Cholinergic interneurons and dopamine in the nucleus accumbens

Motivation to work for potential rewards is critically dependent on dopamine (DA) in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). DA release from NAc axons can be controlled by at least two distinct mechanisms: 1) action potentials propagating from DA cell bodies in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), and 2) activation of β2* nicotinic receptors by local cholinergic interneurons (CINs). How CIN activity contributes to NAc DA dynamics in behaving animals remains unclear. We monitored DA release in the NAc Core of awake, unrestrained rats while simultaneously monitoring or manipulating CIN activity at the same location. CIN stimulation rapidly evoked DA release, and in contrast to slice preparations, this DA release showed no indication of short-term depression or receptor desensitization. The sound of food delivery evoked a brief joint increase in CIN population activity and DA release, with a second joint increase as rats approached the food. In an operant task, we observed fast ramps in CIN activity dur..., Refer to the methods section of Mohebi et al, eLife, 2023, MATLAB, # Accumbens cholinergic interneurons dynamically promote dopamine release and enable motivation

\-\-\- This readme file provides instructions on reproducing the results presented in the research article titled \"Accumbens cholinergic interneurons dynamically promote dopamine release and enable motivation\,\" published by Mohebi et al\. in eLife\, 2023\. The article can be accessed at https://elifesciences\.org/articles/85011\.

## Description of the data and file structure

The dataset included in this repository follows the standard format used by the Berke lab. It contains the necessary files and data required to replicate the experiments and findings described in the research article. Additionally, we have provided MATLAB code that can be utilized to read and interpret the data, as well as generate figures related to our results.

The dataset consists of four \*.zip files corresponding to four figures in the paper. Each zip file contains MATLAB scripts and data files required to repro...