Excitatory transmission at thalamo-striatal synapses mediates susceptibility to social stress.
Daniel J ChristoffelSam A GoldenJessica J WalshKevin G GuiseMitra HeshmatiAllyson K FriedmanAditi DeyMilo SmithNicole RebusiMadeline PfauJessica L AblesHossein AleyasinLena A KhibnikGeorgia E HodesGabriel A Ben-DorKarl DeisserothMatthew L ShapiroRobert C MalenkaInes Ibanez-TallonMing-Hu HanScott J RussoPublished in: Nature neuroscience (2015)
Postsynaptic remodeling of glutamatergic synapses on ventral striatum (vSTR) medium spiny neurons (MSNs) is critical for shaping stress responses. However, it is unclear which presynaptic inputs are involved. Susceptible mice exhibited increased synaptic strength at intralaminar thalamus (ILT), but not prefrontal cortex (PFC), inputs to vSTR MSNs following chronic social stress. Modulation of ILT-vSTR versus PFC-vSTR neuronal activity differentially regulated dendritic spine plasticity and social avoidance.