Dopamine projections to the basolateral amygdala drive the encoding of identity-specific reward memories

Ana C Sias; Yousif Jafar; Caitlin M Goodpaster; Kathia Ramírez-Armenta; Tyler M Wrenn; Nicholas K Griffin; Keshav Patel; Alexander C Lamparelli; Melissa J Sharpe; Kate M Wassum

doi:10.1038/s41593-024-01586-7

Dopamine projections to the basolateral amygdala drive the encoding of identity-specific reward memories

Nat Neurosci. 2024 Apr;27(4):728-736. doi: 10.1038/s41593-024-01586-7. Epub 2024 Feb 23.

Authors

Ana C Sias¹, Yousif Jafar¹, Caitlin M Goodpaster¹, Kathia Ramírez-Armenta¹, Tyler M Wrenn¹, Nicholas K Griffin¹, Keshav Patel¹, Alexander C Lamparelli¹, Melissa J Sharpe^{1

2

3

4

5}, Kate M Wassum^{6

7

8

9}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
² Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
³ Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁴ Integrative Center for Addictive Disorders, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
⁵ Department of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁶ Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA. [email protected].
⁷ Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA. [email protected].
⁸ Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA. [email protected].
⁹ Integrative Center for Addictive Disorders, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA. [email protected].

Abstract

To make adaptive decisions, we build an internal model of the associative relationships in an environment and use it to make predictions and inferences about specific available outcomes. Detailed, identity-specific cue-reward memories are a core feature of such cognitive maps. Here we used fiber photometry, cell-type and pathway-specific optogenetic manipulation, Pavlovian cue-reward conditioning and decision-making tests in male and female rats, to reveal that ventral tegmental area dopamine (VTA_DA) projections to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) drive the encoding of identity-specific cue-reward memories. Dopamine is released in the BLA during cue-reward pairing; VTA_DA→BLA activity is necessary and sufficient to link the identifying features of a reward to a predictive cue but does not assign general incentive properties to the cue or mediate reinforcement. These data reveal a dopaminergic pathway for the learning that supports adaptive decision-making and help explain how VTA_DA neurons achieve their emerging multifaceted role in learning.

MeSH terms

Animals
Basolateral Nuclear Complex* / physiology
Cues
Dopamine
Female
Learning / physiology
Male
Rats
Reinforcement, Psychology
Reward

Substances

Dopamine

Abstract

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding