The methodological approach used was the expression of Channelrhodopsin-2 in mice
neurons that produce dopamine. Channelrhodopsin-2 is a light-sensitive cation channel that responds to light when stimulated. The stimulation by light causes dopamine release from synaptic terminals in the nucleus accumbens and the dorsal striatum. In order to find out whether glutamate will still be released along with dopamine when dopamine is released, VGLUT2 in a mouse was removed. The stimulation was also done on the mouse that lacked the vesicular glutamate transporter known to be needed for releasing glutamate into synaptic terminals. This was to determine whether glutamate would still be released with dopamine even without VGLUT2 and only on dopamine stimulation alone.
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