Ventral pallidum GABA neuron inhibition augments context-appropriate defensive responses to learned threat cues.

ABSTRACT: The ventral pallidum (VP) is embedded within the brain circuits controlling motivated behavior, which are heavily implicated in addiction and other psychiatric disorders. Prior work showed that VP GABAergic neurons (VP^GABA) promote reward approach and seeking, while the intermixed population of VP glutamate neurons instead promote avoidance and aversion. Some have thus suggested a functional dichotomy between these VP subpopulations in reward versus threat. We test this hypothesis by asking how inhibiting VP^GABA impacts active and passive defensive responses to learned threat cues in the absence of rewards. We taught GAD1:Cre rats with inhibitory VP^GABA DREADDs (or control rats) that a metal probe delivers shock, or that a 20sec auditory cue precedes footsh

SUBMITTER: Ramirez EM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12859806 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature