A discrete serotonergic circuit regulates vulnerability to social stress

• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18010-w
• Publication Date: 2020-08-24T10:04:26Z
• Authors: Wen-Jun Zou; Yun-Long Song; Min-Yi Wu; Xiang-Tian Chen; Qiang-Long You; Qian Yang; Zheng-Yi Luo; Lang Huang; Yin Kong; Jing Feng; Dong-Xiang Fang; Xiao-Wen Li; Jian-Ming Yang; Lin Mei; Tian-Ming Gao
• Keywords: Dorsal Raphe Nucleus; Male; 0301 basic medicine; Serotonin; Microscopy, Confocal; Science; Q; Ventral Tegmental Area; Glutamic Acid; Mice, Transgenic; Synaptic Transmission; Article; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Luminescent Proteins; 03 medical and health sciences; Neural Pathways; Animals; Stress, Psychological; Serotonergic Neurons; Red Fluorescent Protein

AbstractExposure to social stress and dysregulated serotonergic neurotransmission have both been implicated in the etiology of psychiatric disorders. However, the serotonergic circuit involved in stress vulnerability is still unknown. Here, we explored whether a serotonergic input from the dorsal raphe (DR) to ventral tegmental area (VTA) influences vulnerability to social stress. We identified a distinct, anatomically and functionally defined serotonergic subpopulation in the DR that projects to the VTA (5-HTDR→VTA neurons). Moreover, we found that susceptibility to social stress decreased the firing activity of 5-HTDR→VTA neurons. Importantly, the bidirectional manipulation of 5-HTDR→VTA neurons could modulate susceptibility to social stress. Our findings reveal that the activity of 5-HTDR→VTA neurons may be an essential factor in determining individual levels of susceptibility to social stress and suggest that targeting specific serotonergic circuits may aid the development of therapies for the treatment of stress-related disorders.