Multidimensional profiling of heterogeneous lateral habenula subpopulations reveals distinct responses during motivated behavior

Two genetically defined lateral habenula subpopulations in transgenic mice show differential in vivo responses to value, prediction errors, and directional movement during reward-guided behavior.

• Why it matters: Genetic and intrinsic electrophysiological diversity in the LHb is known, but links to real-time neuronal activity during motivated behavior are unclear, limiting targeted circuit understanding.
• What they did: The authors mapped spatial gene expression, electrophysiological properties, and projection targets for LHb neuron subpopulations labeled by existing transgenic mouse lines, then recorded activity during flexible reward-guided tasks.
• The result: The distinct response profiles across value, prediction errors, and movement imply parallel, genetically targetable LHb circuits that differentially engage serotonergic versus dopaminergic midbrain centers.

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