The estrous cycle is a potent modulator of neuron physiology. In rodents,
This content will become publicly available on May 1, 2024
The survival of an organism is dependent on its ability to respond to cues in the environment. Such cues can attain control over behavior as a function of the value ascribed to them. Some individuals have an inherent tendency to attribute reward-paired cues with incentive motivational value, or incentive salience. For these individuals, termed sign-trackers, a discrete cue that precedes reward delivery becomes attractive and desirable in its own right. Prior work suggests that the behavior of sign-trackers is dopamine-dependent, and cue-elicited dopamine in the NAc is believed to encode the incentive value of reward cues. Here we exploited the temporal resolution of optogenetics to determine whether selective inhibition of ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons during cue presentation attenuates the propensity to sign-track. Using male tyrosine hydroxylase
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10462791
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1523
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Journal of Neuroscience
- Volume:
- 43
- Issue:
- 44
- ISSN:
- 0270-6474
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 7376-7392
- Size(s):
- ["p. 7376-7392"]
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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