UC San Diego

Photoactivatable drugs and peptides can drive quantitative studies into receptor signaling with high spatiotemporal precision, yet few are compatible with behavioral studies in mammals. We developed CNV-Y-DAMGO-a caged derivative of the mu opioid receptor-selective peptide agonist DAMGO. Photoactivation in the mouse ventral tegmental area produced an opioid-dependent increase in locomotion within seconds of illumination. These results demonstrate the power of in vivo photopharmacology for dynamic studies into animal behavior.