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Abstract #2044

Selective optogenetic stimulation of VTA dopaminergic neurons enhances the neuronal representation of sensory input

Heather K. Decot 1,2 , Wei Gao 3,4 , Joshua H. Jennings 1,2 , Pranish A. Kantak 2 , Yu-Chieh Jill Kao 4,5 , Manasmita Das 4,5 , Ilana B. Witten 6 , Karl Deisseroth 7 , Yen-Yu Ian Shih 4,5 , and Garret D. Stuber 1,2

1 Curriculum in Neurobiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States, 2 Departments of Psychiatry & Cell and Molecular Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States, 3 Department of Radiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States, 4 Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States, 5 Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States, 6 Princeton Neuroscience Institute & Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, United States, 7 Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States

This project aims to investigate whether sensory representation measured with fMRI is affected by selective dopaminergic activity. We first measured changes in cerebral blood volume (CBV) signals in response to a range of forepaw stimulation frequencies. We then repeatedly paired a single forepaw stimulation frequency (9 Hz) with 30 Hz optogenetic stimulation of VTA dopaminergic neurons. Following the pairing, we re-assessed changes in CBV fMRI responses to all forepaw stimuli frequencies. We found VTA dopaminergic activity paired with forepaw stimulation enhances the neuronal representation of the sensory stimulus. These data suggest that aberrant dopaminergic signaling may degrade optimal neuronal network dynamics, which in turn may shift large-scale brain network dynamics to promote maladaptive states.

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