Tonic activity in lateral habenula neurons acts as a neutral valence brake on reward-seeking behavior.

ABSTRACT: Survival requires both the ability to persistently pursue goals and the ability to determine when it is time to stop, an adaptive balance of perseverance and disengagement. Neural activity in the lateral habenula (LHb) has been linked to negative valence, but its role in regulating the balance between engaged reward seeking and disengaged behavioral states remains unclear. Here, we show that LHb neural activity is tonically elevated during minutes-long periods of disengagement from reward-seeking behavior, both when due to repeated reward omission (negative valence) and when sufficient reward has been consumed (positive valence). Furthermore, we show that LHb inhibition extends ongoing reward-seeking behavioral states but does not prompt task re-engagement. We find no evidence for similar

SUBMITTER: Post RJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9613558 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature