Dopamine neuron dependent behaviors mediated by glutamate cotransmission.

Dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area use glutamate as a cotransmitter. To elucidate the behavioral role of the cotransmission, we targeted the glutamate-recycling enzyme glutaminase (gene ). In mice with a dopamine transporter ()-driven conditional heterozygous (cHET) reduction of in their dopamine neurons, dopamine neuron survival and transmission were unaffected, while glutamate cotransmission at phasic firing frequencies was reduced, enabling a selective focus on the cotransmission.