Cue-Evoked Dopamine Release Rapidly Modulates D2 Neurons in the Nucleus Accumbens During Motivated Behavior.

Unlabelled: Dopaminergic neurons that project from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) fire in response to unpredicted rewards or to cues that predict reward delivery. Although it is well established that reward-related events elicit dopamine release in the NAc, the role of rapid dopamine signaling in modulating NAc neurons that respond to these events remains unclear. Here, we examined dopamine's actions in the NAc in the rat brain during an intracranial self-stimulation task in which a cue predicted lever availability for electrical stimulation of the VTA.

Controlled iontophoresis coupled with fast-scan cyclic voltammetry/electrophysiology in awake, freely moving animals.

Simultaneous electrochemical and electrophysiological data were recorded to evaluate the effects of controlled local application of dopaminergic agonists and antagonists in awake rats. Measurements were made with a probe consisting of a carbon-fiber microelectrode fused to three iontophoretic barrels used to introduce the drugs of interest. The probe and the manipulator used to position it in the brain of behaving animals were optimized to improve their performance.

Improved techniques for examining rapid dopamine signaling with iontophoresis.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is utilized in brain circuits associated with reward processing and motor activity. Advances in microelectrode techniques and cyclic voltammetry have enabled its extracellular concentration fluctuations to be examined on a subsecond time scale in the brain of anesthetized and freely moving animals. The microelectrodes can be attached to micropipettes that allow local drug delivery at the site of measurement.

In vivo voltammetry monitoring of electrically evoked extracellular norepinephrine in subregions of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis.

Norepinephrine (NE) is an easily oxidized neurotransmitter that is found throughout the brain. Considerable evidence suggests that it plays an important role in neurocircuitry related to fear and anxiety responses. In certain subregions of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), NE is found in large amounts.

Probing presynaptic regulation of extracellular dopamine with iontophoresis.

Iontophoresis allows for localized drug ejections directly into brain regions of interest driven by the application of current. Our lab has previously adapted a method to quantitatively monitor iontophoretic ejections. Here those principles have been applied in vivo to modulate electrically evoked release of dopamine in anesthetized rats.

Electroosmotic flow and its contribution to iontophoretic delivery.

Iontophoresis is the movement of charged molecules in solution under applied current using pulled multibarrel glass capillaries drawn to a sharp tip. The technique is generally nonquantitative, and to address this, we have characterized the ejection of charged and neutral species using carbon-fiber electrodes attached to iontophoretic barrels. Our results show that observed ejections are due to the sum of iontophoretic and electroosmotic forces.