{"database":"biostudies-literature","file_versions":[],"scores":null,"additional":{"submitter":["Hu RK"],"funding":["Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Foundation","Kinship Foundation","UC | UCLA | David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles","U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke","Vallee Foundation","McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience","W. M. Keck Foundation","NINDS NIH HHS","David and Lucile Packard Foundation","Esther A. and Joseph Klingenstein Fund"],"pagination":["831-842"],"full_dataset_link":["https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC8236486"],"repository":["biostudies-literature"],"omics_type":["Unknown"],"volume":["24(6)"],"pubmed_abstract":["Social interactions and relationships are often rewarding, but the neural mechanisms through which social interaction drives positive experience remain poorly understood. In this study, we developed an automated operant conditioning system to measure social reward in mice and found that adult mice of both sexes display robust reinforcement of social interaction. Through cell-type-specific manipulations, we identified a crucial role for GABAergic neurons in the medial amygdala (MeA) in promoting the positive reinforcement of social interaction. Moreover, MeA GABAergic neurons mediate social reinforcement behavior through their projections to the medial preoptic area (MPOA) and promote dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. Finally, activation of this MeA-to-MPOA circuit can robustly ove"],"journal":["Nature neuroscience"],"pubmed_title":["An amygdala-to-hypothalamus circuit for social reward."],"pmcid":["PMC8236486"],"funding_grant_id":["R01NS113124","N/A","Marion Bowen Postdoctoral Grant","Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship","Fellowship","Searle Scholars Award","Junior Faculty Award","Scholar Award","R01 NS113124"],"pubmed_authors":["Hu RK","Meera P","Wu YE","Ly T","Zuo Y","Hong W","Wang J"],"additional_accession":[]},"is_claimable":false,"name":"An amygdala-to-hypothalamus circuit for social reward.","description":"Social interactions and relationships are often rewarding, but the neural mechanisms through which social interaction drives positive experience remain poorly understood. In this study, we developed an automated operant conditioning system to measure social reward in mice and found that adult mice of both sexes display robust reinforcement of social interaction. Through cell-type-specific manipulations, we identified a crucial role for GABAergic neurons in the medial amygdala (MeA) in promoting the positive reinforcement of social interaction. Moreover, MeA GABAergic neurons mediate social reinforcement behavior through their projections to the medial preoptic area (MPOA) and promote dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. Finally, activation of this MeA-to-MPOA circuit can robustly ove","dates":{"release":"2021-01-01T00:00:00Z","publication":"2021 Jun","modification":"2025-04-04T20:15:23.145Z","creation":"2025-04-04T20:15:23.145Z"},"accession":"S-EPMC8236486","cross_references":{"pubmed":["33820999"],"doi":["10.1038/s41593-021-00828-2"]}}