# Linking function, structure, and molecular identity of lateral habenula neurons

> **NIH NIH R34** · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · 2021 · $737,531

## Abstract

ABSTRACT:
The lateral habenula (LHb) impacts motivated behavior through dense direct and indirect projections to midbrain
dopaminergic and serotonergic neurons. Some LHb neurons project directly to midbrain dopaminergic or
serotonergic neurons; others project indirectly through one of multiple types of midbrain GABAergic neurons.
Similar to dopaminergic neurons, the LHb encodes reward prediction error (RPE) - the discrepancy between
expected and actual value – a powerful computation that guides learning from environmental feedback. However,
there is a large amount of molecular and anatomical heterogeneity in the LHb, and it is unclear how reward
encoding varies among LHb neurons with different projection targets, subnuclear location, and molecular
profiles. Here we propose to develop methods that would link in vivo information encoding, projection target,
subnuclear location, and molecular expression properties of individual LHb neurons – thus delineating functional,
multimodal classes of LHb neurons to better understand the organization of the LHb. We hypothesize that a
subset of functional classes of LHb neurons encodes RPE, and more generally, that distinct in vivo activity
patterns map onto neurons with different projection targets, subnuclear location, and molecular profiles. In Aim
1, we will optimize our GRIN lens imaging methods to increase the number of LHb neurons that can be imaged
simultaneously. We will also develop the use of a non-toxic rabies virus system for functionally imaging LHb
neurons with different cell-type-specific midbrain projections in mice. In Aim 2, we will validate methods for
identifying individual LHb neurons in brain slices that were imaged in vivo. These methods will allow us to specify
the molecular class and subnuclear location of neurons that were functionally imaged in behaving mice, and
together with Aim 1, link in vivo information encoding, projection target, subnuclear location, and molecular
expression properties of individual LHb neurons. Moreover, the experiments proposed in Aim 2 would be proof-
of-principle for other studies that aim to understand the function of different cell types (especially cell types that
are defined by multiple molecular markers) – a critical step for making sense of the complexity of the nervous
system.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10206846
- **Project number:** 1R34NS121873-01
- **Recipient organization:** UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Steven Shabel
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $737,531
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-04-15 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10206846

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10206846, Linking function, structure, and molecular identity of lateral habenula neurons (1R34NS121873-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10206846. Licensed CC0.

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