关于皮质下脑区域的细胞组成的知识的扩展显示出很大的异质性和与皮质结构的差异。以前,我们描述了小鼠腹侧被盖区(VTA)中生长抑素表达(Sst)神经元的三种亚型,并显示了它们对相邻多巴胺能神经元的局部抑制作用(Nagaeva等人。,2020)。这里,我们报告说,Sst+神经元,特别是来自小鼠VTA的前外侧部分,也远远超出VTA和神经支配的前脑区域,主要参与情绪行为的调节,包括腹侧苍白球,下丘脑外侧,中央杏仁核的内侧部分,末端纹床核的前外侧分裂,和室旁丘脑核。小鼠中这些VTASst神经元的缺失影响了几种行为,比如家笼活动,运动活动对吗啡的敏感性,恐惧条件反应,以及对强迫游泳不可避免的压力的反应,经常以性别依赖的方式。一起,这些数据表明,VTASst神经元具有不同于VTA多巴胺神经元主要靶标的选择性投射靶标.VTASst神经元参与主要与应激反应相关的行为调节,使它们成为传出VTA途径和与压力相关的神经元网络的相关补充。
Expanding knowledge about the cellular composition of subcortical brain regions demonstrates large heterogeneity and differences from the cortical architecture. Previously we described three subtypes of somatostatin-expressing (Sst) neurons in the mouse ventral tegmental area (VTA) and showed their local inhibitory action on the neighboring dopaminergic neurons (Nagaeva et al., 2020). Here, we report that Sst+ neurons especially from the anterolateral part of the mouse VTA also project far outside the VTA and innervate forebrain regions that are mainly involved in the regulation of emotional behavior, including the ventral pallidum, lateral hypothalamus, the medial part of the central amygdala, anterolateral division of the bed nucleus of stria terminalis, and paraventricular thalamic nucleus. Deletion of these VTASst neurons in mice affected several behaviors, such as home cage activity, sensitization of locomotor activity to morphine, fear conditioning responses, and reactions to the inescapable stress of forced swimming, often in a sex-dependent manner. Together, these data demonstrate that VTASst neurons have selective projection targets distinct from the main targets of VTA dopamine neurons. VTASst neurons are involved in the regulation of behaviors primarily associated with the stress response, making them a relevant addition to the efferent VTA pathways and stress-related neuronal network.