AAV-only targeting of ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons for optical self-stimulation studies in mice
Ezequiel Marron Fernandez de Velasco, John C Brent IV, Alex L Welter, Praseuth Yang, Annelise Wickman, Eric H Mitten, Kevin Wickman · 2026
Read AAV-only targeting of ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons for optical self-stimulation studies in mice by Ezequiel Marron Fernandez de Velasco, John C Brent IV, Alex L Welter, Praseuth Yang, Annelise Wickman, Eric H Mitten, Kevin Wickman (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13443803.txt.
Description
Ezequiel Marron Fernandez de Velasco and colleagues describe a 2026 virus-only method for reaching dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area of mice, a brain hub for reward, learning, and motivation. Standard work needs costly transgenic mouse lines, so the team paired two adeno-associated virus vectors, one driving Cre from a dopamine-neuron promoter fragment and one carrying a Cre-dependent payload.
Co-infusion labeled dopamine neurons with 82 percent efficiency and 73 percent selectivity, matching results from knock-in mouse lines. Pairing the driver with a light-sensitive channel supported robust optical self-stimulation and normal dopamine-neuron electrical signatures. Labs without transgenic lines gain a faster route to reward studies, including work in mutant or inbred strains.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Ezequiel Marron Fernandez de Velasco, John C Brent IV, Alex L Welter, Praseuth Yang, Annelise Wickman, Eric H Mitten, Kevin Wickman |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 37 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |