Thirst recruits phasic dopamine signaling through subfornical organ neurons
Ted M. Hsu, Paula Bazzino, Samantha J. Hurh, Vaibhav Konanur, Jamie D. Roitman, Mitchell F. Roitman
Abstract
Significance The maintenance of body fluid homeostasis is critical for survival and very subtle deviations from fluid balance can prompt corrective action. These minute changes are detected by first order homeostatic neurons within circumventricular organs of the lamina terminalis but must be passed along to circuitry for motivated behavior. Water-predictive cues evoke robust increases in dopamine signaling in thirsty rats. We demonstrate that this cue-evoked phasic dopamine response is gated by body fluid status, the dipsogenic hormone angiotensin II, and select neurons of the subfornical organ. These data provide critical insight into the conversion of homeostatic imbalance into invigorated action.