Patent Document ID: 9636380
Application ID: 14209004
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A method of modulating a reward- or aversive-related behavior in a mammal, the method comprising: a) expressing in one or both of a laterodorsal tegmentum (LDT) neuron and a lateral habenula (LHb) neuron projecting to the ventral tegmental area (VTA): i) a depolarizing light-responsive opsin polypeptide that comprises an amino acid sequence having at least about 90% amino acid sequence identity to an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs:5-11; or ii) a hyperpolarizing light-responsive opsin that comprises an amino acid sequence having at least about 90% amino acid sequence identity to an amino acid sequence selected from SEQ ID NOs:1, 4, 12, 14, and 15; and b) exposing the LDT neuron and/or the LHb neuron to light, wherein said exposing activates the light-responsive opsin polypeptide, thereby hyperpolarizing or depolarizing the neuron, and wherein said hyperpolarizing or depolarizing modulates a reward- or aversive-related behavior in the mammal.