Hypothalamic Dopamine Neurons Control Sensorimotor Behavior by Modulating Brainstem Premotor Nuclei in Zebrafish.

ABSTRACT: Dopamine (DA)-producing neurons are critically involved in the production of motor behaviors in multiple circuits that are conserved from basal vertebrates to mammals. Although there is increasing evidence that DA neurons in the hypothalamus play a locomotor role, their precise contributions to behavior and the circuit mechanisms by which they are achieved remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that tyrosine-hydroxylase-2-expressing (th2+) DA neurons in the zebrafish hypothalamus fire phasic bursts of activity to acutely promote swimming and modulate audiomotor behaviors on fast timescales. Their anatomy and physiology reveal two distinct functional DA modules within the hypothalamus. The first comprises an interconnected set of cerebrospinal-fluid-contacting DA nuclei surrounding the 3

SUBMITTER: Barrios JP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7726012 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature