Disruption of Astrocyte-Dependent Dopamine Control in the Developing Medial Prefrontal Cortex Leads to Excessive Grooming in Mice

Immediate glucose signaling transmitted via the vagus nerve in gut-brain neural communication

“…63–66 Interestingly, the disruption of this astrocyte-dependent dopamine regulation in the frontal cortex is linked to the development of obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders (OCD) because of dysregulation of the corticostriatal circuit. 44 The corticostriatal circuit, which involves projection from frontal cortex neurons to the striatum, plays an important role in food-seeking behavior. 43…”

“…The activation of the frontal cortex by dopamine plays an important role in reward-based decision-making and regulating striatal activity by modulating corticostriatal circuit connectivity. 39–44 While our research concentrated on the ventral dopaminergic pathway, many research have focused on the dorsal striatum following dorsal dopaminergic pathway activation and have shown that dopamine uptake in dorsal striatum post-gastric glucose absorption stimulates sugar intake in mice. 18,23,26,32,43…”

“…[63][64][65][66] Interestingly, the disruption of this astrocyte-dependent dopamine regulation in the frontal cortex is linked to the development of obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders (OCD) because of dysregulation of the corticostriatal circuit. 44 The corticostriatal circuit, which involves projection from frontal cortex neurons to the striatum, plays an important role in food-seeking behavior. 43 Although our experiment did not directly validate the release of ATP/adenosine following astrocytic activation via D2DR and the subsequent suppression of neuronal activity, the observed increase in intracellular Ca 2+ concentration in astrocytes following dopamine reception via D2DR could be considered a key factor in modulating sugar intake in mice.…”

“…The activation of the frontal cortex by dopamine plays an important role in reward-based decision-making and regulating striatal activity by modulating corticostriatal circuit connectivity. [39][40][41][42][43][44] While our research concentrated on the ventral dopaminergic pathway, many research have focused on the dorsal striatum following dorsal dopaminergic pathway activation and have shown that dopamine uptake in dorsal striatum post-gastric glucose absorption stimulates sugar intake in mice. 18,23,26,32,43 We have yet determined whether frontal cortex activation directly enhances sucrose intake in mice or if changes in the activity of other brain regions, such as the striatum, induced by frontal cortex activation, indirectly facilitate sucrose intake.…”

“…This dopaminergic mesocortical pathway is activated by reward responses and plays a role in prompting appropriate behavior in response to rewarding stimuli. 18,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45] While the projection targets of VTA dopaminergic neurons encompass both the ventral striatum and the frontal cortex, a significant temporal divergence is observed: dopamine release in the ventral striatum occurs several minutes post-intestinal glucose injection, whereas VTA dopaminergic neurons are activated promptly within seconds. This disparity suggests that the immediate activation of VTA dopaminergic neurons under intestinal glucose injection might involve the frontal cortex through a pathway distinct from that associated with the striatum.…”