Christopher Lee L&S Biological Sciences
Cellular Dynamics of Striatal Compartments in Reward-Seeking Behavior
Dopaminergic (DA) pathways constitute the brain’s primary reward system, playing a crucial role in behaviors that lead to positive outcomes. Depending on the brain region, DA release is also linked to motivation, habit formation, and coordinated movements. Malfunction of these pathways can lead to psychiatric disorders like addiction and depression. My project studies the striatum, a basal ganglia nucleus, and its connection to midbrain DA neurons in the substantia nigra compacta (SNc). These projections comprise the nigrostriatal DA pathway and its degeneration are hallmarks in Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases. I focus on the dorsal striatum, whereby groups of neurochemically distinct neurons called striosomes form compartments embedded in the surrounding matrix. Striosomes inhibit DA release from SNc DA neurons and are thought to regulate motivation and reinforcement learning, though their precise function and cellular dynamics remain unclear. Using in-vivo Neuropixels recordings for high spatiotemporal resolution, we aim to understand how individual neurons in striosomes and the matrix interact with SNc DA neurons during associative learning.
Message To Sponsor
I’m deeply grateful to the donors for supporting my research on dopaminergic pathways and its role in our everyday behavior. This project is invaluable to my growth as an aspiring neuroscientist, helping me build critical thinking and data analytical skills. Systems neuroscience and neuropsychiatry have long been central interests of mine, both scientifically and clinically, and I really appreciate this generous grant and the opportunity it provides to explore the mind’s remarkable complexity.