Cortical and subcortical activities during food rewards versus social interaction in rats.

ABSTRACT: Balancing food foraging with social interaction is crucial for survival and reproduction in many species of mammals. We wanted to investigate the reward preferences in adult male rats by allowing them to lever-press for both food and social rewards (interaction with another rat), while their performance and electrophysiological activities were recorded. Local field potentials (LFPs) were analyzed across five neuroanatomical regions involved in reward processing, decision-making, and social behavior. Despite ad libitum food availability, rats consistently prioritized food. LFP analysis revealed a decrease in nucleus accumbens (NAc) spectral power following social interaction, accompanied by specific alterations in delta and theta bands within the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). The spectra

SUBMITTER: Rocha-Almeida F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11799384 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature