ArticleNature neuroscience2019
Zona incerta GABAergic neurons integrate prey-related sensory signals and induce an appetitive drive to promote hunting.
Article in Nature neuroscience, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 101 papers.
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Who cites it
101 citing papers in PubMed, 183 citations in OpenAlex.
- PSD-95 drives binocular vision maturation critical for predation.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Mice use predictive environmental cues to adapt predatory behavior in hunting tasks of variable difficulty.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Brain Architecture of Punishment Learning.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026Article
- Prefrontal Neurons Projecting to the Dorsomedial Striatum and Insular Cortex Support Reward Learning.Neuroscience bulletin · 2026Article
- Dopamine dynamics as a regulatory mechanism for shifting between defensive and reward-seeking behaviors.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Efferent projections of topographically distinct relaxin family peptide receptor-3 (RXFP3) lateral hypothalamus/zona incerta cells.Brain structure & function · 2026Article
- Ethological learning during the critical period resets synaptic setpoints in mouse binocular visual cortex.Neuron · 2026Article
- Parallel anterior cingulate cortex pathways underlie dissociable social and attentional outputs.Science advances · 2026Article
- Somatostatin-expressing neurons in the zona incerta regulate chronic stress response and modulate depression-like behaviors.Molecular psychiatry · 2026Article
- An attention-demanding hunting paradigm engages the superior colliculus-zona incerta circuit mediating analgesia in male mice.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Demonstrating the ability of GABAergic cells in the zona incerta to modulate motivation.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Multimodal analysis reveals cellular diversity and divergent circuits of the zona incerta.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Molecularly distinct subtypes ofiScience · 2026Article
- Lateral hypothalamus to dorsal raphe nucleus projections modulate intraspecific attack behavior in male mice.iScience · 2026Article
- Prelimbic cortex to zona incerta pathway mediates recognition memory recovery delay through down-regulating astrocytic GAT-3.iScience · 2026Article
- Large-scale mapping of the MCH network in ALS mice reveals the vulnerability of dopaminergic and GABAergic neurons in zona incerta.Acta neuropathologica communications · 2026Article
- Delta Opioid Receptors within the Cortico-Thalamic Circuitry Underlie Hyperactivity Induced by High-Dose Morphine.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- A GABAergic Projection from the Zona Incerta to the Rostral Ventromedial Medulla Modulates Descending Control of Neuropathic Pain.Brain sciences · 2026Article
- Connectivity, Computation, and Plasticity of the Early Visual System.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025Review
- Restoration of locomotor function following stimulation of the A13 region in Parkinson's mouse models.eLife · 2025Article
41 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
19 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The neural substrates for predatory hunting, an evolutionarily conserved appetitive behavior, remain largely undefined. Photoactivation of zona incerta (ZI) GABAergic neurons strongly promotes hunting of both live and artificial prey. Conversely, photoinhibition of these neurons or deletion of their GABA function severely impairs hunting. Here electrophysiological recordings reveal that ZI neurons integrate prey-related multisensory signals and discriminate prey from non-prey targets. Visual or whisker sensory deprivation reduces calcium responses induced by prey introduction and attack and impair hunting. ZI photoactivation largely corrects the hunting impairment caused by sensory deprivations. Motivational and reinforcing assays reveal that ZI photoactivation is associated with a strong appetitive drive, causing repetitive self-stimulatory behaviors. These ZI neurons project to the periaqueductal gray matter to induce hunting and motivation. Thus, we have delineated the function of ZI GABAergic neurons in hunting, which integrates prey-related sensory signals into prey detection and attack and induces a strong appetitive motivational drive.
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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.