AUTHOR=Chen Xi , Liu Zhiyuan , Ma Chaonan , Ma Lan , Liu Xing TITLE=Parvalbumin Interneurons Determine Emotional Valence Through Modulating Accumbal Output Pathways JOURNAL=Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience VOLUME=13 YEAR=2019 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/behavioral-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00110 DOI=10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00110 ISSN=1662-5153 ABSTRACT=

Parvalbumin (PV) expressing GABAergic interneurons provide large source of GABA to spiny projection neurons (SPNs) in the striatum. However, the roles of PV+ interneurons in the regulation of SPNs in the ventral striatum and emotional states are largely unknown. Here, we investigated whether stimulation of ventral striatal (accumbal) PV+ interneurons would drive emotional valence in mice. We found that during conditioned place preference (CPP) training, activation of accumbal PV+ interneurons evoked place preference while suppressing them resulted in conditioned place aversion (CPA). Activation of PV+ interneurons during place conditioning increased Fos expression in SPNs in the direct pathway (dSPNs) and impaired lithium chloride-induced CPA. Activation of dSPNs and SPNs in the indirect pathway (iSPNs) induced CPP and CPA, respectively; conversely, suppression of dSPNs or iSPNs induced CPA or CPP. In addition, activation or suppression of calretinin-expressing (CR) GABAergic interneurons did not induce place preference or aversion. These data suggest that PV+ interneurons can bidirectionally determine the emotional valence through their regulation of accumbal SPN activities and raise the possibility that manipulation of PV+ interneuron activity may have the potential to alter emotional valence and treat related mental disorders.