Gene expression profiles of sorted D1- and D2-expressing cells in mouse ventral hippocampus
The hippocampus, as well as dopamine circuits, coordinate decision-making in anxiety-eliciting situations. Yet, little is known about how dopamine modulates hippocampal representations of emotionally-salient stimuli to inform appropriate resolution of approach versus avoidance conflicts. We here study dopaminoceptive neurons in mouse ventral hippocampus (vHipp), molecularly distinguished by their expression of dopamine D1 or D2 receptors. We show that these neurons are transcriptionally distinct and topographically organized across vHipp subfields and cell types. While both D1 and D2 vHipp neurons are recruited during anxiogenic exploration, they mediate opposite approach/avoidance responses, and are differentially modulated by dopaminergic transmission. We propose that vHipp dopamine dynamics operate as a feedback loop to gate exploratory behaviors, implicating dopaminoception in the complex computation engaged in vHipp to govern emotional states. Overall design: Single-nuclei RNA-sequencing of D1- and D2-expressing nuclei from mouse vHipp dissection isolated by Fluorescence-Activated Nuclei Sorting