Modified viral-genetic mapping reveals local and global connectivity relationships of ventral tegmental area dopamine cells |
| title_short | Modified viral-genetic mapping reveals local and global connectivity relationships of ventral tegmental area dopamine cells |
| title_sort | modified viral genetic mapping reveals local and global connectivity relationships of ventral tegmental area dopamine cells |
| topic | dopamine rabies monosynaptic tracing ventral tegmental area inhibition |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/76886 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kevinbeier modifiedviralgeneticmappingrevealslocalandglobalconnectivityrelationshipsofventraltegmentalareadopaminecells |