RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Optogenetic Interrogation of Dopaminergic Modulation of the Multiple Phases of Reward-Seeking Behavior
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 10829
OP 10835
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2246-11.2011
VO 31
IS 30
A1 Antoine R. Adamantidis
A1 Hsing-Chen Tsai
A1 Benjamin Boutrel
A1 Feng Zhang
A1 Garret D. Stuber
A1 Evgeny A. Budygin
A1 Clara Touriño
A1 Antonello Bonci
A1 Karl Deisseroth
A1 Luis de Lecea
YR 2011
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/31/30/10829.abstract
AB Phasic activation of dopaminergic neurons is associated with reward-predicting cues and supports learning during behavioral adaptation. While noncontingent activation of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental are (VTA) is sufficient for passive behavioral conditioning, it remains unknown whether the phasic dopaminergic signal is truly reinforcing. In this study, we first targeted the expression of channelrhodopsin-2 to dopaminergic neurons of the VTA and optimized optogenetically evoked dopamine transients. Second, we showed that phasic activation of dopaminergic neurons in freely moving mice causally enhances positive reinforcing actions in a food-seeking operant task. Interestingly, such effect was not found in the absence of food reward. We further found that phasic activation of dopaminergic neurons is sufficient to reactivate previously extinguished food-seeking behavior in the absence of external cues. This was also confirmed using a single-session reversal paradigm. Collectively, these data suggest that activation of dopaminergic neurons facilitates the development of positive reinforcement during reward-seeking and behavioral flexibility.