A shared ensemble in the prelimbic cortex links impulsivity and anxiety-like behavior.

ABSTRACT: Mental health disorders often share overlapping behavioral and neural features, yet it remains unclear why these relationships emerge or whether they reflect common underlying neural processes. To explore this, we recorded prelimbic (PL) activity using endoscopic calcium imaging as rats completed a battery of tasks assessing impulsivity, distress tolerance, anxiety-like behavior, incentive salience (Pavlovian conditioned approach), and sensation-seeking in a novel environment (locomotor activity). By collecting neural and behavioral measures across all tasks within each animal, we were able to investigate whether PL activity tracked processes that were either unique to individual behaviors, shared across multiple behaviors, or both. We found that PL activity was significantly predictive of

SUBMITTER: Powers RE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12776132 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature