Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Once upon a spine: setting striatal dopamine

Nature Neuroscience volume 18, pages 788–789 (2015)Cite this article

Subjects

The prefrontal cortex is known to influence dopamine release in the striatum–but how? New data in mice suggest that cortical spine density affects striatal dopamine release via monosynaptic control of dopamine neurons, tracing a chain of events from spine loss to antipsychotic-responsive psychomotor agitation.

The role of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in the regulation of striatal dopamine release is hotly debated. Classical electrophysiological studies have suggested that direct glutamatergic input from the PFC stimulates dopaminergic activity, as activation of the PFC enhances dopamine release in the striatum and this effect can be blocked by infusing glutamatergic antagonists into the ventral tegmental area (VTA)1,2. In contrast, anatomical studies have found that those dopamine neurons that actually receive cortical inputs project not to the striatum, but rather back to cortex, seemingly ruling out monosynaptic regulation of striatal release3. An intriguing paper in this issue of Nature Neuroscience, however, provides new functional data consistent with monosynaptic regulation. Studying a mutation that leads to progressive spine loss in the PFC, Kim et al.4 find, unexpectedly, that this spine loss leads to enhanced cortical excitability and increased striatal dopamine release. Synthesizing these seemingly paradoxical findings, the authors relate a captivating scientific story with direct relevance to mental disorders such as schizophrenia, in which decreased cortical spine density and enhanced striatal dopamine release are observed.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Kim et al.4 give evidence that a monosynaptic projection from the PFC to dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain regulate dopamine release (left).

References

  1. Taber, M.T., Das, S. & Fibiger, H.C. J. Neurochem. 65, 1407–1410 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Karreman, M. & Moghaddam, B. J. Neurochem. 66, 589–598 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Carr, D.B. & Sesack, S.R. J. Neurosci. 20, 3864–3873 (2000).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Kim, I.H. et al. Nat. Neurosci. 18, 883–891 (2015).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Turrigiano, G.G. Cell 135, 422–435 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Floresco, S.B., West, A.R., Ash, B., Moore, H. & Grace, A.A. Nat. Neurosci. 6, 968–973 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Murase, S., Grenhoff, J., Chouvet, G., Gonon, F.G. & Svensson, T.H. Neurosci. Lett. 157, 53–56 (1993).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Tong, Z.Y., Overton, P.G. & Clark, D. Synapse 22, 195–208 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Glausier, J.R. & Lewis, D.A. Neuroscience 251, 90–107 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Howes, O.D. et al. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 69, 776–786 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Meyer-Lindenberg, A. et al. Nat. Neurosci. 5, 267–271 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Fusar-Poli, P. et al. Mol. Psychiatry 16, 67–75 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Christoph Kellendonk and Joshua A. Gordon are in the Department of Psychiatry and Christoph Kellendonk is in the Department of Pharmacology, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York, USA.,

    Christoph Kellendonk & Joshua A Gordon

  2. Christoph Kellendonk is in the Division of Molecular Therapeutics and Joshua A. Gordon is in the Division of Integrative Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, New York, USA.,

    Christoph Kellendonk & Joshua A Gordon

Authors
  1. Christoph Kellendonk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Joshua A Gordon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Christoph Kellendonk or Joshua A Gordon.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kellendonk, C., Gordon, J. Once upon a spine: setting striatal dopamine. Nat Neurosci 18, 788–789 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4029

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4029

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing