Hippocampus-triggered suppression of nerve cells controlling acetylcholine in the brain's reward area

The ventral hippocampus and paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus are the main excitatory inputs to cholinergic interneurons in the nucleus accumbens.

• The paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus activates cholinergic interneurons in the nucleus accumbens.
• The ventral hippocampus causes a significant pause in firing of these interneurons due to strong feedforward inhibition.
• Local parvalbumin interneurons provide this prominent inhibition, indicating a distinct local connectivity compared to the dorsal striatum.
• Findings suggest that long-range inputs engage cholinergic interneurons through different mechanisms, highlighting variability within striatal connectivity.

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