Department of Molecular Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, United States; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, United States
Department of Molecular Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, United States; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, United States
Leora Yetnikoff
Department of Molecular Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, United States; Department of Psychology, College of Staten Island, New York, United States; CUNY Neuroscience Collaborative, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, United States
Abigail Kalmbach
Department of Molecular Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, United States; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, United States; Department of Developmental Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, United States
Thong Ma
Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, United States
Samira Ztaou
Department of Molecular Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, United States; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, United States
Anna-Claire Sienna
Department of Molecular Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, United States; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, United States
Sophia Tepler
Department of Molecular Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, United States; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, United States
Jean-Francois Poulin
Department of Neurology, Northwestern University, Chicago, United States
Mark Ansorge
Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, United States; Department of Developmental Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, United States
Rajeshwar Awatramani
Department of Neurology, Northwestern University, Chicago, United States
Un Jung Kang
Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, United States
Department of Molecular Therapeutics, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, United States; Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, United States
Dopamine neurons have different synaptic actions in the ventral and dorsal striatum (dStr), but whether this heterogeneity extends to dStr subregions has not been addressed. We have found that optogenetic activation of dStr dopamine neuron terminals in mouse brain slices pauses the firing of cholinergic interneurons in both the medial and lateral subregions, while in the lateral subregion the pause is shorter due to a subsequent excitation. This excitation is mediated mainly by metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (mGluR1) and partially by dopamine D1-like receptors coupled to transient receptor potential channel 3 and 7. DA neurons do not signal to spiny projection neurons in the medial dStr, while they elicit ionotropic glutamate responses in the lateral dStr. The DA neurons mediating these excitatory signals are in the substantia nigra (SN). Thus, SN dopamine neurons engage different receptors in different postsynaptic neurons in different dStr subregions to convey strikingly different signals.Editorial note: This article has been through an editorial process in which the authors decide how to respond to the issues raised during peer review. The Reviewing Editor's assessment is that all the issues have been addressed (see decision letter).
