ArticlePloS one2018
Optogenetic self-stimulation in the nucleus accumbens: D1 reward versus D2 ambivalence.
Article in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 70 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
70 citing papers in PubMed, 121 citations in OpenAlex.
- Dose-dependent effects of estrogen on prediction error related neural activity in the nucleus accumbens of healthy young women.Psychopharmacology · 2020Trial
- Dual-engram architecture within a single striatal cell type distinctly controls alcohol relapse and extinction.Neuron · 2026Article
- Nucleus accumbens medial shell D1 and D2 medium spiny neurons signal the valence of conditioned stimuli in a sex-dependent manner.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Prefrontal modulation of striatal engagement: a hierarchical framework for goal-directed behavior.Communications biology · 2026Review
- Optogenetic Hedonic Hotspots in the Orbitofrontal Cortex and Insula: Causing Enhancement of Sweetness "Liking".The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026Article
- Role of the primate ventral striatum as a neural hub bridging option valuation and action selection.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Dual Engram Architecture within a Single Striatal Cell Type Distinctly Controls Alcohol Relapse and Extinction.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Striatal Acetylcholine Dip-Rebound Is Induced by Direct-Pathway Neurons and Encode Action-Outcome Contingency.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Nucleus accumbens DRD2 receptor agonism attenuates escape behavior.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Article
- Motivation meets sleep: tuning arousal via nucleus accumbens and Basal Ganglia circuits.Npj biological timing and sleep · 2025Review
- PACAP Signalling Network in the Nucleus Accumbens Core Regulates Reinstatement Behaviour in Rat.Addiction biology · 2025Article
- Dopamine Receptor 1 Specific CRISPRa Mice Exhibit Disrupted Behaviors and Striatal Baseline Cellular Activity.eNeuro · 2025Article
- Dopamine receptor 1 specific CRISPRa mice exhibit disrupted behaviors and striatal baseline cellular activity.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Melanocortin 4 receptor-expressing neurons in the lateral stripe of the striatum regulate affect and motor control.iScience · 2025Article
- A2A-Positive Neurons in the Nucleus Accumbens Core Regulate Effort Exertion.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025Article
- Reward expectation and receipt differentially modulate the spiking of accumbens D1+ and D2+ neurons.Current biology : CB · 2025Article
- Dynamic representation of appetitive and aversive stimuli in nucleus accumbens shell D1- and D2-medium spiny neurons.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Nucleus accumbens D2-expressing neurons: Balancing reward and licking disruption through rhythmic optogenetic stimulation.PloS one · 2025Article
- Optogenetic Control of Dopamine Receptor 2 Reveals a Novel Aspect of Dopaminergic Neurotransmission in Motor Function.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025Article
- Presynaptic and Postsynaptic Mesolimbic Dopamine DBiological psychiatry · 2024Article
10 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The nucleus accumbens (NAc) contains multiple subpopulations of medium spiny neurons (MSNs). One subpopulation expresses D1-type dopamine receptors, another expresses D2-type receptors, and a third expresses both. The relative roles in NAc of D1 neurons versus D2 neurons in appetitive motivation were assessed here. Specifically, we asked whether D1-Cre mice would instrumentally seek optogenetic self-stimulation specifically targeted at D1 MSNs in NAc, and similarly if D2-Cre mice would self-stimulate D2 neurons in NAc. Mice were implanted with Cre-targeted channelrhodopsin (ChR2) virus and optic fibers in NAc. Subsequently, mice could earn brief NAc laser illuminations by actively touching a metal spout in one task, or by going to a particular location in a separate task. Results indicated that D1 neuronal excitation in NAc supported intense self-stimulation in both tasks. D1-Cre mice earned hundreds to thousands of spout-touches per half-hour session, and also sought out locations that delivered NAc laser to excite D1 MSNs. By comparison, D2 ChR2 mice showed lower but still positive levels of self-stimulation in the spout-touch task, earning dozens to hundreds of NAc laser illuminations. However, in the location task, D2 mice failed to show positive self-stimulation. If anything, a few D2 individuals gradually avoided the laser location. Brain-wide measures indicated that D1 and D2 stimulations in NAc recruited heavily overlapping patterns of Fos activation in distant limbic structures. These results confirm that excitation of D1 MSNs in NAc supports strong incentive motivation to self-stimulate. They also suggest that excitation of D2 neurons in NAc supports self-stimulation under some conditions, but fails under others and possibly may even shift to negative avoidance.
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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.