Chronic nicotine increases midbrain dopamine neuron activity and biases individual strategies towards reduced exploration in mice

Malou Dongelmans, Romain Durand- de Cuttoli, Claire Nguyen, Maxime Come, Etienne K. Duranté, Damien Lemoine, Raphaël Brito, Tarek Ahmed Yahia, Sarah Mondoloni, Steve Didienne, Elise Bousseyrol, Bernadette Hannesse, Lauren M. Reynolds, Nicolas Torquet, Deniz Dalkara, Fabio Marti, Alexandre Mourot, Jérémie Naudé and Philippe Faure ()
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Malou Dongelmans: Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Neuroscience Paris Seine - Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS - IBPS)
Romain Durand- de Cuttoli: Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Neuroscience Paris Seine - Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS - IBPS)
Claire Nguyen: Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Neuroscience Paris Seine - Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS - IBPS)
Maxime Come: Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Neuroscience Paris Seine - Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS - IBPS)
Etienne K. Duranté: Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Neuroscience Paris Seine - Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS - IBPS)
Damien Lemoine: Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Neuroscience Paris Seine - Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS - IBPS)
Raphaël Brito: Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Neuroscience Paris Seine - Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS - IBPS)
Tarek Ahmed Yahia: Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Neuroscience Paris Seine - Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS - IBPS)
Sarah Mondoloni: Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Neuroscience Paris Seine - Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS - IBPS)
Steve Didienne: Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Neuroscience Paris Seine - Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS - IBPS)
Elise Bousseyrol: Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Neuroscience Paris Seine - Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS - IBPS)
Bernadette Hannesse: Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Neuroscience Paris Seine - Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS - IBPS)
Lauren M. Reynolds: Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Neuroscience Paris Seine - Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS - IBPS)
Nicolas Torquet: Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Neuroscience Paris Seine - Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS - IBPS)
Deniz Dalkara: Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Institut de la Vision
Fabio Marti: Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Neuroscience Paris Seine - Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS - IBPS)
Alexandre Mourot: Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Neuroscience Paris Seine - Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS - IBPS)
Jérémie Naudé: Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Neuroscience Paris Seine - Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS - IBPS)
Philippe Faure: Sorbonne Université, INSERM, CNRS, Neuroscience Paris Seine - Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS - IBPS)

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract Long-term exposure to nicotine alters brain circuits and induces profound changes in decision-making strategies, affecting behaviors both related and unrelated to drug seeking and consumption. Using an intracranial self-stimulation reward-based foraging task, we investigated in mice the impact of chronic nicotine on midbrain dopamine neuron activity and its consequence on the trade-off between exploitation and exploration. Model-based and archetypal analysis revealed substantial inter-individual variability in decision-making strategies, with mice passively exposed to nicotine shifting toward a more exploitative profile compared to non-exposed animals. We then mimicked the effect of chronic nicotine on the tonic activity of dopamine neurons using optogenetics, and found that photo-stimulated mice adopted a behavioral phenotype similar to that of mice exposed to chronic nicotine. Our results reveal a key role of tonic midbrain dopamine in the exploration/exploitation trade-off and highlight a potential mechanism by which nicotine affects the exploration/exploitation balance and decision-making.

Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:12:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-021-27268-7

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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-27268-7

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