The ventral tegmental area (VTA) underlies motivation and reinforcement of natural rewards. The lateral preoptic area (LPO) is an anterior hypothalamic brain region that sends direct projections to the VTA and to other brain structures known to regulate VTA activity. Here, we investigated the functional connection between the LPO and subpopulations of VTA neurons and explored the reinforcing and valence qualities of the LPO in rats. We found that the LPO and the LPO→VTA pathway inhibit the activity of VTA GABA neurons and have mixed effects on VTA dopamine neurons. Furthermore, we found that the LPO supports operant responding but drives avoidance, and we explored the apparent discrepancy between these two results. Finally, using fiber photometry, we show that the LPO signals aversive events but not rewarding events. Together, our findings demonstrate that the LPO modulates the activity of the VTA and drives motivated behavior and represents an overlooked modulator of reinforcement.

中文翻译：

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外侧视前区及其对 VTA 的投影调节 VTA 活动并驱动复杂的奖励行为

腹侧被盖区 (VTA) 是自然奖励的动机和强化的基础。外侧视前区 (LPO) 是下丘脑前部区域，可将直接投影发送到 VTA 和其他已知调节 VTA 活动的大脑结构。在这里，我们研究了 LPO 与 VTA 神经元亚群之间的功能联系，并探讨了 LPO 在大鼠中的增强和效价特性。我们发现 LPO 和 LPO→VTA 通路抑制 VTA GABA 神经元的活性，并对 VTA 多巴胺神经元有不同的影响。此外，我们发现 LPO 支持操作性响应但驱动回避，我们探索了这两个结果之间的明显差异。最后，使用纤维光度法，我们表明 LPO 会发出厌恶事件的信号，但不会发出奖励事件的信号。一起，