Article
Behavioral Sciences
Maria-Jose Sanchez-Catalan, Michel Barrot
Summary: The tail of the ventral tegmental area (tVTA) is crucial in predicting the outcomes of actions. GABA neurons in tVTA show different electrophysiological responses to reward and aversive stimuli. However, the underlying mechanisms behind the differential regulation of tVTA by different stimuli remain unknown.
BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Biology
Kevin Beier
Summary: This study used a modified viral-genetic strategy to investigate both local and long-range inputs to dopamine cells in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in mice. The findings revealed that nearly half of the inputs to VTA cells are located locally, which were previously overlooked. The main source of inhibition to VTA cells is from the substantia nigra pars reticulata, with substantial contributions from the VTA and substantia nigra pars compacta. Dopamine neurons also have connections with other dopamine neurons within the VTA and the nearby retrorubal field. Additionally, the study showed that VTA neurons receive inputs from serotonergic neurons distributed throughout the midbrain and hindbrain, with the majority coming from the dorsal raphe.
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Xiaoyan Ding, Mengdie Yang, Ning Wu, Jin Li, Rui Song
Summary: Abnormal fear memory can lead to stress disorders such as PTSD. Therefore, intervention in the formation of abnormal fear memory can be a new strategy for preventing and treating PTSD.
BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Grazyna Jerzemowska, Karolina Plucinska, Aleksandra Piwka, Magdalena Podlacha, Jolanta Orzel-Gryglewska
Summary: In this study, the researchers investigated the role of opioid receptors (OR) in the pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPN) in regulating motivated behaviors. They found that activation and blocking of OR in the PPN affected behavioral and neuronal activity, modulating the reward system.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Karolina Farrell, Armin Lak, Aman B. Saleem
Summary: Midbrain dopamine neurons encode reward prediction error signals to improve goal-directed navigation.
Article
Neurosciences
Beibei Peng, Qikuan Xu, Jing Liu, Sophie Guo, Stephanie L. Borgland, Shuai Liu
Summary: The study found that chronic corticosteroid treatment induces anxiety-like behavior and impairs food-seeking behavior. Additionally, chronic CORT treatment decreases excitability and excitatory synaptic transmission onto VTA dopamine neurons, while increasing somatodendritic dopamine concentration. Restoring D2R signaling in the VTA can ameliorate these deficits induced by chronic CORT exposure.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Veronne A. J. de Vrind, Lisanne J. van 't Sant, Annemieke Rozeboom, Mieneke C. M. Luijendijk-Berg, Azar Omrani, Roger A. H. Adan
Summary: Leptin is an important hormone in body weight regulation, playing a role in food reward, feeding, and locomotion. Previous studies focused on LepR neurons in the VTA, neglecting the potential function of SN LepR neurons.
FRONTIERS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Ruud van Zessen, Jacques P. Flores-Dourojeanni, Timon Eekel, Siem van den Reijen, Bart Lodder, Azar Omrani, Marten P. Smidt, Geert M. J. Ramakers, Geoffrey van der Plasse, Garret D. Stuber, Roger A. H. Adan
Summary: Recent research shows that calcium activity and dopamine signals from VTA play important roles in the process of learning reward associations. Optogenetic inhibition during reward delivery disrupts learned behavior, while continued interference with these signals leads to impaired learning behavior. Cue-induced dopamine signals play a crucial role in driving learned behavior.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
J. Daniel Obray, Christina A. Small, Emily K. Baldwin, Eun Young Jang, Jin Gyeom Lee, Chae Ha Yang, Jordan T. Yorgason, Scott C. Steffensen
Summary: This study found that peripherally administered dopamine can enhance dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens and modulate related behaviors. Dopamine subtype-2 receptors are involved in this process and can influence dopamine neuron activity.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Wojciech B. Solecki, Michal Kielbinski, Joanna Bernacka, Katarzyna Gralec, Adam Klasa, Kamil Pradel, Karolina Rojek-Sito, Ryszard Przewlocki
Summary: The study demonstrates that α(1)-AR signaling in the VTA is necessary for the acquisition of Pavlovian associative learning, but does not encode hedonic value.
FRONTIERS IN BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Montse Flores-Garcia, Arianna Rizzo, Maria Zelai Garcon-Poca, Victor Fernandez-Duenas, Jordi Bonaventura
Summary: Chronic pain and depression lead to a significant socioeconomic burden. This review focuses on the role of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) as a hub where pain and emotional processing converge, and discusses the feasibility of using VTA as a therapeutic target. The dopaminergic system and VTA have been extensively studied in mood disorders, but less attention has been given to their involvement in pain and mood-related consequences.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Pedro A. Pereira, Joana Coelho, Ana Silva, M. Dulce Madeira
Summary: Studies have shown that with age, there is no significant change in the number and size of dopamine neurons in the VTA of rats, but the cholinergic input decreases, while the cholinergic neurons in the PPT and LDT nuclei increase in size. These results suggest that dysfunction of the cholinergic system may contribute to the age-related deterioration of the brain reward system.
EXPERIMENTAL GERONTOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Gemma Navarro, William Rea, Cesar Quiroz, Estefania Moreno, Devan Gomez, Cody J. Wenthur, Vicent Casado, Lorenzo Leggio, Matthew C. Hearing, Sergi Ferre
Summary: GHS-R1b facilitates oligomerization with GHS-R1a, impacting its pharmacological properties, but GHSR1a:GHS-R1b:D1R oligomers in the VTA are the main mediators of the dopaminergic effects of ghrelin.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biology
Chun-Kui Zhang, Pan Wang, Yuan-Yuan Ji, Jian-Shuai Zhao, Jun-Xiang Gu, Xian-Xia Yan, Hong-Wei Fan, Ming-Ming Zhang, Yu Qiao, Xiao-Die Liu, Bao-Juan Li, Ming-Hui Wang, Hai-Long Dong, Hao-Hong Li, Peng-Cheng Huang, Yun-Qing Li, Wu-Gang Hou, Jin-Lian Li, Tao Chen
Summary: Chronic pain can lead to depression, but the specific mechanisms are still unclear. This study found that only 67.9% of mice with chronic neuropathic pain exhibited depression-like behaviors, while 32.1% of mice showed resilience to depression. The study highlights the importance of the connection between two groups of neurons in the development of depressive symptoms caused by chronic pain.
SCIENCE CHINA-LIFE SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Karl Y. Bosque-Cordero, Rafael Vazquez-Torres, Cristhian Calo-Guadalupe, Daisy Consuegra-Garcia, Giulia R. Fois, Francois Georges, Carlos A. Jimenez-Rivera
Summary: The reduction of I-h after cocaine sensitization may act as a homeostatic compensatory mechanism. Even though I-h amplitude decreases, spontaneous firing patterns in VTA DA neurons remain similar. Blocking I-h leads to decreased firing rate and bursting frequency, suggesting the importance of I-h in regulating excitability.
PROGRESS IN NEURO-PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY & BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Lauren E. Mueller, Melissa J. Sharpe, Thomas A. Stalnaker, Andrew M. Wikenheiser, Geoffrey Schoenbaump
Summary: Substance use disorders are associated with maladaptive behavior due to drug-induced neural alterations affecting the encoding of state-specific information in the dorsomedial striatum. Prior cocaine experience can lead to enhanced encoding of specific rules in the DMS, resulting in slower decision-making behavior.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Thomas A. Stalnaker, Nishika Raheja, Geoffrey Schoenbaum
Summary: By studying neural activity in the orbitofrontal cortex, it was found that rats can accurately predict outcomes and adapt quickly to new states. The activity of neurons in the orbitofrontal cortex is closely related to state representations and has a strong representation ability for action-outcome contingencies.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Melissa J. Sharpe, Hannah M. Batchelor, Lauren E. Mueller, Matthew P. H. Gardner, Geoffrey Schoenbaum
Summary: The study shows that prior reward-learning experience can influence the learning process, opening up neural boundaries and even changing the way neural circuits are recruited. The impact of prior experience on learning is crucial.
NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Jingfeng Zhou, Wenhui Zong, Chunying Jia, Matthew P. H. Gardner, Geoffrey Schoenbaum
Summary: This study used a nonspatial, continuous, alternating odor-sequence task to investigate the encoding of retrospective and prospective aspects in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) of rats. The results showed a proximal prospective code for sequence information and a distal perspective code for positional information in the OFC. This predictive code in the rat OFC was closely associated with their ability to predict future outcomes.
BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Andrew M. Wikenheiser, Matthew P. H. Gardner, Lauren E. Mueller, Geoffrey Schoenbaum
Summary: Research indicates that OFC neurons exhibit spatial firing fields in a manner similar to hippocampus when engaged in a free-foraging task, with different representations observed between flavored and unflavored conditions resembling hippocampal remapping.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Letter
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kaue Machado Costa, Geoffrey Schoenbaum
Article
Neurosciences
Munir Gunes Kutlu, Jennifer E. Zachry, Patrick R. Melugin, Jennifer Tat, Stephanie Cajigas, Atagun U. Isiktas, Dev D. Patel, Cody A. Siciliano, Geoffrey Schoenbaum, Melissa J. Sharpe, Erin S. Calipari
Summary: Research shows that dopamine in the nucleus accumbens core is activated by novel, neutral stimuli and tracks the familiarity of these stimuli, influencing the speed of future learning. Associative learning frameworks do not always account for the effects of novelty on behavior and associative learning.
NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Luona Lin, Karen E. Stamm, Krag Ferenz, Caroline Vaile Wright, Sophie Bethune, Jessica Conroy
Summary: This study examines the relationship between challenges with the use of telehealth and psychologists' response during the coronavirus pandemic. The results suggest that the degree of telehealth challenge psychologists experienced was not statistically associated with workload, patient load, or ability to meet patient demand. However, the degree of telehealth challenge patients experienced was significantly associated with these outcomes. Both psychologists and their patients experiencing fewer telehealth challenges were more likely to have better mental health outcomes.
PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOLOGY-RESEARCH AND PRACTICE
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Evan E. Hart, Matthew P. H. Gardner, Marios C. Panayi, Thorsten Kahnt, Geoffrey Schoenbaum
Summary: Recording both single-unit activity and calcium signals in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) of rats during olfactory discrimination learning, we found that the calcium signal only provided a degraded estimate of the information available in the single-unit spiking, primarily reflecting reward value.
Article
Neurosciences
Kaue Machado Costa, Robert Scholz, Kevin Lloyd, Perla Moreno-Castilla, Matthew P. H. Gardner, Peter Dayan, Geoffrey Schoenbaum
Summary: Research suggests that the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC) may play a role in behavior not only by simulating outcomes, but also by supporting map creation. Inactivation of lOFC principal neurons disrupted subsequent inference and led to generalized devaluation, indicating a selective role of the lOFC in defining the specificity of associations in cognitive maps.
NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Yuji K. Takahashi, Thomas A. Stalnaker, Lauren E. Mueller, Sevan K. Harootonian, Angela J. Langdon, Geoffrey Schoenbaum
Summary: This study investigates the validity of the single-stream assumption by recording dopamine neuron activity. The results show that in complex settings, dopamine neurons can access and update multiple independent predictive streams, reflecting beliefs in the timing and identities of expected rewards.
NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Education & Educational Research
Jessica C. Conroy, Karen E. Stamm, Rory A. Pfund, Peggy Christidis, Robin Hailstorks, John C. Norcross
Summary: This study examined the prevalence, types, and methods of career assistance available to undergraduate psychology students both through their psychology programs and through their institutional career services. Results showed that undergraduate psychology programs most often provided assistance in applying to graduate school, while career services provided a wider range of resources. Baccalaureate institutions offer career assistance more frequently than associate institutions, with common forms of assistance including job application instruction, information on career possibilities in psychology subfields, resume preparation, and individual advising.
TEACHING OF PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Matthew P. H. Gardner, Geoffrey Schoenbaum
Summary: The theories on the function of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) have advanced significantly, with a general consensus that OFC is crucial for predicting future events. However, different theories propose varying answers regarding the exact role of OFC, with some failures possibly hinting at a more nuanced and unique role for OFC.
BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Thorsten Kahnt, Geoffrey Schoenbaum
Summary: Expectations can be derived from direct experience or mental inference, with studies showing that the orbitofrontal cortex plays a critical role in behavior based on inferred outcomes.
BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)