Ventral tegmental area α6β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors modulate phasic dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens core

摘要

RATIONALEPhasic dopamine (DA) signaling underlies reward learning. Cholinergic and glutamatergic inputs into the ventral tegmental area (VTA) are crucial for modulating burst firing activity and subsequent phasic DA release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), but the specific VTA nicotinic receptor subtypes that regulate phasic DA release have not been identified.