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Cited by 298

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 55 of the 55 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Dopamine enhances signal-to-noise ratio in cortical-brainstem encoding of aversive stimuli

Open access
Vander Weele, Caitlin M., Siciliano, Cody A., Matthews, Gillian A., Namburi, Praneeth, Izadmehr, Ehsan M., Espinel, Isabella C., Nieh, Edward H., Schut, Evelien H. S., Padilla-Coreano, Nancy, Burgos-Robles, Anthony, Chang, Chia-Jung, Kimchi, Eyal Y., Beyeler, Anna, Wichmann, Romy, Wildes, Craig P., Tye, Kay M.·2018·Nature

Abstract

Dopamine modulates medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) activity to mediate diverse behavioural functions1,2; however, the precise circuit computations remain unknown. One potentially unifying model by which dopamine may underlie a diversity of functions is by modulating the signal-to-noise ratio in subpopulations of mPFC neurons3–6, where neural activity conveying sensory information (signal) is amplified relative to spontaneous firing (noise). Here we demonstrate that dopamine increases the signal-to-noise ratio of responses to aversive stimuli in mPFC neurons projecting to the dorsal periaqueductal grey (dPAG). Using an electrochemical approach, we reveal the precise time course of pinch-evoked dopamine release in the mPFC, and show that mPFC dopamine biases behavioural responses to aversive stimuli. Activation of mPFC–dPAG neurons is sufficient to drive place avoidance and defensive behaviours. mPFC–dPAG neurons display robust shock-induced excitations, as visualized by single-cell, projection-defined microendoscopic calcium imaging. Finally, photostimulation of dopamine terminals in the mPFC reveals an increase in the signal-to-noise ratio in mPFC–dPAG responses to aversive stimuli. Together, these data highlight how dopamine in the mPFC can selectively route sensory information to specific downstream circuits, representing a potential circuit mechanism for valence processing. Dopamine in the medial prefrontal cortex modulates behavioural responses to aversive stimuli by increasing the signal-to-noise ratio of neurons projecting to the dorsal periaqueductal grey.

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Metadata

Authors
Vander Weele, C. M., Siciliano, C. A., Matthews, G. A., Namburi, P., Izadmehr, E. M., Espinel, I. C., Nieh, E. H., Schut, E. H. S., Padilla-Coreano, N., Burgos-Robles, A., Chang, C.-J., Kimchi, E. Y., Beyeler, A., Wichmann, R., Wildes, C. P., & Tye, K. M.
Venue
Nature
Published
2018-11
Volume
563
Issue
7731
Pages
397-401
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W2900440811
Cited by
298
References
55
FWCI
9.39
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
green

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Dopamine enhances signal-to-noise ratio in cortical-brainstem encoding of aversive stimuli. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1038/s41586-018-0682-1
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Vander Weele, C. M., Siciliano, C. A., Matthews, G. A., Namburi, P., Izadmehr, E. M., Espinel, I. C., Nieh, E. H., Schut, E. H. S., Padilla-Coreano, N., Burgos-Robles, A., Chang, C.-J., Kimchi, E. Y., Beyeler, A., Wichmann, R., Wildes, C. P., & Tye, K. M. (2018). Dopamine enhances signal-to-noise ratio in cortical-brainstem encoding of aversive stimuli. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0682-1

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