Dopamine transporter blockade during adolescence increases adult dopamine function, impulsivity, and aggression.

Sensitive developmental periods shape neural circuits and enable adaptation. However, they also engender vulnerability to factors that can perturb developmental trajectories. An understanding of sensitive period phenomena and mechanisms separate from sensory system development is still lacking, yet critical to understanding disease etiology and risk. The dopamine system is pivotal in controlling and shaping adolescent behaviors, and it undergoes heightened plasticity during that time, such that interference with dopamine signaling can have long-lasting behavioral consequences. Here we sought to gain mechanistic insight into this dopamine-sensitive period and its impact on behavior. In mice, dopamine transporter (DAT) blockade from postnatal (P) day 22 to 41 increases aggression and sensitivity to amphetamine (AMPH) behavioral stimulation in adulthood. Here, we refined this sensitive window to P32-41 and identified increased firing of dopaminergic neurons in vitro and in vivo as a neural correlate to altered adult behavior. Aggression can result from enhanced impulsivity and cognitive dysfunction, and dopamine regulates working memory and motivated behavior. Hence, we assessed these behavioral domains and found that P32-41 DAT blockade increases impulsivity but has no effect on cognition, working memory, or motivation in adulthood. Lastly, using optogenetics to drive dopamine neurons, we find that increased VTA but not SNc dopaminergic activity mimics the increase in impulsive behavior in the Go/NoGo task observed after adolescent DAT blockade. Together our data provide insight into the developmental origins of aggression and impulsivity that may ultimately improve diagnosis, prevention, and treatment strategies for related neuropsychiatric disorders.

Perinatal interference with the serotonergic system affects VTA function in the adult via glutamate co-transmission.

Serotonin and dopamine are associated with multiple psychiatric disorders. How they interact during development to affect subsequent behavior remains unknown. Knockout of the serotonin transporter or postnatal blockade with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) leads to novelty-induced exploration deficits in adulthood, potentially involving the dopamine system. Here, we show in the mouse that raphe nucleus serotonin neurons activate ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons via glutamate co-transmission and that this co-transmission is reduced in animals exposed postnatally to SSRIs. Blocking serotonin neuron glutamate co-transmission mimics this SSRI-induced hypolocomotion, while optogenetic activation of dopamine neurons reverses this hypolocomotor phenotype. Our data demonstrate that serotonin neurons modulate dopamine neuron activity via glutamate co-transmission and that this pathway is developmentally malleable, with high serotonin levels during early life reducing co-transmission, revealing the basis for the reduced novelty-induced exploration in adulthood due to postnatal SSRI exposure.

5-HT2C receptor blockade reverses SSRI-associated basal ganglia dysfunction and potentiates therapeutic efficacy.

Serotonin (5-HT) selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are widely used in the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders, but responsiveness is uncertain and side effects often lead to discontinuation. Side effect profiles suggest that SSRIs reduce dopaminergic (DAergic) activity, but specific mechanistic insight is missing. Here we show in mice that SSRIs impair motor function by acting on 5-HT2C receptors in the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr), which in turn inhibits nigra pars compacta (SNc) DAergic neurons. SSRI-induced motor deficits can be reversed by systemic or SNr-localized 5-HT2C receptor antagonism. SSRIs induce SNr hyperactivity and SNc hypoactivity that can also be reversed by systemic 5-HT2C receptor antagonism. Optogenetic inhibition of SNc DAergic neurons mimics the motor deficits due to chronic SSRI treatment, whereas local SNr 5-HT2C receptor antagonism or optogenetic activation of SNc DAergic neurons reverse SSRI-induced motor deficits. Lastly, we find that 5-HT2C receptor antagonism potentiates the antidepressant and anxiolytic effects of SSRIs. Together our findings demonstrate opposing roles for 5-HT2C receptors in the effects of SSRIs on motor function and affective behavior, highlighting the potential benefits of 5-HT2C receptor antagonists for both reduction of motor side effects of SSRIs and augmentation of therapeutic antidepressant and anxiolytic effects.

Functional Connectome Analysis of the Striatum with Optogenetics.

Neural circuit function is determined not only by anatomical connections but also by the strength and nature of the connections, that is functional or physiological connectivity. To elucidate functional connectivity, selective stimulation of presynaptic terminals of an identified neuronal population is crucial. However, in the central nervous system, intermingled input fibers make selective electrical stimulation impossible. With optogenetics, this becomes possible, and enables the comprehensive study of functional synaptic connections between an identified population of neurons and defined postsynaptic targets to determine the functional connectome. By stimulating convergent synaptic inputs impinging on individual postsynaptic neurons, low frequency and small amplitude synaptic connections can be detected. Further, the optogenetic approach enables the measurement of cotransmission and its relative strength. Recently, optogenetic methods have been more widely used to study synaptic connectivity and revealed novel synaptic connections and revised connectivity of known projections. In this chapter, I focus on functional synaptic connectivity in the striatum, the main input structure of the basal ganglia, involved in the motivated behavior, cognition, and motor control, and its disruption in a range of neuropsychiatric disorders.

Interneuron precursor transplants in adult hippocampus reverse psychosis-relevant features in a mouse model of hippocampal disinhibition.

GABAergic interneuron hypofunction is hypothesized to underlie hippocampal dysfunction in schizophrenia. Here, we use the cyclin D2 knockout (Ccnd2(-/-)) mouse model to test potential links between hippocampal interneuron deficits and psychosis-relevant neurobehavioral phenotypes. Ccnd2(-/-) mice show cortical PV(+) interneuron reductions, prominently in hippocampus, associated with deficits in synaptic inhibition, increased in vivo spike activity of projection neurons, and increased in vivo basal metabolic activity (assessed with fMRI) in hippocampus. Ccnd2(-/-) mice show several neurophysiological and behavioral phenotypes that would be predicted to be produced by hippocampal disinhibition, including increased ventral tegmental area dopamine neuron population activity, behavioral hyperresponsiveness to amphetamine, and impairments in hippocampus-dependent cognition. Remarkably, transplantation of cells from the embryonic medial ganglionic eminence (the major origin of cerebral cortical interneurons) into the adult Ccnd2(-/-) caudoventral hippocampus reverses these psychosis-relevant phenotypes. Surviving neurons from these transplants are 97% GABAergic and widely distributed within the hippocampus. Up to 6 mo after the transplants, in vivo hippocampal metabolic activity is lowered, context-dependent learning and memory is improved, and dopamine neuron activity and the behavioral response to amphetamine are normalized. These findings establish functional links between hippocampal GABA interneuron deficits and psychosis-relevant dopaminergic and cognitive phenotypes, and support a rationale for targeting limbic cortical interneuron function in the prevention and treatment of schizophrenia.

Functional Connectome Analysis of Dopamine Neuron Glutamatergic Connections in Forebrain Regions.

In the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a subpopulation of dopamine neurons express vesicular glutamate transporter 2 and make glutamatergic connections to nucleus accumbens (NAc) and olfactory tubercle (OT) neurons. However, their glutamatergic connections across the forebrain have not been explored systematically. To visualize dopamine neuron forebrain projections and to enable photostimulation of their axons independent of transmitter status, we virally transfected VTA neurons with channelrhodopsin-2 fused to enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (ChR2-EYFP) and used DAT(IREScre) mice to restrict expression to dopamine neurons. ChR2-EYFP-expressing neurons almost invariably stained for tyrosine hydroxylase, identifying them as dopaminergic. Dopamine neuron axons visualized by ChR2-EYFP fluorescence projected most densely to the striatum, moderately to the amygdala and entorhinal cortex (ERC), sparsely to prefrontal and cingulate cortices, and rarely to the hippocampus. Guided by ChR2-EYFP fluorescence, we recorded systematically from putative principal neurons in target areas and determined the incidence and strength of glutamatergic connections by activating all dopamine neuron terminals impinging on recorded neurons with wide-field photostimulation. This revealed strong glutamatergic connections in the NAc, OT, and ERC; moderate strength connections in the central amygdala; and weak connections in the cingulate cortex. No glutamatergic connections were found in the dorsal striatum, hippocampus, basolateral amygdala, or prefrontal cortex. These results indicate that VTA dopamine neurons elicit widespread, but regionally distinct, glutamatergic signals in the forebrain and begin to define the dopamine neuron excitatory functional connectome. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Dopamine neurons are important for the control of motivated behavior and are involved in the pathophysiology of several major neuropsychiatric disorders. Recent studies have shown that some ventral midbrain dopamine neurons are capable of glutamate cotransmission. With conditional expression of channelrhodopsin in dopamine neurons, we systematically explored dopamine neuron connections in the forebrain and identified regionally specific dopamine neuron excitatory connections. Establishing that only a subset of forebrain regions receive excitatory connections from dopamine neurons will help to determine the function of dopamine neuron glutamate cotransmission, which likely involves transmission of precise temporal signals and enhancement of the dynamic range of dopamine neuron signals.

Regional heterogeneity in the membrane properties of mouse striatal neurons.

The cytoarchitecture of the striatum is remarkably homogeneous, in contrast to the regional variation in striatal functions. Whether differences in the intrinsic membrane properties of striatal neurons contribute to regional heterogeneity has not been addressed systematically. We made recordings throughout the young adult mouse striatum under identical conditions, with synaptic input blocked, from four major striatal neuron types, namely, the two subtypes of spiny projection neurons (SPNs), cholinergic interneurons (ChIs), and fast-spiking GABAergic interneurons (FSIs), sampling at least 100 cells per cell type. Regional variation manifested across all cell types. All cell types in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell had higher input impedance and increased excitability. Cells in the NAc core were differentiated from the caudate-putamen (CPu) for both SPN subtypes by smaller action potentials and increased excitability. Similarity between the two SPN subtypes showed regional variation, differing more in the NAc than in the CPu. So, in the Str, both the intrinsic properties of interneurons and projection neurons are regionally heterogeneous, with the greatest difference between the NAc and CPu; greater excitability of NAc shell neurons may make the region more susceptible to activity-dependent plasticity.

The dopamine neuron synaptic map in the striatum.

Dopamine neurons project to the striatum to control movement, cognition, and motivation via slower volume transmission as well as faster dopamine, glutamate, and GABA synaptic actions capable of conveying the temporal information in dopamine neuron firing. To define the scope of these synaptic actions, recordings of dopamine-neuron-evoked synaptic currents were made in four major striatal neuron types, spanning the entire striatum. This revealed that inhibitory postsynaptic currents are widespread, while excitatory postsynaptic currents are localized to the medial nucleus accumbens and the anterolateral-dorsal striatum, and that all synaptic actions are weak in the posterior striatum. Synaptic actions in cholinergic interneurons are the strongest, variably mediating inhibition throughout the striatum and excitation in the medial accumbens, capable of controlling their activity. This mapping shows that dopamine neuron synaptic actions extend throughout the striatum, preferentially target cholinergic interneurons, and define distinct striatal subregions.

Functional connectome of the striatal medium spiny neuron.

Dopamine system disorders ranging from movement disorders to addiction and schizophrenia involve striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs), yet their functional connectivity has been difficult to determine comprehensively. We generated a mouse with conditional channelrhodopsin-2 expression restricted to medium spiny neurons and assessed the specificity and strength of their intrinsic connections in the striatum and their projections to the globus pallidus and the substantia nigra. In the striatum, medium spiny neurons connected with other MSNs and tonically active cholinergic interneurons, but not with fast-spiking GABA interneurons. In the globus pallidus, medium spiny neurons connected strongly with one class of electrophysiologically identified neurons, but weakly with the other. In the substantia nigra, medium spiny neurons connected strongly with GABA, but not with dopamine neurons. Projections to the globus pallidus showed solely D2-mediated presynaptic inhibition, whereas projections to the substantia nigra showed solely D1-mediated presynaptic facilitation. This optogenetic approach defines the functional connectome of the striatal medium spiny neuron.

Synaptic underpinnings of altered hippocampal function in glutaminase-deficient mice during maturation.

Glutaminase-deficient mice (GLS1 hets), with reduced glutamate recycling, have a focal reduction in hippocampal activity, mainly in CA1, and manifest behavioral and neurochemical phenotypes suggestive of schizophrenia resilience. To address the basis for the hippocampal hypoactivity, we examined synaptic plastic mechanisms and glutamate receptor expression. Although baseline synaptic strength was unaffected in Schaffer collateral inputs to CA1, we found that long-term potentiation was attenuated. In wild-type (WT) mice, GLS1 gene expression was highest in the hippocampus and cortex, where it was reduced by about 50% in GLS1 hets. In other brain regions with lower WT GLS1 gene expression, there were no genotypic reductions. In adult GLS1 hets, NMDA receptor NR1 subunit gene expression was reduced, but not AMPA receptor GluR1 subunit gene expression. In contrast, juvenile GLS1 hets showed no reductions in NR1 gene expression. In concert with this, adult GLS1 hets showed a deficit in hippocampal-dependent contextual fear conditioning, whereas juvenile GLS1 hets did not. These alterations in glutamatergic synaptic function may partly explain the hippocampal hypoactivity seen in the GLS1 hets. The maturity-onset reduction in NR1 gene expression and in contextual learning supports the premise that glutaminase inhibition in adulthood should prove therapeutic in schizophrenia.

Dopamine promotes aggression in mice via ventral tegmental area to lateral septum projections.

Septal-hypothalamic neuronal activity centrally mediates aggressive behavior and dopamine system hyperactivity is associated with elevated aggression. However, the causal role of dopamine in aggression and its target circuit mechanisms are largely unknown. To address this knowledge gap, we studied the modulatory role of the population- and projection-specific dopamine function in a murine model of aggressive behavior. We find that terminal activity of ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopaminergic neurons selectively projecting to the lateral septum (LS) is sufficient for promoting aggression and necessary for establishing baseline aggression. Within the LS, dopamine acts on D2-receptors to inhibit GABAergic neurons, and septal D2-signaling is necessary for VTA dopaminergic activity to promote aggression. Collectively, our data reveal a powerful modulatory influence of dopaminergic synaptic input on LS function and aggression, effectively linking the clinically pertinent hyper-dopaminergic model of aggression with the classic septal-hypothalamic aggression axis.

Dopamine Neurons That Cotransmit Glutamate, From Synapses to Circuits to Behavior.

Discovered just over 20 years ago, dopamine neurons have the ability to cotransmit both dopamine and glutamate. Yet, the functional roles of dopamine neuron glutamate cotransmission and their implications for therapeutic use are just emerging. This review article encompasses the current body of evidence investigating the functions of dopamine neurons of the ventral midbrain that cotransmit glutamate. Since its discovery in dopamine neuron cultures, further work in vivo confirmed dopamine neuron glutamate cotransmission across species. From there, growing interest has led to research related to neural functioning including roles in synaptic signaling, development, and behavior. Functional connectome mapping reveals robust connections in multiple forebrain regions to various cell types, most notably to cholinergic interneurons in both the medial shell of the nucleus accumbens and the lateral dorsal striatum. Glutamate markers in dopamine neurons reach peak levels during embryonic development and increase in response to various toxins, suggesting dopamine neuron glutamate cotransmission may serve neuroprotective roles. Findings from behavioral analyses reveal prominent roles for dopamine neuron glutamate cotransmission in responses to psychostimulants, in positive valence and cognitive systems and for subtle roles in negative valence systems. Insight into dopamine neuron glutamate cotransmission informs the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders such as addiction, schizophrenia and Parkinson Disease, with therapeutic implications.

Single Dose of Amphetamine Induces Delayed Subregional Attenuation of Cholinergic Interneuron Activity in the Striatum.

Psychostimulants such as amphetamine (AMPH) target dopamine (DA) neuron synapses to engender drug-induced plasticity. While DA neurons modulate the activity of striatal (Str) cholinergic interneurons (ChIs) with regional heterogeneity, how AMPH affects ChI activity has not been elucidated. Here, we applied quantitative fluorescence imaging approaches to map the dose-dependent effects of a single dose of AMPH on ChI activity at 2.5 and 24 h after injection across the mouse Str using the activity-dependent marker phosphorylated ribosomal protein S6 (p-rpS6240/244). AMPH did not affect the distribution or morphology of ChIs in any Str subregion. While AMPH at either dose had no effect on ChI activity after 2.5 h, ChI activity was dose dependently reduced after 24 h specifically in the ventral Str/nucleus accumbens (NAc), a critical site of psychostimulant action. AMPH at either dose did not affect the spontaneous firing of ChIs. Altogether this work demonstrates that a single dose of AMPH has delayed regionally heterogeneous effects on ChI activity, which most likely involves extra-Str synaptic input.

Dopamine-glutamate neuron projections to the nucleus accumbens medial shell and behavioral switching.

Dopamine (DA) neuron projections to the striatum are functionally heterogeneous with diverse behavioral roles. We focus here on DA neuron projections to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) medial Shell, their distinct anatomical and functional connections, and discuss their role in motivated behavior. We first review rodent studies showing that a subpopulation of DA neurons in the medial ventral tegmental area (VTA) project to the NAc medial Shell. Using a combinatorial strategy, we show that the majority of DA neurons projecting to the NAc Shell express vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGLUT2) making them capable of glutamate co-transmission (DA-GLU neurons). In the NAc dorsal medial Shell, all of the DA neuron terminals arise from DA-GLU neurons, while in the lateral NAc Shell, DA neuron terminals arise from both DA-GLU neurons and DA-only neurons, without VGLUT2. DA-GLU neurons make excitatory connections to the three major cells types, spiny projection neurons, fast-spiking interneuron and cholinergic interneurons (ChIs). The strongest DA-GLU neuron excitatory connections are to ChIs. Photostimulation of DA-GLU neuron terminals in the slice drives ChIs to burst fire. Finally, we review studies that address specially the behavioral function of this subpopulation of DA neurons in extinction learning and latent inhibition. Taking into account findings from anatomical and functional connectome studies, we propose that DA-GLU neuron connections to ChIs in the medial Shell play a crucial role in switching behavioral responses under circumstances of altered cue-reinforcer contingencies.

Dopamine neuron glutamate cotransmission evokes a delayed excitation in lateral dorsal striatal cholinergic interneurons.

Dopamine neurons have different synaptic actions in the ventral and dorsal striatum (dStr), but whether this heterogeneity extends to dStr subregions has not been addressed. We have found that optogenetic activation of dStr dopamine neuron terminals in mouse brain slices pauses the firing of cholinergic interneurons in both the medial and lateral subregions, while in the lateral subregion the pause is shorter due to a subsequent excitation. This excitation is mediated mainly by metabotropic glutamate receptor 1 (mGluR1) and partially by dopamine D1-like receptors coupled to transient receptor potential channel 3 and 7. DA neurons do not signal to spiny projection neurons in the medial dStr, while they elicit ionotropic glutamate responses in the lateral dStr. The DA neurons mediating these excitatory signals are in the substantia nigra (SN). Thus, SN dopamine neurons engage different receptors in different postsynaptic neurons in different dStr subregions to convey strikingly different signals. Editorial note: This article has been through an editorial process in which the authors decide how to respond to the issues raised during peer review. The Reviewing Editor's assessment is that all the issues have been addressed (see decision letter).

Mice lacking brain/kidney phosphate-activated glutaminase have impaired glutamatergic synaptic transmission, altered breathing, disorganized goal-directed behavior and die shortly after birth.

Neurotransmitter glutamate has been thought to derive mainly from glutamine via the action of glutaminase type 1 (GLS1). To address the importance of this pathway in glutamatergic transmission, we knocked out GLS1 in mice. The insertion of a STOP cassette by homologous recombination produced a null allele that blocked transcription, encoded no immunoreactive protein, and abolished GLS1 enzymatic activity. Null mutants were slightly smaller, were deficient in goal-directed behavior, hypoventilated, and died in the first postnatal day. No gross or microscopic defects were detected in peripheral organs or in the CNS. In cultured neurons from the null mutants, miniature EPSC amplitude and duration were normal; however, the amplitude of evoked EPSCs decayed more rapidly with sustained 10 Hz stimulation, consistent with an observed reduction in depolarization-evoked glutamate release. Because of this activity-dependent impairment in glutamatergic transmission, we surmised that respiratory networks, which require temporal summation of synaptic input, would be particularly affected. We found that the amplitude of inspirations was decreased in vivo, chemosensitivity to CO2 was severely altered, and the frequency of pacemaker activity recorded in the respiratory generator in the pre-Bötzinger complex, a glutamatergic brainstem network that can be isolated in vitro, was increased. Our results show that although alternate pathways to GLS1 glutamate synthesis support baseline glutamatergic transmission, the GLS1 pathway is essential for maintaining the function of active synapses, and thus the mutation is associated with impaired respiratory function, abnormal goal-directed behavior, and neonatal demise.

Optogenetic Mapping of Synaptic Connections in Mouse Brain Slices to Definethe Functional Connectome of Identified Neuronal Populations.

Functional connectivity in a neural circuit is determined by the strength, incidence, and neurotransmitter nature of its connections (Chuhma, 2015). Using optogenetics the functional synaptic connections between an identified population of neurons and defined postsynaptic target neurons may be measured systematically in order to determine the functional connectome of that identified population. Here we describe the experimental protocol used to investigate the excitatory functional connectome of ventral midbrain dopamine neurons, mediated by glutamate cotransmission ( Mingote et al., 2015 ). Dopamine neurons are made light sensitive by injecting an adeno-associated virus (AAV) encoding channelrhodopsin (ChR2) into the ventral midbrain of DATIREScre mice. The efficacy and specificity of ChR2 expression in dopamine neurons is verified by immunofluorescence for the dopamine-synthetic enzyme tyrosine hydroxylase. Then, slice patch-clamp recordings are made from neurons in regions recipient to dopamine neuron projections and the incidence and strength of excitatory connections determined. The summary of the incidence and strength of connections in all regions recipient to dopamine neuron projections constitute the functional connectome.

Heterogeneity in Dopamine Neuron Synaptic Actions Across the Striatum and Its Relevance for Schizophrenia.

Brain imaging has revealed alterations in dopamine uptake, release, and receptor levels in patients with schizophrenia that have been resolved on the scale of striatal subregions. However, the underlying synaptic mechanisms are on a finer scale. Dopamine neuron synaptic actions vary across the striatum, involving variations not only in dopamine release but also in dopamine neuron connectivity, cotransmission, modulation, and activity. Optogenetic studies have revealed that dopamine neurons release dopamine in a synaptic signal mode, and that the neurons also release glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid as cotransmitters, with striking regional variation. Fast glutamate and gamma-aminobutyric acid cotransmission convey discrete patterns of dopamine neuron activity to striatal neurons. Glutamate may function not only in a signaling role at a subset of dopamine neuron synapses, but also in mediating vesicular synergy, contributing to regional differences in loading of dopamine into synaptic vesicles. Regional differences in dopamine neuron signaling are likely to be differentially involved in the schizophrenia disease process and likely determine the subregional specificity of the action of psychostimulants that exacerbate the disorder, and antipsychotics that ameliorate the disorder. Elucidating dopamine neuron synaptic signaling offers the potential for achieving greater pharmacological specificity through intersectional pharmacological actions targeting subsets of dopamine neuron synapses.

Dopamine neuron dependent behaviors mediated by glutamate cotransmission.

Dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area use glutamate as a cotransmitter. To elucidate the behavioral role of the cotransmission, we targeted the glutamate-recycling enzyme glutaminase (gene Gls1). In mice with a dopamine transporter (Slc6a3)-driven conditional heterozygous (cHET) reduction of Gls1 in their dopamine neurons, dopamine neuron survival and transmission were unaffected, while glutamate cotransmission at phasic firing frequencies was reduced, enabling a selective focus on the cotransmission. The mice showed normal emotional and motor behaviors, and an unaffected response to acute amphetamine. Strikingly, amphetamine sensitization was reduced and latent inhibition potentiated. These behavioral effects, also seen in global GLS1 HETs with a schizophrenia resilience phenotype, were not seen in mice with an Emx1-driven forebrain reduction affecting most brain glutamatergic neurons. Thus, a reduction in dopamine neuron glutamate cotransmission appears to mediate significant components of the GLS1 HET schizophrenia resilience phenotype, and glutamate cotransmission appears to be important in attribution of motivational salience.

Dopamine neurons mediate a fast excitatory signal via their glutamatergic synapses.

Dopamine neurons are thought to convey a fast, incentive salience signal, faster than can be mediated by dopamine. A resolution of this paradox may be that midbrain dopamine neurons exert fast excitatory actions. Using transgenic mice with fluorescent dopamine neurons, in which the axonal projections of the neurons are visible, we made horizontal brain slices encompassing the mesoaccumbens dopamine projection. Focal extracellular stimulation of dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area evoked dopamine release and early monosynaptic and late polysynaptic excitatory responses in postsynaptic nucleus accumbens neurons. Local superfusion of the ventral tegmental area with glutamate, which should activate dopamine neurons selectively, produced an increase in excitatory synaptic events. Local superfusion of the ventral tegmental area with the D2 agonist quinpirole, which should increase the threshold for dopamine neuron activation, inhibited the early response. So dopamine neurons make glutamatergic synaptic connections to accumbens neurons. We propose that dopamine neuron glutamatergic transmission may be the initial component of the incentive salience signal.