2022年6月16日，《自然—神经科学》杂志在线发表了法国科学家的一项最新研究成果。来自蒙彼利埃大学的Emmanuel Valjent、Laura Cutando等研究人员合作发现，小脑多巴胺D2受体调节社交行为。
通过结合细胞特异性转录组学、组织学分析、三维成像和膜片钳记录，研究人员证明小脑多巴胺D2受体（D2R）在浦肯野细胞（PC）中优先表达，并调节对PC的突触效能。此外，研究人员发现雄性小鼠PC中的D2R水平在成年期的变化会改变社交能力和对社交新事物的偏好，而不影响运动功能。总之，这些发现表明D2R在PC功能中的新作用，并将小脑D2R的表达水平与社会行为联系起来。
据介绍，小脑是参与控制感觉运动任务的主要大脑结构，也有助于高级认知功能，包括奖励、情感和社交互动。虽然这些行为的调节在很大程度上被归因于边缘区域的单胺能系统，但小脑多巴胺信号在这些功能的调节中的贡献在很大程度上仍是未知的。
附：英文原文
Title: Cerebellar dopamine D2 receptors regulate social behaviors
Author: Cutando, Laura, Puighermanal, Emma, Castell, Laia, Tarot, Pauline, Belle, Morgane, Bertaso, Federica, Arango-Lievano, Margarita, Ango, Fabrice, Rubinstein, Marcelo, Quintana, Albert, Chdotal, Alain, Mameli, Manuel, Valjent, Emmanuel
Issue&Volume: 2022-06-16
Abstract: The cerebellum, a primary brain structure involved in the control of sensorimotor tasks, also contributes to higher cognitive functions including reward, emotion and social interaction. Although the regulation of these behaviors has been largely ascribed to the monoaminergic system in limbic regions, the contribution of cerebellar dopamine signaling in the modulation of these functions remains largely unknown. By combining cell-type-specific transcriptomics, histological analyses, three-dimensional imaging and patch-clamp recordings, we demonstrate that cerebellar dopamine D2 receptors (D2Rs) in mice are preferentially expressed in Purkinje cells (PCs) and regulate synaptic efficacy onto PCs. Moreover, we found that changes in D2R levels in PCs of male mice during adulthood alter sociability and preference for social novelty without affecting motor functions. Altogether, these findings demonstrate novel roles for D2R in PC function and causally link cerebellar D2R levels of expression to social behaviors.
DOI: 10.1038/s41593-022-01092-8
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-022-01092-8
Nature Neuroscience：《自然—神经科学》，创刊于1998年。隶属于施普林格·自然出版集团，最新IF：28.771
官方网址：https://www.nature.com/neuro/
投稿链接：https://mts-nn.nature.com/cgi-bin/main.plex
本期文章：《自然—神经科学》：Online/在线发表
