GABAergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area represent and regulate force vectors by Qiaochu Jiang, Konstantin I. Bakhurin, Ryan N. Hughes, Bryan Lu, Shaolin Ruan, Henry H. Yin

“…Their activity usually precedes force exertion, and selective optogenetic manipulations of these neurons systematically modulate force exertion without influencing reward prediction. …”
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Angularly Resolved Deep Brain Fluorescence Imaging Using a Single Optical Fiber by Israel J. De La Rosa, Mehdi Azimipour, Patrick K. Cullen, Fred J. Helmstetter, Ramin Pashaie

“…In vivo experiments show that the new device, despite the simplicity of the design, provides valuable information particularly useful in optogenetic stimulation experiments where the exact position of the fiber tip and the radiation orientation can change the outcome of a test.…”
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Recent advances in the characterization of genetically defined neurons that regulate internal‐state‐dependent taste modification in mice by Ken‐ichiro Nakajima

“…Recent advances in taste research using mice expressing Cre recombinase in specific neuronal populations, together with chemogenetic/optogenetic tools, have enabled us to identify genetically defined neurons involved in taste transduction pathways across several areas of the brain. …”
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Cerebellar-driven cortical dynamics can enable task acquisition, switching and consolidation by Joseph Pemberton, Paul Chadderton, Rui Ponte Costa

“…Next, we demonstrate that, when trained in working memory tasks, the cerebellum can also underlie the maintenance of cognitive-specific dynamics in the cortex, explaining a range of optogenetic and behavioural observations. Finally, using our model, we introduce a systems consolidation theory in which task information is gradually transferred from the cerebellum to the cortex. …”
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Structural insights into light-gating of potassium-selective channelrhodopsin by Takefumi Morizumi, Kyumhyuk Kim, Hai Li, Probal Nag, Tal Dogon, Oleg A. Sineshchekov, Yumei Wang, Leonid S. Brown, Songhwan Hwang, Han Sun, Ana-Nicoleta Bondar, Igor Schapiro, Elena G. Govorunova, John L. Spudich, Oliver P. Ernst

“…Abstract Structural information on channelrhodopsins’ mechanism of light-gated ion conductance is scarce, limiting its engineering as optogenetic tools. Here, we use single-particle cryo-electron microscopy of peptidisc-incorporated protein samples to determine the structures of the slow-cycling mutant C110A of kalium channelrhodopsin 1 from Hyphochytrium catenoides (HcKCR1) in the dark and upon laser flash excitation. …”
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Dendritic excitations govern back-propagation via a spike-rate accelerometer by Pojeong Park, J. David Wong-Campos, Daniel G. Itkis, Byung Hun Lee, Yitong Qi, Hunter C. Davis, Benjamin Antin, Amol Pasarkar, Jonathan B. Grimm, Sarah E. Plutkis, Katie L. Holland, Liam Paninski, Luke D. Lavis, Adam E. Cohen

“…We mapped sub-millisecond voltage dynamics throughout the dendritic trees of CA1 pyramidal neurons under diverse optogenetic and synaptic stimulus patterns, in acute brain slices. …”
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Fast updating feedback from piriform cortex to the olfactory bulb relays multimodal identity and reward contingency signals during rule-reversal by Diego E. Hernandez, Andrei Ciuparu, Pedro Garcia da Silva, Cristina M. Velasquez, Benjamin Rebouillat, Michael D. Gross, Martin B. Davis, Honggoo Chae, Raul C. Muresan, Dinu F. Albeanu

“…The re-shaping of individual bouton responses occurs within seconds of the rule-reversal events and is correlated with changes in behavior. Optogenetic perturbation of cortical feedback within the bulb disrupts the behavioral performance. …”
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Widespread innervation of motoneurons by spinal V3 neurons globally amplifies locomotor output in mice by Han Zhang, Dylan Deska-Gauthier, Colin S. MacKay, Krishnapriya Hari, Ana M. Lucas-Osma, Joanna Borowska-Fielding, Reese L. Letawsky, Vladimir Rancic, Turgay Akay, Keith K. Fenrich, David J. Bennett, Ying Zhang

“…Despite similar innervation from V3 neurons to flexor and extensor motoneuron pools, V3 neurons preferentially activate extensor muscles. Genetically or optogenetically silencing V3 neurons leads to slower and weaker mice with a reduced ability to adjust extensor muscle force. …”
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Sensory experience controls dendritic structure and behavior by distinct pathways involving degenerins by Sharon Inberg, Yael Iosilevskii, Alba Calatayud-Sanchez, Hagar Setty, Meital Oren-Suissa, Michael Krieg, Benjamin Podbilewicz

“…Our genetic results, supported by optogenetic, behavioral, and pharmacological evidence, suggest an activity-dependent homeostatic mechanism for dendritic structural plasticity, that in parallel controls escape response to noxious mechanosensory stimuli.…”
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Secondary motor cortex tracks decision value during the learning of a non-instructed task by Elisabete Augusto, Vladimir Kouskoff, Nicolas Chenouard, Margaux Giraudet, Léa Peltier, Aron de Miranda, Alexy Louis, Lucille Alonso, Frédéric Gambino

“…We use in vivo microscopy and modeling to show that M2 neurons in male mice exhibit persistent activity-encoding decision values that predict action-selection probabilities. Optogenetic inhibition of the M2 reduces the reversal performance and alters the decision value. …”
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Devaluing memories of reward: a case for dopamine by Benjamin R. Fry, Nicolette Russell, Victoria Fex, Bing Mo, Nathan Pence, Joseph A. Beatty, Fredric P. Manfredsson, Brandon A. Toth, Christian R. Burgess, Samuel Gershman, Alexander W. Johnson

“…This retrieval of the devalued reward memory elicited a reduction in the hedonic evaluation of sucrose reward. Through optogenetic and chemogenetic manipulations, we confirm dopamine cells are both sufficient and necessary for mediated devaluation, and retrieval of these memories reflected dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. …”
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Dynamic representation of appetitive and aversive stimuli in nucleus accumbens shell D1- and D2-medium spiny neurons by Ana Verónica Domingues, Tawan T. A. Carvalho, Gabriela J. Martins, Raquel Correia, Bárbara Coimbra, Ricardo Bastos-Gonçalves, Marcelina Wezik, Rita Gaspar, Luísa Pinto, Nuno Sousa, Rui M. Costa, Carina Soares-Cunha, Ana João Rodrigues

“…Conversely, when contingencies changed, there was an asymmetric response in the NAc, with more pronounced changes in the activity of D2-MSNs. Optogenetic manipulation of D2-MSNs provided causal evidence of the necessity of this population in the extinction of aversive associations. …”
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Binding of HCN channels to GABAB receptors in dopamine neurons of the VTA limits synaptic inhibition and prevents the development of anxiety by Enrique Pérez-Garci, Kateryna Pysanenko, Giorgio Rizzi, Florian Studer, Daniel Ulrich, Thorsten Fritzius, Simon Früh, Alessandra Porcu, Valérie Besseyrias, Adolf Melichar, Martin Gassmann, Tania Rinaldi Barkat, Rostislav Tureček, Kelly R. Tan, Bernhard Bettler

“…Consequently, disruption of the GBR/HCN complex in KCTD16−/− mice leads to prolonged optogenetic inhibition of DAVTA neuron firing. KCTD16−/− mice exhibit increased anxiety-like behavior in response to stress - a behavior replicated by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated KCTD16 ablation in DAVTA neurons or by intra-VTA infusion of an HCN antagonist in wild-type mice. …”
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A septo-hypothalamic-medullary circuit directs stress-induced analgesia by Devanshi Piyush Shah, Pallavi Raj Sharma, Rachit Agarwal, Arnab Barik

“…Taking advantage of transsynaptic viral-genetic, optogenetic, and chemogenetic techniques, we show that the dLS→LHA circuitry is sufficient to drive analgesia and is required for SIA. …”
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Brainstem serotonin amplifies nociceptive transmission in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease by Zoé Grivet, Franck Aby, Aude Verboven, Rabia Bouali-Benazzouz, Benjamin Sueur, François Maingret, Frédéric Naudet, Thibault Dhellemmes, Philippe De Deurwaerdere, Abdelhamid Benazzouz, Pascal Fossat

“…Serotonin (5-HT) levels increased in the spinal cord, correlating with reduced tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunoreactivity in the nucleus raphe magnus (NRM) and increased excitability of 5-HT neurons. Selective optogenetic inhibition of 5-HT neurons attenuated mechanical hypersensitivity and reduced DHSC hyperexcitability. …”
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OSP-1 protects neurons from autophagic cell death induced by acute oxidative stress by Alessandra Donato, Fiona K. Ritchie, Lachlan Lu, Mehershad Wadia, Ramon Martinez-Marmol, Eva Kaulich, Kornraviya Sankorrakul, Hang Lu, Sean Coakley, Elizabeth J. Coulson, Massimo A. Hilliard

“…Here, using Caenorhabditis elegans as a model system, combined with the optogenetic tool KillerRed to spatially and temporally control ROS generation, we identify a previously uncharacterized gene, oxidative stress protective 1 (osp-1), that protects C. elegans neurons from oxidative damage. …”
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Noradrenergic inputs from the locus coeruleus to anterior piriform cortex and the olfactory bulb modulate olfactory outputs by Chi Geng, Ruochen Li, Shan Li, Penglai Liu, Yuxin Peng, Changyu Liu, Zhen Wang, Hongxing Zhang, Anan Li

“…By using pharmacological and optogenetic manipulations in vitro and in vivo, we found that NE reduces the excitability of aPC pyramidal neurons directly via α2 receptors and that it bidirectionally regulates the activity of OB mitral cells via modulation of inhibitory inputs. …”
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A visual cortical-lateral posterior thalamic nucleus circuit regulates depressive-like behaviors in male mice by Fangfang Wu, Chenxi Gu, Rui Xu, Junwei Ma, Lei Gao, Youjiao Zhang, Siyuan Bu, Qingbo Lu, Te Zhao, Yijun Han, Chen Guo, Yihui Cui, Jianhua Ding, Gang Hu, Zhijun Zhang

“…Here, we demonstrate that the V1, specifically the lateral posterior nucleus of the thalamus (LP)-projecting V1 glutamatergic subpopulation (GluV1→LP neurons), shows reduced activity after chronic restraint stress (CRS) in male mice, leading to depressive-like behaviors. Optogenetic or chemogenetic activation of these neurons ameliorated depressive-like behaviors in CRS-depressed mice, whereas reducing activity exacerbated these behaviors. …”
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Stable coding of aversive associations in medial prefrontal populations by Herry, Cyril, Jercog, Daniel

“…To address this question, we performed electrophysiological single-unit population recordings in the dorsal mPFC while mice faced threat-predicting cues eliciting defensive behaviours, and performed pharmacological and optogenetic inactivations of this area and the amygdala. …”
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Parabrachial CGRP neurons modulate active defensive behavior under a naturalistic threat by Gyeong Hee Pyeon, Hyewon Cho, Byung Min Chung, June-Seek Choi, Yong Sang Jo

“…Our electrophysiological results revealed that CGRP neurons encode the intensity of aversive stimuli through variations in firing durations and amplitudes. Optogenetic activation of CGRP neurons during robot chasing elevated flight responses in both conditioning and retention tests, presumably by amplifying the perception of the threat as more imminent and dangerous. …”
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