Circuit directionality for motivation: Lateral accumbens-pallidum, but not pallidum-accumbens, connections regulate motivational attraction to reward cues.

ABSTRACT: Sign-tracking behavior, in which animals interact with a cue that predicts reward, provides an example of how incentive salience can be attributed to cues and elicit motivation. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) and ventral pallidum (VP) are two regions involved in cue-driven motivation. The VP, and NAc subregions including the medial shell and core, are critical for sign-tracking. Further, connections between the medial shell and VP are known to participate in sign-tracking and other motivated behaviors. The NAc lateral shell (NAcLSh) is a distinct and understudied subdivision of the NAc, and its contribution to the process by which reward cues acquire value remains unclear. The NAcLSh has been implicated in reward-directed behavior, and has reciprocal connections with the VP, suggesting that N

SUBMITTER: Smedley EB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7405784 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature