Abstract #2044
Selective optogenetic stimulation of VTA dopaminergic neurons enhances the neuronal representation of sensory input
Heather K. Decot 1,2 , Wei Gao 3,4 , Joshua H. Jennings 1,2 , Pranish A. Kantak 2 , Yu-Chieh Jill Kao 4,5 , Manasmita Das 4,5 , Ilana B. Witten 6 , Karl Deisseroth 7 , Yen-Yu Ian Shih 4,5 , and Garret D. Stuber 1,2
1
Curriculum in Neurobiology, University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United
States,
2
Departments
of Psychiatry & Cell and Molecular Physiology,
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel
Hill, NC, United States,
3
Department
of Radiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States,
4
Biomedical
Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States,
5
Department
of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States,
6
Princeton
Neuroscience Institute & Department of Psychology,
Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States,
7
Department
of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA,
United States
This project aims to investigate whether sensory
representation measured with fMRI is affected by
selective dopaminergic activity. We first measured
changes in cerebral blood volume (CBV) signals in
response to a range of forepaw stimulation frequencies.
We then repeatedly paired a single forepaw stimulation
frequency (9 Hz) with 30 Hz optogenetic stimulation of
VTA dopaminergic neurons. Following the pairing, we
re-assessed changes in CBV fMRI responses to all forepaw
stimuli frequencies. We found VTA dopaminergic activity
paired with forepaw stimulation enhances the neuronal
representation of the sensory stimulus. These data
suggest that aberrant dopaminergic signaling may degrade
optimal neuronal network dynamics, which in turn may
shift large-scale brain network dynamics to promote
maladaptive states.
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