BME Seminar: Dr. Stephan Steidl - Laterodorsal tegmental nucleus inputs to the dopamine system contribute to appetitively motivated behaviors in rats and mice

Armour College of Engineering's Biomedical Engineering Department will host a seminar featuring Stephan Steidl, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, at Loyola University of Chicago on April 7, 2017. The lecture topic will be Laterodorsal tegmental nucleus inputs to the dopamine system contribute to appetitively motivated behaviors in rats and mice

Abstract

Dopamine neuron activity and forebrain dopamine levels are correlated with the receipt of rewards and reward prediction and can signal saliency and aversion. Defining the sources of afferent inputs to the dopamine system for each. The laterodorsal tegmental nucleus (LDTg) ¬importantly contributes to regulating the activity of the mesolimbic dopamine system via cholinergic and glutamatergic inputs to the ventral tegmental area (VTA). We have shown that operant responding for optogenetic excitation of LDTg inputs to the VTA in rats increases DA overflow in the forebrain nucleus accumbens and depends on the activation of D1 and D2 dopamine receptors in this site. In Cre transgenic mice, we have tested the behavioral effects of selectively driving either LDTg cholinergic or LDTg glutamatergic inputs to the VTA and show that each importantly contributes to reward function. Current studies are focused on determining the role of LDTg cholinergic and glutamatergic inputs to VTA in the rewarding effects of drugs of abuse and the behavioral changes that result from repeated drug exposure.