Imperial College London
Professor Dominic Withers

ProfessorDominicWithers

Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Clinical Sciences

Clinical Chair in Diabetes & Endocrinology
 
 
 
//

Contact

 

d.withers

 
 
//

Location

 

Hammersmith HospitalHammersmith Campus

//

Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Sandhu:2018:10.1523/ENEURO.0064-18.2018,
author = {Sandhu, EC and Fernando, ABP and Irvine, E and Tossell, K and Kokkinou, M and Glegola, J and Smith, M and Howes, O and Withers, DJ and Ungless, MA},
doi = {10.1523/ENEURO.0064-18.2018},
journal = {eNeuro},
title = {Phasic stimulation of midbrain dopamine neuron activity reduces salt consumption},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0064-18.2018},
volume = {5},
year = {2018}
}
Download

RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - Salt intake is an essential dietary requirement, but excessive consumption is implicated in hypertension and associated conditions. Little is known about the neural circuit mechanisms that control motivation to consume salt, although the midbrain dopamine system, which plays a key role in other reward-related behaviours, has been implicated. We, therefore, examined the effects on salt consumption of either optogenetic excitation or chemogenetic inhibition of ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons in male mice. Strikingly, optogenetic excitation of dopamine neurons decreased salt intake  in a rapid and reversible manner, despite a strong salt appetite. Importantly, optogenetic excitation was not aversive, did not induce hyperactivity, and did not alter salt concentration preferences in a need-free state. In addition, we found that chemogenetic inhibition of dopamine neurons had no effect on salt intake. Lastly, optogenetic excitation of dopamine neurons reduced consumption of sucrose following an overnight fast, suggesting a more general role of VTA dopamine neuron excitation in organising motivated behaviors.
AU  - Sandhu,EC
AU  - Fernando,ABP
AU  - Irvine,E
AU  - Tossell,K
AU  - Kokkinou,M
AU  - Glegola,J
AU  - Smith,M
AU  - Howes,O
AU  - Withers,DJ
AU  - Ungless,MA
DO  - 10.1523/ENEURO.0064-18.2018
PY  - 2018///
SN  - 2373-2822
TI  - Phasic stimulation of midbrain dopamine neuron activity reduces salt consumption
T2  - eNeuro
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0064-18.2018
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/58038
VL  - 5
ER  -
Download