In vivo patch-clamp recordings reveal distinct subthreshold signatures and threshold dynamics of midbrain dopamine neurons

Kanako Otomo, Jessica Perkins, Anand Kulkarni, Strahinja Stojanovic, Jochen Roeper () and Carlos A. Paladini ()
Additional contact information
Kanako Otomo: Goethe University
Jessica Perkins: University of Texas at San Antonio Neurosciences Institute
Anand Kulkarni: University of Texas at San Antonio Neurosciences Institute
Strahinja Stojanovic: Goethe University
Jochen Roeper: Goethe University
Carlos A. Paladini: University of Texas at San Antonio Neurosciences Institute

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract The in vivo firing patterns of ventral midbrain dopamine neurons are controlled by afferent and intrinsic activity to generate sensory cue and prediction error signals that are essential for reward-based learning. Given the absence of in vivo intracellular recordings during the last three decades, the subthreshold membrane potential events that cause changes in dopamine neuron firing patterns remain unknown. To address this, we established in vivo whole-cell recordings and obtained over 100 spontaneously active, immunocytochemically-defined midbrain dopamine neurons in isoflurane-anaesthetized adult mice. We identified a repertoire of subthreshold membrane potential signatures associated with distinct in vivo firing patterns. Dopamine neuron activity in vivo deviated from single-spike pacemaking by phasic increases in firing rate via two qualitatively distinct biophysical mechanisms: 1) a prolonged hyperpolarization preceding rebound bursts, accompanied by a hyperpolarizing shift in action potential threshold; and 2) a transient depolarization leading to high-frequency plateau bursts, associated with a depolarizing shift in action potential threshold. Our findings define a mechanistic framework for the biophysical implementation of dopamine neuron firing patterns in the intact brain.

Date: 2020
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-20041-2 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-20041-2

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20041-2

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().