Recent studies indicate that dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) convey distinct signals. To explore this difference, we comprehensively identified each area's monosynaptic inputs using the rabies virus. We show that dopamine neurons in both areas integrate inputs from a more diverse collection of areas than previously thought, including autonomic, motor, and somatosensory areas. SNc and VTA dopamine neurons receive contrasting excitatory inputs: the former from the somatosensory/motor cortex and subthalamic nucleus, which may explain their short-latency responses to salient events; and the latter from the lateral hypothalamus, which may explain their involvement in value coding. We demonstrate that neurons in the striatum that project directly to dopamine neurons form patches in both the dorsal and ventral striatum, whereas those projecting to GABAergic neurons are distributed in the matrix compartment. Neuron-type-specific connectivity lays a foundation for studying how dopamine neurons compute outputs.

Episodic memories initially require rapid synaptic plasticity within the hippocampus for their formation and are gradually consolidated in neocortical networks for permanent storage. However, the engrams and circuits that support neocortical memory consolidation remain unknown. We found that neocortical prefrontal memory engram cells, critical for remote contextual fear memory, were rapidly generated during initial learning via inputs from both hippocampal-entorhinal cortex and basolateral amygdala. After their generation, the prefrontal engram cells, with support from hippocampal memory engram cells, became functionally mature with time. Whereas hippocampal engram cells gradually became silent with time, engram cells in the basolateral amygdala, which were necessary for fear memory, are maintained. Our data provide new insights into the functional reorganization of engrams and circuits underlying systems consolidation of memory.Memories are thought to be initially stored within the hippocampal-entorhinal cortex (HPC-EC) (recent memory) and over-time are slowly consolidated within the neocortex for permanent storage (remote memory) (1-7). Systems memory consolidation models suggest that the interaction between the HPC-EC and the neocortex during and after an experience is crucial (8)(9)(10)(11)(12). Experimentally, prolonged inhibition of hippocampal or neocortical networks during the consolidation period produces deficits in remote memory formation (13-15). However, little is known regarding specific neural circuit mechanisms underlying the formation and maturation of neocortical memories through interactions with the HPC-EC network. By employing activity-dependent cell labeling technology (16-18) combined with viral vector-based transgenic, anatomical (19, 20), and optogenetic strategies (19, 21) for We first traced entorhinal projections to frontal cortical structures (the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC), caudal anterior cingulate cortex (cACC), retrosplenial cortex (RSC)) involved in contextual fear memory, and the basolateral amygdala (BLA), with injections of the retrograde tracer cholera toxin subunit B (CTB)-Alexa555 into these regions ( fig. S1). CTB injections resulted in labeling in the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) specifically in cells in layer Va (Fig. 1A-D, H and fig. S1A-D (Fig. 1F). Terminal inhibition during memory recall tests did not affect memory retrieval (Fig. 1G). Finally, terminal inhibition in the cACC or RSC during CFC or recall had no effect on memory throughout these periods (Fig. 1J-L and fig. S2G-I).The above results suggest that MEC-Va input into the PFC during CFC is crucial for the eventual formation of remote memory. This hypothesis was supported by several findings. First, CFC increased the number of c-Fos + cells in the PFC compared to that of homecage mice ( Fig. 1M-O), whereas context only exposure did not increase c-Fos activity in the PFC (Fig. 1O). Second, optogenetic terminal inhibition of MEC-Va projections within the PFC during CFC inhibited the observed incr...

Combining rabies-virus tracing, optical clearing (CLARITY), and whole-brain light-sheet imaging, we mapped the monosynaptic inputs to midbrain dopamine neurons projecting to different targets (different parts of the striatum, cortex, amygdala, etc) in mice. We found that most populations of dopamine neurons receive a similar set of inputs rather than forming strong reciprocal connections with their target areas. A common feature among most populations of dopamine neurons was the existence of dense ‘clusters’ of inputs within the ventral striatum. However, we found that dopamine neurons projecting to the posterior striatum were outliers, receiving relatively few inputs from the ventral striatum and instead receiving more inputs from the globus pallidus, subthalamic nucleus, and zona incerta. These results lay a foundation for understanding the input/output structure of the midbrain dopamine circuit and demonstrate that dopamine neurons projecting to the posterior striatum constitute a unique class of dopamine neurons regulated by different inputs.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.10032.001

The formation and retrieval of a memory is thought to be accomplished by activation and reactivation, respectively, of the memory-holding cells (engram cells) by a common set of neural circuits, but this hypothesis has not been established. The medial temporal-lobe system is essential for the formation and retrieval of episodic memory for which individual hippocampal subfields and entorhinal cortex layers contribute by carrying out specific functions. One subfield whose function is poorly known is the subiculum. Here, we show that dorsal subiculum and the circuit, CA1 to dorsal subiculum to medial entorhinal cortex layer 5, play a crucial role selectively in the retrieval of episodic memories. Conversely, the direct CA1 to medial entorhinal cortex layer 5 circuit is essential specifically for memory formation. Our data suggest that the subiculum-containing detour loop is dedicated to meet the requirements associated with recall such as rapid memory updating and retrieval-driven instinctive fear responses.

SUMMARY Serotonin and dopamine are major neuromodulators. Here we used a modified rabies virus to identify monosynaptic inputs to serotonin neurons in the dorsal and median raphe (DR and MR). We found that inputs to DR and MR serotonin neurons are spatially shiftedin the forebrain, with MRserotonin neurons receiving inputs from more medial structures. We then compared these data with inputs to dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and substantianigra pars compacta (SNc). We found that DR serotonin neurons receive inputs from a remarkably similar set of areas as VTA dopamine neurons, apart from the striatum, which preferentially targets dopamine neurons. Ourresults suggest three majorinput streams: amedial stream regulates MR serotonin neurons, anintermediate stream regulatesDR serotonin and VTA dopamine neurons, and alateral stream regulatesSNc dopamine neurons. These results providefundamental organizational principlesofafferent control forserotonin and dopamine.