Whole‐brain efferent and afferent connectivity of mouse ventral tegmental area melanocortin‐3 receptor neurons

摘要: The mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system is involved in the regulation of multiple behaviors, including feeding, and evidence demonstrates that melanocortin can act on DA to control feeding other behaviors. melanocortin-3 receptor (MC3R) an important component system, but its overall role poorly understood. Because MC3Rs are highly expressed ventral tegmental area (VTA) likely be key interaction point between systems, we set out identify both efferent projection patterns VTA MC3R neurons location providing afferent input them. were broadly connected across brain strongly a discrete regions reward, aversion. Surprisingly, experiments using monosynaptic rabies virus showed proopiomelanocortin (POMC) agouti-related protein (AgRP) arcuate nucleus made few direct synapses onto or any major neuronal subtypes VTA, despite being extensively labeled by general retrograde tracers injected into VTA. These results greatly contribute our understanding anatomical interactions systems provide foundation for future studies circuits containing them