Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40060543›Full record

ArticlebioRxiv : the preprint server for biology2025

Untangling dopamine and glutamate in the ventral tegmental area.

Emily D Prévost, Lucy A Ward, Daniel Alas, Giulia Aimale, Sara Ikenberry, Katie Fox, Julianne Pelletier, Annie Ly, Jayson Ball, Zachary P Kilpatrick and 3 more

Abstract readPreprint
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Emily D PrévostDepartment of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, 2860 Wilderness Place, Boulder, CO 80301.
Lucy A WardDepartment of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, 2860 Wilderness Place, Boulder, CO 80301.
Daniel AlasDepartment of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, 2860 Wilderness Place, Boulder, CO 80301.
Giulia AimaleDepartment of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, 2860 Wilderness Place, Boulder, CO 80301.
Sara IkenberryDepartment of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, 2860 Wilderness Place, Boulder, CO 80301.
Katie FoxDepartment of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, 2860 Wilderness Place, Boulder, CO 80301.
Julianne PelletierDepartment of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, 2860 Wilderness Place, Boulder, CO 80301.
Annie LyDepartment of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, 2860 Wilderness Place, Boulder, CO 80301.
Jayson BallDepartment of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, 2860 Wilderness Place, Boulder, CO 80301.
Zachary P KilpatrickDepartment of Applied Mathematics, University of Colorado Boulder, 1111 Engineering Center, Boulder, CO 80309.ORCID 0000-0002-2835-9416
Kailyn PriceDepartment of Pharmacology & Physiology, George Washington University, Washington, D.C. 20052.
Abigail M PolterDepartment of Pharmacology & Physiology, George Washington University, Washington, D.C. 20052.
David H RootDepartment of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, 2860 Wilderness Place, Boulder, CO 80301.

Funding

VTA microcircuit dynamics during chronic stressR01MH122712 · NIMH · GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI POLTER, ABIGAIL MARIE · 2020 to 2024
$2.3M
Genetic dissection of ventral tegmental area glutamate and GABA neurons in reward and aversionR01DA047443 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO · PI ROOT, DAVID H · 2020 to 2024
$1.7M
Circuits and neurotransmitters involved in VTA glutamate neuron regulation of the consequences of stressR01MH130576 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO · PI MICHAEL V BARATTA, David H Root · 2024 to 2026
$1.4M
NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA047443NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH122712NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH130576
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons are of great interest for their central roles in motivation, learning, and psychiatric disorders. While hypotheses of VTA dopamine neuron function posit a homogenous role in behavior (e.g., prediction error), they do not account for molecular heterogeneity. We find that glutamate-dopamine, nonglutamate-dopamine, and glutamate-only neurons are dissociable in their signaling of reward and aversion-related stimuli, prediction error, and electrical properties. In addition, glutamate-dopamine and nonglutamate-dopamine neurons differ in dopamine release dynamics. Aversion-related recordings of all dopamine neurons (not considering glutamate co-transmission) showed a mixed response that obscured dopamine subpopulation function. Within glutamate-dopamine neurons, glutamate and dopamine release had dissociable contributions toward reward and aversion-based learning and performance. Based on our results, we propose a new hypothesis on VTA dopamine neuron function: that dopamine neuron signaling patterns and their roles in motivated behavior depend on whether or not they co-transmit dopamine with glutamate.

Identifiers

PMID40060543
PMCPMC11888473

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.