Wickham Robert J, Lehr Makenzie, Mitchell Lauryn, Addy Nii A
Department of Psychology, Elizabethtown College;
Department of Psychology, Elizabethtown College.
J Vis Exp. 2020 Apr 23(158). doi: 10.3791/60886.
Phasic dopamine (DA) release from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to the nucleus accumbens plays a pivotal role in reward processing and reinforcement learning. Understanding how the diverse neuronal inputs into the VTA control phasic DA release can provide a better picture of the circuitry that controls reward processing and reinforcement learning. Here, we describe a method that combines intra-VTA cannula infusions of pharmacological agonists and antagonists with stimulation-evoked phasic DA release (combined infusion and stimulation, or CIS) as measured by in vivo fast-scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV). Using CIS-FSCV in anesthetized rats, a phasic DA response can be evoked by electrically stimulating the VTA with a bipolar electrode fitted with a cannula while recording in the nucleus accumbens core. Pharmacological agonists or antagonists can be infused directly at the stimulation site to investigate specific VTA receptors' roles in driving phasic DA release. A major benefit of CIS-FSCV is that VTA receptor function can be studied in vivo, building on in vitro studies.
从腹侧被盖区（VTA）到伏隔核的阶段性多巴胺（DA）释放，在奖赏处理和强化学习中起着关键作用。了解进入VTA的各种神经元输入如何控制阶段性DA释放，能够更好地描绘出控制奖赏处理和强化学习的神经回路。在此，我们描述了一种方法，该方法将VTA内套管注射药理学激动剂和拮抗剂与通过体内快速扫描循环伏安法（FSCV）测量的刺激诱发的阶段性DA释放（联合注射与刺激，即CIS）相结合。在麻醉大鼠中使用CIS-FSCV，当在伏隔核核心进行记录时，通过用装有套管的双极电极电刺激VTA，可以诱发阶段性DA反应。药理学激动剂或拮抗剂可以直接注射到刺激部位，以研究特定VTA受体在驱动阶段性DA释放中的作用。CIS-FSCV的一个主要优点是，可以在体外研究的基础上，在体内研究VTA受体功能。
