哈佛大学Mitsuko Watabe-Uchida研究团队近日取得一项新成果。经过不懈努力，他们提出了纹状体尾部的多巴胺有助于避免威胁-奖励冲突。2025年3月10日出版的《自然—神经科学》发表了这项成果。

在这里，研究团队研究了威胁应对行为是如何由纹状体尾部（TS）及其多巴胺输入调节的。老鼠在追求奖励的同时，面对一个潜在的威胁（一个移动的物体）。起初，老鼠没有获得奖励，但在后来的试验中逐渐改善。课题组发现，TS中的多巴胺促进了对威胁的回避，甚至以牺牲获得奖励为代价。

此外，多巴胺D1受体表达神经元的活性促进了威胁回避和预测。相反，D2神经元抑制威胁回避，促进克服潜在威胁。多巴胺轴突在TS中的激活不仅增强了表达多巴胺D1受体的神经元对新感觉刺激的反应，而且急剧增强了它们的反应。这些结果表明，在多巴胺的调节下，TS中D1和D2神经元的对手相互作用动态地调节回避和克服潜在威胁。

据介绍，在潜在威胁成为现实之前做出适当反应，对于避免灾难性后果至关重要。

附：英文原文

Title: Dopamine in the tail of the striatum facilitates avoidance in threat–reward conflicts

Author: Tsutsui-Kimura, Iku, Tian, Zhiyu Melissa, Amo, Ryunosuke, Zhuo, Yizhou, Li, Yulong, Campbell, Malcolm G., Uchida, Naoshige, Watabe-Uchida, Mitsuko

Issue&Volume: 2025-03-10

Abstract: Responding appropriately to potential threats before they materialize is critical to avoiding disastrous outcomes. Here we examine how threat-coping behavior is regulated by the tail of the striatum (TS) and its dopamine input. Mice were presented with a potential threat (a moving object) while pursuing rewards. Initially, the mice failed to obtain rewards but gradually improved in later trials. We found that dopamine in TS promoted avoidance of the threat, even at the expense of reward acquisition. Furthermore, the activity of dopamine D1 receptor-expressing neurons promoted threat avoidance and prediction. In contrast, D2 neurons suppressed threat avoidance and facilitated overcoming the potential threat. Dopamine axon activation in TS not only potentiated the responses of dopamine D1 receptor-expressing neurons to novel sensory stimuli but also boosted them acutely. These results demonstrate that an opponent interaction of D1 and D2 neurons in the TS, modulated by dopamine, dynamically regulates avoidance and overcoming potential threats.

DOI: 10.1038/s41593-025-01902-9

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-025-01902-9