"Temporally and physiologically dopaminergic contributions"

ABSTRACT

While the role of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in associative learning is well-established, their exact influence on immediate behavior over short timescales remains unclear. The prevailing mechanistic hypothesis posits that DA neurons rapidly modulate striatal spiking activity to drive these behavioral changes. However, the direct prediction that striatal spiking is acutely influenced by physiologically relevant DA signals has not been rigorously examined due to a lack of suitable methodologies. In this study, we monitored changes in ventral striatal spiking responses during transient optogenetic manipulations of DA levels. In contrast to the predicted outcome, neither spontaneous nor reward-evoked striatal spiking activity was significantly affected, except when DA levels were elevated to supra-physiological levels. These findings, corroborated by multiple complementary analytical techniques, challenge the widely held view that DA significantly influences striatal activity rapidly. Our results underscore the critical need to differentiate between the modulatory functions of DA under physiological versus potentially supra-physiological conditions.

* The seminar will be held both offline and online via Zoom (https://kaist.zoom.us/j/88244379581)
 * Inquiry: Prof. Yul HR Kang (extension 4335)