Striatal dopamine signals are region specific and temporally stable across action-sequence habit formation

Habits are automatic, inflexible behaviors that develop slowly with repeated performance. Striatal dopamine signaling instantiates this habit-formation process, presumably region specifically and via ventral-to-dorsal and medial-to-lateral signal shifts. Here, we quantify dopamine release in regions...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Current biology Vol. 32; no. 5; pp. 1163 - 1174.e6
Main Authors:	van Elzelingen, Wouter, Warnaar, Pascal, Matos, João, Bastet, Wieneke, Jonkman, Roos, Smulders, Dyonne, Goedhoop, Jessica, Denys, Damiaan, Arbab, Tara, Willuhn, Ingo
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England Elsevier Inc 14-03-2022 Cell Press
Subjects:	action repetition Animals automated behavior basal ganglia behavior Corpus Striatum - physiology Dopamine goal-directed behavior habit formation Habits Neostriatum - physiology Optogenetics rat Rats striatum habits basal ganglia striatum rat action repetition behavior dopamine automated behavior habit formation goal-directed behavior
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Summary:	Habits are automatic, inflexible behaviors that develop slowly with repeated performance. Striatal dopamine signaling instantiates this habit-formation process, presumably region specifically and via ventral-to-dorsal and medial-to-lateral signal shifts. Here, we quantify dopamine release in regions implicated in these presumed shifts (ventromedial striatum [VMS], dorsomedial striatum [DMS], and dorsolateral striatum [DLS]) in rats performing an action-sequence task and characterize habit development throughout a 10-week training. Surprisingly, all regions exhibited stable dopamine dynamics throughout habit development. VMS and DLS signals did not differ between habitual and non-habitual animals, but DMS dopamine release increased during action-sequence initiation and decreased during action-sequence completion in habitual rats, whereas non-habitual rats showed opposite effects. Consistently, optogenetic stimulation of DMS dopamine release accelerated habit formation. Thus, we demonstrate that dopamine signals do not shift regionally during habit formation and that dopamine in DMS, but not VMS or DLS, determines habit bias, attributing “habit functions” to a region previously associated exclusively with non-habitual behavior. [Display omitted] •Validation of a novel test that monitors habit development individually across time•Dopamine release during habit development is stable across relevant striatal regions•Only dopamine release in dorsomedial striatum correlates with habit development•Optogenetic stimulation of dorsomedial striatal dopamine accelerates habit formation Van Elzelingen et al. simultaneously track striatal dopamine signaling and development of habitual behavior. In the dorsomedial striatum, previously associated with non-habitual behavior, dopamine release increases during action initiation in habitual rats and decreases during action completion, whereas non-habitual rats show opposite effects.
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ISSN:	0960-9822 1879-0445 1879-0445
DOI:	10.1016/j.cub.2021.12.027