Cited by 66Sleep and Wakefulness ResearchNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research

Prefrontal cortex to accumbens projections in sleep regulation of reward

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Liu, Zheng, Wang, Yao, Cai, Li, Li, Yizhi, Chen, Bo, Dong, Yan, Huang, Yanhua H.·2016·The Journal of Neuroscience

Abstract

UNLABELLED: Sleep profoundly affects the emotional and motivational state. In humans and animals, loss of sleep often results in enhanced motivation for reward, which has direct implications for health risks as well as potential benefits. Current study aims at understanding the mechanisms underlying sleep deprivation (SDe)-induced enhancement of reward seeking. We found that after acute SDe, mice had an increase in sucrose seeking and consumption but not food intake, suggesting a selective enhancement of motivation for reward. In the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a key brain region regulating emotional and motivational responses, we observed a decrease in the ratio of the overall excitatory over inhibitory synaptic inputs onto NAc principle neurons after SDe. The shift was partly mediated by reduced glutamatergic transmission of presynaptic origin. Further analysis revealed that there was selective reduction of the glutamate release probability at the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)-to-NAc synapses, but not those from the hippocampus, thalamus, or the basal lateral amygdala. To reverse this SDe-induced synaptic alteration, we expressed the stabilized step function opsin (SSFO) in the mPFC; optogenetic stimulation of SSFO at mPFC-to-NAc projection terminals persistently enhanced the action potential-dependent glutamate release. Intra-NAc optogenetic stimulation of SSFO selectively at mPFC-to-NAc terminals restored normal sucrose seeking in mice after SDe without affecting food intake. These results highlight the mPFC-to-NAc projection as a key circuit-based target for sleep to regulate reward-motivated behaviors. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Sleep loss, a costly challenge of modern society, has profound physiological and psychological consequences, including altered reward processing of the brain. The current study aims at understanding the mechanisms underlying sleep deprivation-induced enhancement of reward seeking. We identify that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)-to-nucleus accumbens (NAc) glutamatergic transmission is selectively weakened following acute sleep deprivation, whose restoration normalizes reward seeking in sleep-deprived mice. These results suggest a possibility of normalizing sleep deprivation-induced abnormal reward seeking by targeting specific neural projections, and they demonstrate the mPFC-to-NAc glutamatergic projection as a key circuit-based target for sleep to regulate reward-motivated behaviors.

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Crossref · 10.1523/jneurosci.0347-16.2016

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  • Animal studies have recapitulated the phenomenon of sleep loss-enhanced reward seeking observed in humans.

    “animal studies have recapitulated the phenomenon of sleep loss-enhanced reward seeking observed in humans.”
  • Acute sleep deprivation or chronic partial sleep restriction in animals often leads to enhanced risk taking and reward seeking, including cocaine and alcohol intake, sucrose self-administration, and intracranial self-stimulation.

    “Acute sleep deprivation or chronic partial sleep restrictions in animals often leads to enhanced risk taking and reward seeking, including cocaine and alcohol intake, sucrose self-administration, as well as intra-cranial self-stimulations (99–103).”

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Authors
Liu, Z., Wang, Y., Cai, L., Li, Y., Chen, B., Dong, Y., & Huang, Y. H.
Affiliations
University of Pittsburgh (US)
Venue
The Journal of Neuroscience
Published
2016-07-27
Volume
36
Issue
30
Pages
7897-7910
ISSN
  • 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
  • 1529-2401
OpenAlex
W2505475551
Cited by
66
References
106
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 1
FWCI
4.24
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health
  • National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH101147)
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA030379, R01DA023206, K99DA029565, R01DA035805, R00DA029565, R01DA034856, R01DA040620, R37DA023206)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Sleep and Wakefulness Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
Keywords
sleep deprivation, reward seeking, medial prefrontal cortex, nucleus accumbens, glutamatergic neurotransmission, synaptic inhibition, sucrose seeking, optogenetics
MeSH terms
Animals, Behavior, Animal, Eating, Male, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Neural Pathways, Neuronal Plasticity, Nucleus Accumbens, Reward, Sleep, Sleep Deprivation, Prefrontal Cortex, Feedback, Physiological, Mice

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