Optogenetic stimulation of the VTA modulates a frequency-specific gain of thalamocortical inputs in infragranular layers of the auditory cortex.

ABSTRACT: Reward associations during auditory learning induce cortical plasticity in the primary auditory cortex. A prominent source of such influence is the ventral tegmental area (VTA), which conveys a dopaminergic teaching signal to the primary auditory cortex. Yet, it is unknown, how the VTA influences cortical frequency processing and spectral integration. Therefore, we investigated the temporal effects of direct optogenetic stimulation of the VTA onto spectral integration in the auditory cortex on a synaptic circuit level by current-source-density analysis in anesthetized Mongolian gerbils. While auditory lemniscal input predominantly terminates in the granular input layers III/IV, we found that VTA-mediated modulation of spectral processing is relayed by a different circuit, namely enhanced t

SUBMITTER: Brunk MGK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6938496 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature