Molecular and Circuit-Dynamical Identification of Top-Down Neural Mechanisms for Restraint of Reward Seeking.

ABSTRACT: Reward-seeking behavior is fundamental to survival, but suppression of this behavior can be essential as well, even for rewards of high value. In humans and rodents, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) has been implicated in suppressing reward seeking; however, despite vital significance in health and disease, the neural circuitry through which mPFC regulates reward seeking remains incompletely understood. Here, we show that a specific subset of superficial mPFC projections to a subfield of nucleus accumbens (NAc) neurons naturally encodes the decision to initiate or suppress reward seeking when faced with risk of punishment. A highly resolved subpopulation of these top-down projecting neurons, identified by 2-photon Ca²⁺ imaging and activity-dependent labeling to recruit the re

SUBMITTER: Kim CK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5729206 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature