| First Author | Morel C | Year | 2022 |
| Journal | Nat Commun | Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 1532 |
| PubMed ID | 35318315 | Mgi Jnum | J:323328 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:7260892 | Doi | 10.1038/s41467-022-29155-1 |
| Citation | Morel C, et al. (2022) Midbrain projection to the basolateral amygdala encodes anxiety-like but not depression-like behaviors. Nat Commun 13(1):1532 |
| abstractText | Anxiety disorders are complex diseases, and often co-occur with depression. It is as yet unclear if a common neural circuit controls anxiety-related behaviors in both anxiety-alone and comorbid conditions. Here, utilizing the chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) paradigm that induces singular or combined anxiety- and depressive-like phenotypes in mice, we show that a ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine circuit projecting to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) selectively controls anxiety- but not depression-like behaviors. Using circuit-dissecting ex vivo electrophysiology and in vivo fiber photometry approaches, we establish that expression of anxiety-like, but not depressive-like, phenotypes are negatively correlated with VTA --> BLA dopamine neuron activity. Further, our optogenetic studies demonstrate a causal link between such neuronal activity and anxiety-like behaviors. Overall, these data establish a functional role for VTA --> BLA dopamine neurons in bi-directionally controlling anxiety-related behaviors not only in anxiety-alone, but also in anxiety-depressive comorbid conditions in mice. |
