Tyrosine hydroxylase expression and neuronal loss in the male and female adolescent ventral tegmental area

Adolescence is a critical period of development characterized by numerous behavioral and neuroanatomical changes. While studies of adolescent neurodevelopment typically compare adolescent age groups with young adults, there are fewer studies that assess developmental trajectories within the adolescent period. In the adolescent prefrontal cortex, some maturational changes take place linearly/chronologically, while others are associated specifically with pubertal onset. The adolescent ventral tegmental area (VTA), a primary source of forebrain dopamine, is relatively understudied during this period. In the present study, dopamine neuron number, total neuron number and tyrosine hydroxylase expression are assessed in the male and female rat VTA at three timepoints: postnatal day(P) 30 (pre-pubertal), P40 (post-pubertal for females, pre-pubertal for males) and P60 (post-pubertal). There was a non-significant trend for a reduction in total VTA neuron number between P30 and P60, but there was a significant reduction in dopamine neuron number across age. The expression of tyrosine hydroxylase did not change with age. However, in a second cohort of subjects, brain tissue was collected pre-pubertal, from recently post-pubertal males and females, and young adults. In this cohort, there was a sex-specific and transient decrease in tyrosine hydroxylase expression in recently post-pubertal males. These results suggest a selective pruning of VTA dopamine cells between early adolescence and young adulthood, while pubertal onset may coincide with a rapid maturation of these neurons. These findings may have implications for psychiatric disorders associated with dopamine dysfunction that tend to manifest during adolescence.