V-094 | VTA dopaminergic neuron activity is required for social behaviors relevant to schizophrenia

Disorders of the Nervous System
Author: Juan Martín Uehara | Email: ueharajm@gmail.com

Juan Martín Uehara^1°, Analía López Díaz^1°,Verónica Risso^1°, Juan Emilio Belforte^1°, Estefanía Pilar Bello^1°

^1° Universidad de Buenos Aires – CONICET. Instituto de Fisiología y Biofísica Bernardo Houssay (IFIBIO Houssay), Facultad de Medicina, Departamento de Ciencias Fisiológicas. Grupo de Neurociencia de Sistemas. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) have previously been implicated in
the control of various social behaviors in rodents, such as approaching a novel conspecific or
performing an instrumental response to access a social reinforcer. Additionally, dopaminergic
imbalances in the midbrain have been proposed as a pathophysiological mechanism underlying
psychiatric disorders that feature deficits in social cognition and behavior. The aim of this work
was to examine the role of VTA dopaminergic neurons in social behaviors with translational
relevance to schizophrenia. To this end, we conducted a region- and neuron-type-specific
chemogenetic inhibition while mice performed a battery of paradigms targeting different
aspects of social behavior.