A thalamostriatal parvalbumin interneuron circuit suppresses risky reward-motivated behaviors and is disengaged by opioids

Abstract Suppression of dangerous or inappropriate reward-motivated behaviors is critical for survival, whereas therapeutic or recreational opioid use can unleash risky behavioral actions and addiction. Nevertheless, the neuronal systems that suppress maladaptive motivated behaviors remain unclear, and whether opioids disengage those systems is unknown. Using two-photon calcium imaging in vivo, we identify paraventricular thalamostriatal neuronal ensembles that are inhibited upon sucrose self-administration and seeking, yet these neurons are tonically active when behavior is suppressed by a fear-provoking predator odor, a pharmacological stressor, or inhibitory learning. Electrophysiological, optogenetic, and chemogenetic experiments reveal that thalamostriatal neurons innervate accumbal parvalbumin interneurons through synapses enriched with calcium permeable AMPA receptors, and activity within this circuit is necessary and sufficient for the suppression of sucrose seeking regardless of the behavioral suppressor administered. Furthermore, systemic or intra-accumbal opioid injections rapidly dysregulate thalamostriatal ensemble dynamics, weaken thalamostriatal synaptic innervation of downstream parvalbumin interneurons, and unleash reward-seeking behaviors in a manner that is reversed by genetic deletion of thalamostriatal µ-opioid receptors. Overall, our findings reveal a thalamostriatal to parvalbumin interneuron circuit for the suppression of reward seeking that is rapidly disengaged by opioid-driven inhibition of presynaptic thalamostriatal neurons.