Asymmetrical involvement of mesolimbic dopaminergic neurons in affective perception

Pharmacological studies suggest that increases and decreases in dopamine levels in the nucleus accumbens contribute to positive and negative affective states, respectively. In vivo neurochemical investigations have led to contradictory conclusions, since increases and decreases in dopamine release have been observed in aversive situations. Clinical and experimental observations argue for a hemispheric asymmetry in the processing of appetitive and aversive stimuli. Mesolimbic dopaminergic neurons are part of integrative networks which appear specifically organized in the right and left hemispheres. Dopaminergic neurons may thus be involved in affective processes but in a different manner in the two hemispheres. We tested this hypothesis in the nucleus accumbens of male rats using in vivo voltammetry and a conditioned aversion paradigm to an olfactory stimulus. We found that dopaminergic responses were similar in the two hemispheres following the initial encounter with the stimulus. After conditioning, however, dopaminergic responses to a naturally attractive olfactory stimulus were more elevated in the right nucleus accumbens and responses to an aversive stimulus more marked in the left nucleus. In addition, dopaminergic responses displayed an intraaccumbal regionalization, in particular opposite variations were obtained in the core and shell subterritories in response to the aversive situation. These results may provide new insights in the understanding of the relative contribution of the two hemispheres in affective perception in normal and psychopathological conditions.