Abstract
Social behaviors are highly important in mammals as conspecific interaction impairments are symptomatic of neuropsychiatric diseases. Several neural circuit mechanisms underlying the regulation of social behaviors have been described. Among them, dopamine (DA) neurons in the Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) have been implicated in modulating the rewarding properties of conspecific interaction. However, how DA neurons receive information related to conspecifics is still an open question. In this study, we identified that Superior Colliculus (SC) neurons projecting to the VTA decrease their activity during conspecific interaction. Using optogenetic approaches, we demonstrated that SC – VTA pathway controls orientation towards unfamiliar conspecifics and regulates social interaction while Anterior Cortex (AC) to VTA pathway promotes conspecific interaction without affecting orienting behaviors towards the conspecific. Moreover, we show that contrary to AC pathway, SC projects onto VTA DA neurons that send inputs to dorsolateral striatum (DLS). Photostimulation of VTA to DLS pathway decreases interaction, mimicking SC to VTA stimulation. Our work not only delineates a previously unknown role of SC–VTA–DLS pathway in controlling orienting behavior during conspecific interaction, but also supports the hypothesis that different VTA DA neurons subpopulations play a specific role in social behavior.
One sentence summary Distinct ventral tegmental area dopaminergic pathways encode for complementary aspects of social behavior in mice.
