High Gamma Activity in the Infralimbic Cortex to Nucleus Accumbens Shell Pathway Modulates Innate Aversion Differentially across Sex
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Aversion modulation is a key component of hedonic processing, and its dysfunction is evident in psychiatric illnesses. The infralimbic cortex (IL) to nucleus accumbens shell (NAcSh) pathway is essential in hedonic processing in rodents but operates differentially across sex, with beta (20 Hz) oscillatory activity involved in learned aversion in male but not female rats. In this study, we used taste reactivity (TR) and electrophysiology to examine the role of high gamma (80 Hz) activity in affect modulation, specifically innate (quinine) and learned (conditioned taste aversion, CTA) aversion, in male and female Sprague Dawley rats. Local field potential (LFP) recordings in males showed no changes in IL or NAcSh activity, or in IL→NAcSh functional connectivity, in the high gamma frequency band during innate or learned aversion. In contrast, in females, quinine elicited an increase in IL and NAcSh 80 Hz LFP activity and IL→NAcSh functional connectivity. Interestingly, LFP directionality analyses in females indicated that top-down modulation from IL to NAcSh was associated with innate aversive behavior expression. To confirm a causal link of 80 Hz activity in aversion processing in females, optogenetics was used. Here, optogenetic stimulation of the IL→NAcSh pathway did not affect learned (CTA) aversion but it selectively decreased innate (quinine) aversion. Collectively, these results highlight sex- and frequency-specific differences in aversion modulation by the IL→NAcSh pathway, with high gamma frequencies involved in modulating innate aversion, specifically in female rats.
Source: eNeuro
Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Language: English
Topic: Memory and Neural Mechanisms
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,925
Funders: Joanne and John Dallepezze Foundation, Welch Foundation, Health Effects Institute, Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung, Yale University, National Research Centre, Scleroseforeningen, Villum Fonden, Cancer Research Society, Wellcome Trust, Novocure, Commonwealth Foundation for Cancer Research Foundation, Derfner Foundation, University of Hawaiʻi Foundation, Korea Dementia Research Center, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Cancer Australia, Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung, United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Austrian Science Fund, Canada Excellence Research Chairs, Government of Canada, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Rural Development Administration, National Research Foundation of Korea, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Novo Nordisk Fonden, Department of Education of Guangdong Province, Medela, Gemeinsame Bundesausschuss, King Salman Center for Disability Research, Stan Perron Charitable Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Directorate for Biological Sciences, McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Australian Research Council, Caring for our Country, Science and Engineering Research Board, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Province, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research, Division of Chemistry, HORIZON EUROPE European Research Council, DOD Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program, Gates Family Foundation, Health Commission of Chengdu Municipality, Children’s Health Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W4413570729