PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Niels R. Ntamati
AU  - Christian Lüscher
TI  - VTA Projection Neurons Releasing GABA and Glutamate in the Dentate Gyrus
AID  - 10.1523/ENEURO.0137-16.2016
DP  - 2016 Jul 01
TA  - eneuro
PG  - ENEURO.0137-16.2016
VI  - 3
IP  - 4
4099  - http://www.eneuro.org/content/3/4/ENEURO.0137-16.2016.short
4100  - http://www.eneuro.org/content/3/4/ENEURO.0137-16.2016.full
SO  - eneuro2016 Jul 01; 3
AB  - Both dopamine and nondopamine neurons from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) project to a variety of brain regions. Here we examine nondopaminergic neurons in the mouse VTA that send long-range projections to the hippocampus. Using a combination of retrograde tracers, optogenetic tools, and electrophysiological recordings, we show that VTA GABAergic axons make synaptic contacts in the granule cell layer of the dentate gyrus, where we can elicit small postsynaptic currents. Surprisingly, the currents displayed a partial sensitivity to both bicuculline and NBQX, suggesting that these mesohippocampal neurons corelease both GABA and glutamate. Finally, we show that this projection is functional in vivo and its stimulation reduces granule cell-firing rates under anesthesia. Altogether, the present results describe a novel connection between GABA and glutamate coreleasing of cells of the VTA and the dentate gyrus. This connection could be relevant for a variety of functions, including reward-related memory and neurogenesis.