A VTA GABAergic Neural Circuit Mediates Visually Evoked Innate Defensive Responses
A VTA GABAergic Neural Circuit Mediates Visually Evoked Innate Defensive Responses
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VTA GABA 神经回路介导视觉诱发的先天防御反应
DOI：
10.1016/j.neuron.2019.05.027
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发表时间：
2019-08-07
期刊：
影响因子：
16.2
通讯作者：
Wang, Liping
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Zhou, Zheng;Liu, Xuemei;Wang, Liping
天生的防御反应对动物的生存至关重要，并且在物种中是保守的。腹侧被盖区（VTA）在习得性食欲和厌恶行为中起重要作用，但它是否在介导或调节先天防御反应中起作用目前尚不清楚。我们报告VTA（GABA+）神经元对隐约可见的刺激作出反应。抑制VTA（GABA+）神经元减少隐现诱发的防御性飞行行为，这些神经元的光激活导致防御样飞行行为。利用病毒示踪和电生理记录，我们表明，VTA（GABA+）神经元接受直接兴奋性输入的上级丘（SC）。此外，我们发现，神经元的SC-VTA项目突触到VTA（GABA+）神经元，项目的中央核杏仁核（CeA）和CeA参与介导的防御行为。我们的研究结果表明，空中威胁相关的视觉信息被中继到腹侧被盖区（GABA+）神经元介导的先天行为反应，这表明更普遍的作用腹侧被盖区。
Innate defensive responses are essential for animal survival and are conserved across species. The ventral tegmental area (VTA) plays important roles in learned appetitive and aversive behaviors, but whether it plays a role in mediating or modulating innate defensive responses is currently unknown. We report that VTA(GABA+) neurons respond to a looming stimulus. Inhibition of VTA(GABA+) neurons reduced looming- evoked defensive flight behavior, and photo-activation of these neurons resulted in defense-like flight behavior. Using viral tracing and electrophysiological recordings, we show that VTA(GABA+) neurons receive direct excitatory inputs from the superior colliculus (SC). Furthermore, we show that glutamatergic SC-VTA projections synapse onto VTA(GABA+) neurons that project to the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) and that the CeA is involved in mediating the defensive behavior. Our findings demonstrate that aerial threat- related visual information is relayed to VTA(GABA+) neurons mediating innate behavioral responses, suggesting a more general role of the VTA.