BRAIN K99 project: Sofia Beas

National Institute Of Mental Health

Investigators

Abstract

Over the course of FY22, we concluded a research study (currently in preparation for publication) where we used fiber photometry to investigate the in vivo dynamics of two parallel thalamo-striatal pathways in mice performing a reward foraging task. Our findings revealed that activity in the Type1PVTNAc pathway increases during the reward approach and varies with aspects of motivation such as behavioral vigor and level of satiety. In contrast, Type2PVTNAc neurons showed opposing in vivo dynamics and were not sensitive to motivational variables, suggesting that this pathway may participate in regulating other aspects of goal-oriented behaviors. Collectively, the results gathered from this investigation demonstrate a novel dissociation between the Type1PVTNAc and Type2PVTNAc pathways, and identify a specific neuronal subpopulation of the PVT that signals motivational states (Beas et al., in preparation). By investigating the neural mechanisms that control these processes, our work has the potential to generate valuable knowledge for the treatment of motivational deficits at the core of various psychiatric disorders including depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.