Cell-Type-Specific Afferent Innervation of the Nucleus Accumbens Core and Shell

Frontiers in Neuroanatomy

Anan Li²  Jing Yuan²  Zhao Li²  Tonghui Xu²  Zhilong Chen²  Guoqing Fan² 

[1] Britton Chance Center for Biomedical Photonics, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China;MoE Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics, Collaborative Innovation Center for Biomedical Engineering, School of Engineering Sciences, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China;

关键词: nucleus accumbens core and shell;    cell-type-specific;    rabies virus;    whole-brain inputs;    quantitative analyses;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fnana.2018.00084

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is clearly implicated in reward processing and drug addiction, as well as in numerous neurological and psychiatric disorders; nevertheless, the circuit mechanisms underlying the diverse functions of the NAc remain poorly understood. Here, we characterized the whole-brain and monosynaptic inputs to two main projection cell types – D1 dopamine receptor expressing medium spiny neurons (D1R-MSNs) and D2 dopamine receptor expressing medium spiny neurons (D2R-MSNs) – within the NAc core and NAc shell by rabies-mediated trans-synaptic tracing. We discovered that D1R-MSNs and D2R-MSNs in both NAc subregions receive similar inputs from diverse sources. Inputs to the NAc core are broadly scattered, whereas inputs to the NAc shell are relatively concentrated. Furthermore, we identified numerous brain areas providing important contrasting inputs to different NAc subregions. The anterior cortex preferentially innervates the NAc core for both D1R-MSNs and D2R-MSNs, whereas the lateral hypothalamic area (LH) preferentially targets D1R-MSNs in the NAc shell. Characterizing the cell-type-specific connectivity of different NAc subregions lays a foundation for studying how diverse functions of the NAc are mediated by specific pathways.

【 授权许可】

Unknown