ArticleeLife2018
Manipulating midbrain dopamine neurons and reward-related behaviors with light-controllable nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.
Article in eLife, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
32 citing papers in PubMed, 65 citations in OpenAlex.
- A new framework for nicotinic receptor-targeted therapeutic strategies in psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders.Frontiers in cellular neuroscience · 2026Article
- Covalent anchoring of tethered ligands to chemogenetic handles for targeted in vivo neuropharmacology.STAR protocols · 2025Article
- Nicotinic Receptors in the Medial Habenula to Interpeduncular Nucleus Pathway: Modulators of Reward, Aversion and Emotion.The European journal of neuroscience · 2025Review
- Molecularly defined cellular atlas of the entire mouse brain with isotropic single-cell resolution.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Optochemical profiling of NMDAR molecular diversity at synaptic and extrasynaptic sites.The EMBO journal · 2025Article
- Nicotine engages a VTA-NAc feedback loop to inhibit amygdala-projecting dopamine neurons and induce anxiety-like behaviors.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Light-Activated Pharmacological Tools for Exploring the Cholinergic System.Medicinal research reviews · 2025Review
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- Transient nicotine exposure in early adolescent male mice freezes their dopamine circuits in an immature state.Nature communications · 2024Article
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- Nicotinic and muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonism dose-dependently decreases sign- but not goal-tracking behavior in male rats.Psychopharmacology · 2023Article
- Anatomy and Function of Ventral Tegmental Area Glutamate Neurons.Frontiers in neural circuits · 2022Review
- Neurobiological Mechanisms of Nicotine Reward and Aversion.Pharmacological reviews · 2022Review
- Deciphering Molecular Mechanisms and Intervening in Physiological and Pathophysiological Processes of CaCells · 2021Review
- A fine-tuned azobenzene for enhanced photopharmacology in vivo.Cell chemical biology · 2021Article
- Molecular photoswitches in aqueous environments.Chemical Society reviews · 2021Review
- Neurobiology of reward-related learning.Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews · 2021Review
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Dopamine (DA) neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) integrate cholinergic inputs to regulate key functions such as motivation and goal-directed behaviors. Yet the temporal dynamic range and mechanism of action of acetylcholine (ACh) on the modulation of VTA circuits and reward-related behaviors are not known. Here, we used a chemical-genetic approach for rapid and precise optical manipulation of nicotinic neurotransmission in VTA neurons in living mice. We provide direct evidence that the ACh tone fine-tunes the firing properties of VTA DA neurons through β2-containing (β2*) nicotinic ACh receptors (nAChRs). Furthermore, locally photo-antagonizing these receptors in the VTA was sufficient to reversibly switch nicotine reinforcement on and off. By enabling control of nicotinic transmission in targeted brain circuits, this technology will help unravel the various physiological functions of nAChRs and may assist in the design of novel therapies relevant to neuropsychiatric disorders.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.