Journal
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
Volume 28, Issue 42, Pages 10496-10508Publisher
SOC NEUROSCIENCE
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2291-08.2008
Keywords
cannabinoid; prefrontal cortex; bed nucleus of the stria terminalis; ventral tegmental area; dopamine cells; reward
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Funding
- INSERM
- Mission interministerielle de lutte contre les drogues et la toxicomanie/Institut National du Cancer/INSERM
- Region Aquitaine [ANR-06-NEUR-043-01]
- ANR Neurologie et psychiatrie [RPV06092GSA]
- Basque Country Government [GIC07/70-IT-432-07]
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The endocannabinoid system is involved in multiple physiological functions including reward. Cannabinoids potently control the activity of midbrain dopamine cells, but the contribution of cortical projections in this phenomenon is unclear. We show that the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) efficient relays cortical excitation to dopamine neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Anatomical and in vivo electrophysiological evidence demonstrate that excitatory projections arising exclusively from the infralimbic cortex converge on BNST neurons, which in turn project to and excite >80% VTA dopamine cells. At the ultrastructural level, cannabinoid type 1 receptors are detected within the BNST on axon terminals arising from the infralimbic cortex. We found that intra-BNST infusion of a cannabinoid agonist inhibits the firing of dopamine cells evoked by stimulation of the infralimbic cortex. Our data identify a new neuronal substrate for the actions of cannabinoids in the reward pathway.
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