Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The nucleus accumbens (NAc) regulates reward-motivated behavior, but the temporal dynamics of NAc neurons that enable “free-willed” animals to obtain rewards remain elusive. Here, we recorded Ca2+ activity from individual NAc neurons when mice performed self-paced lever-presses for sucrose. NAc neurons exhibited three temporally-sequenced clusters, defined by times at which they exhibited increased Ca2+ activity: approximately 0, −2.5 or −5 sec relative to the lever-pressing. Dopamine D1 receptor (D1)-expressing neurons and D2-neurons formed the majority of the −5-sec versus −2.5-sec clusters, respectively, while both neuronal subtypes were represented in the 0-sec cluster. We found that pre-press activity patterns of D1- or D2-neurons could predict subsequent lever-presses. Inhibiting D1-neurons at −5 sec or D2-neurons at −2.5 sec, but not at other timepoints, reduced sucrose-motivated lever-pressing. We propose that the time-specific activity of D1- and D2-neurons mediate key temporal features of the NAc through which reward motivation initiates reward-seeking behavior. Volitional reward taking emerges through a sequence of preluding events. Yet, the underlying neural mechanism is not fully understood. Here authors show a series of temporal dynamics of nucleus accumbens neurons that may substantiate such preluding events to commit “free-willed” animals to reward taking.
Source: Nature Communications
Language: English
Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $6,790
Awards: G1075826905, Sleep regulates drug relapse and addiction, Glial-mediated synaptic remodeling in drug addiction, G1803652135, Interaction of Glutamatergic Inputs to Nucleus Accumbens, G2494206541, G2586504584, G2737576856, G2801903652, G3753890482, G4063543702, Predoctoral Training in Basic Neuroscience, G5516360631, G5625542633, G6147892744, G6231118441, G7537053416, G8512170179, G8672734949, G8900237735, G9000135194, G9000248485, G9000322338, Characterizing the underlying population code to understand the functional organization of the hippocampus and the lateral hypothalamus, Cocaine-induced adaptation in NMDA receptors, Cellular and Behavioral Function of Astrocytic Dopamine Signaling
OpenAlex ID: W4403836847