Extended Data Fig. 5: Optogenetic silencing of the LPB–SNR pathway does not affect locomotor activity and general licking behavior.
From: Pain modulates dopamine neurons via a spinal–parabrachial–mesencephalic circuit
(a) Serial reconstruction of viral injection sites in LPB. Right panels show representative examples of NpHR-eYFP (green) injection sites across the rostro-caudal extent of the LPB (scale bar 100 µm). Left panels show schematics of the corresponding brain regions in which NpHR-eYFP was detected. Each color represents the expression profile from a single mouse that was used for the experiments shown in Fig. 4a-f. (b) Corresponding serial reconstructions of optical fiber locations in the SNR (TH: red; scale bar 100 µm). (c) Schematic design of open field test for assessing the effects of optogenetic silencing of the LPB–SNR pathway on general locomotor activity. (d) Representative trajectories of animals expressing NpHR (top) or eYFP (bottom). (e,f) Optogenetic silencing of the LPB–SNR pathway does not have a significant effect on the (e) mean distance traveled (a measure for locomotor activity) or (f) time spent in the center of the box in NpHR- (n = 9 mice) and eYFP-expressing (n = 5 mice) mice. (g) Schematic showing control experiment for studying general licking behavior in response to optogenetic silencing of LPB → SNR neurons. (h) Bar graphs showing mean number (left) and duration (right) of licks for sucrose solution in NpHR- (n = 8 mice) and eYFP-expressing (n = 6 mice) mice. Data represent mean ± SEM. Significance was calculated by means of one-way RM ANOVA with Tukey’s post-hoc test (e,f) or unpaired t-test (h).
