Striatal dopamine plays key roles in our normal and pathological goal-directed actions. To understand dopamine function, much attention has focused on how midbrain dopamine neurons modulate their firing patterns. However, we identify a presynaptic mechanism that triggers dopamine release directly, bypassing activity in dopamine neurons. We paired electrophysiological recordings of striatal channelrhodopsin2-expressing cholinergic interneurons with simultaneous detection of dopamine release at carbon-fiber microelectrodes in striatal slices. We reveal that activation of cholinergic interneurons by light flashes that cause only single action potentials in neurons from a small population triggers dopamine release via activation of nicotinic receptors on dopamine axons. This event overrides ascending activity from dopamine neurons and, furthermore, is reproduced by activating ChR2-expressing thalamostriatal inputs, which synchronize cholinergic interneurons in vivo. These findings indicate that synchronized activity in cholinergic interneurons directly generates striatal dopamine signals whose functions will extend beyond those encoded by dopamine neuron activity.

In this issue of Neuron, Threlfell et al. (2012) report that synchronous activation of cholinergic interneurons evokes striatal dopamine release by activating presynaptic nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. These findings call for a fundamental reevaluation of the long-standing view that dopamine and acetylcholine "feud" over control of striatal circuitry.

The present investigation had two aims: (1) to study responses of dopamine neurons to stimuli with attentional and motivational significance during several steps of learning a behavioral task, and (2) to study the activity of dopamine neurons during the performance of cognitive tasks known to be impaired after lesions of these neurons. Monkeys that had previously learned a simple reaction time task were trained to perform a spatial delayed response task via two intermediate tasks. During the learning of each new task, a total of 25% of 76 dopamine neurons showed phasic responses to the delivery of primary liquid reward, whereas only 9% of 163 neurons responded to this event once task performance was established. This produced an average population response during but not after learning of each task. Reward responses during learning were significantly more numerous and pronounced in area A10, as compared to areas A8 and A9. Dopamine neurons also showed phasic responses to the two conditioned stimuli. These were the instruction cue, which was the first stimulus in each trial and indicated the target of the upcoming arm movement (58% of 76 neurons during and 44% of 163 neurons after learning), and the trigger stimulus, which was a conditioned incentive stimulus predicting reward and eliciting a saccadic eye movement and an arm reaching movement (38% of neurons during and 40% after learning). None of the dopamine neurons showed sustained activity in the delay between the instruction and trigger stimuli that would resemble the activity of neurons in dopamine terminal areas, such as the striatum and frontal cortex. Thus, dopamine neurons respond phasically to alerting external stimuli with behavioral significance whose detection is crucial for learning and performing delayed response tasks. The lack of sustained activity suggests that dopamine neurons do not encode representational processes, such as working memory, expectation of external stimuli or reward, or preparation of movement. Rather, dopamine neurons are involved with transient changes of impulse activity in basic attentional and motivational processes underlying learning and cognitive behavior.

Basal Ganglia Advances is a collection highlighting research on the structure, function, and disorders of the basal ganglia. It features studies spanning neuroscience, clinical insights, and computational models, serving as a hub for advances in movement, cognition, and behavior.

Recent advances in the field of Voltage Imaging, with a special focus on new constructs and novel implementations.

Work related to place tuning, spatial navigation, orientation and direction. Mainly includes articles on connectivity in the hippocampus, retrosplenial cortex, and related areas.

VCT220 is a novel nonpeptide, orally available glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1RA) designed to reduce the complex administration of injectable GLP-1RAs and the limited bioavailability of on-marketing oral agents for obesity care. We conducted a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase II trial (Registration no. CTR20233978 and NCT06569355) across 13 sites in China. Adults aged 18-75 years with overweight (BMI 24-28 kg/m² plus ≥ 1 comorbidity) or obesity (BMI ≥ 28 kg/m²) were randomly assigned (3:1) to receive once-daily VCT220 (80 mg, 120 mg, or 160 mg with slow or fast titration) or placebo for 16 weeks, alongside lifestyle counselling. The primary endpoint was the percentage change in body weight from baseline to week 16. Two-hundred and fifty participants were randomized (61 to placebo, 189 to VCT220). At week 16, mean body weight decreased by -5.75% (80 mg) to -9.73% (160 mg-FT) versus -1.61% with placebo (all p < 0.001). The proportion achieving ≥5% weight loss ranged from 55.4% (80 mg) to 90.3% (160 mg-ST) with VCT220 versus 13.1% with placebo. VCT220 also improved HbA1c, fasting insulin, and blood pressure. Adverse events were mainly mild-to-moderate gastrointestinal events, most common during titration, and rarely led to discontinuation. VCT220, a once-daily oral nonpeptide GLP-1RA, produced rapid and clinically meaningful weight loss with metabolic benefits over 16 weeks, showing a tolerability profile consistent with the class. These findings support further global phase III evaluation to further verify the efficacy and safety of VCT220 as well as potential cardiometabolic benefits.