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Alexandra Scott, Dakota Palmer, Bailey Newell, Iris Lin, Christelle A. Cayton, Anika Paulson, Paige Remde, Jocelyn M. Richard
Summary: Reward-seeking behavior can be triggered by environmental cues. However, excessive cue reactivity and reward-seeking behavior can be maladaptive. This study investigates the neural circuits involved in assigning value to rewarding cues and actions, focusing on ventral pallidum (VP) neurons. The findings suggest that VP GABA neurons encode reward expectation and their calcium activity reflects the intensity of cue-elicited reward seeking.
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Yongxiang Li, Lvshuang Chen, Weijie Zhao, Lijuan Sun, Ruixue Zhang, Shuqing Zhu, Kailai Xie, Xiajie Feng, Xin Wu, Zhonghua Sun, Gang Shu, Songbo Wang, Ping Gao, Xiaotong Zhu, Lina Wang, Qingyan Jiang
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Li Yan McCurdy, Preeti Sareen, Pasha A. Davoudian, Michael N. Nitabach
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Rianne R. Campbell, Mary Kay Lobo
Summary: Understanding the neural mechanisms behind addiction is crucial for developing new treatments for substance use disorder. Addictive drugs can alter neural circuits and lead to compulsive drug craving and use. The pallidum, a region in the basal ganglia, plays a key role in addiction-related behaviors.
TRENDS IN NEUROSCIENCES
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Marion Ponserre, Federica Fermani, Louise Gaitanos, Ruediger Klein
Summary: In order to successfully forage in a rewarding and threatening environment, animals rely on familiar structures of the environment to signal the availability of food. This study found that two major subpopulations of neurons in the central amygdala, CeA(Sst) and CeA(PKC delta) neurons, can assign motivational properties to environmental cues. The activity of CeA(PKC delta) neurons is required for learning contextual food cues.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
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Neurosciences
Carina Soares-Cunha, Jasper A. Heinsbroek
Summary: This article summarizes recent findings on the interconnected nuclei of the ventral basal ganglia, focusing on the complex cellular heterogeneity and cell- and circuit-specific regulation of motivated behaviors and reinforcement by the ventral pallidum (VP). It also discusses the impact of stress and drug exposure on the functioning of the VP and its role in neuropsychiatric disorders. Unanswered questions and future research directions are outlined.
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Beibei Peng, Qikuan Xu, Jing Liu, Sophie Guo, Stephanie L. Borgland, Shuai Liu
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Ana Veronica Domingues, Ana Joao Rodrigues, Carina Soares-Cunha
Summary: The nucleus accumbens plays a key role in encoding reward/aversion and cue-outcome associations. Medium spiny neurons expressing dopamine receptor D1 or D2 are responsible for encoding these processes. Recent studies using electrophysiology, optogenetics, and calcium imaging have shed light on the complex role of D1 and D2 MSNs in associative learning. Further research is needed to fully understand the role of these neurons in behavior.
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Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nicholas K. Smith, Jared M. Plotkin, Brad A. Grueter
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Mickael Puaud, Alejandro Higuera-Matas, Paul Brunault, Barry J. Everitt, David Belin
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Sarah Mondoloni, Manuel Mameli, Mauro Congiu
Summary: Individuals experience various positive and negative events in life, triggering adaptive behavioral responses. The epithalamic lateral habenula (LHb) is a crucial brain structure involved in encoding positive/negative stimuli and regulating innate and learned behaviors. LHb controls the monoaminergic systems and responds to unexpected and predictive cues.
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Michael I. Demidenko, Edward D. Huntley, Alexander S. Weigard, Daniel P. Keating, Adriene M. Beltz
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JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH
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Katherine N. Wright, Daniel W. Wesson
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JOURNAL OF NEUROPHYSIOLOGY
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Behavioral Sciences
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Alexandra Scott, Dakota Palmer, Bailey Newell, Iris Lin, Christelle A. Cayton, Anika Paulson, Paige Remde, Jocelyn M. Richard
Summary: Reward-seeking behavior can be triggered by environmental cues. However, excessive cue reactivity and reward-seeking behavior can be maladaptive. This study investigates the neural circuits involved in assigning value to rewarding cues and actions, focusing on ventral pallidum (VP) neurons. The findings suggest that VP GABA neurons encode reward expectation and their calcium activity reflects the intensity of cue-elicited reward seeking.
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