Work

At the limbic–motor interface: disconnection of basolateral amygdala from nucleus accumbens core and shell reveals dissociable components of incentive motivation

Year: 2010

Type: article

Abstract: Although it has long been hypothesized that the nucleus accumbens (NAc) acts as an interface between limbic and motor regions, direct evidence for this modulatory role on behavior is lacking. Using a disconnection procedure in rats, we found that basolateral amygdala (BLA) input to the core and medial shell of the NAc separately mediate two distinct incentive processes controlling the performance of goal-directed instrumental actions, respectively: (i) the sensitivity of instrumental responding to changes in the experienced value of the goal or outcome, produced by specific satiety-induced outcome devaluation; and (ii) the effect of reward-related cues on action selection, observed in outcome-specific Pavlovian-instrumental transfer. These results reveal, therefore, that dissociable neural circuits involving BLA inputs to the NAc core and medial shell mediate distinct components of the incentive motivational processes controlling choice and decision-making in instrumental conditioning.

Source: European Journal of Neuroscience

DOI: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2010.07439.x

Authors: Michael W. Shiflett, Bernard W. Balleine

Institutions: Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, University of California, Los Angeles, The University of Sydney

Language: English

Topic: Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Awards: G4375143813, Cortico-Striatal Circuits in Actions and Habits, G6249108100, Pavlovian influences on reward-seeking behavior