Nucleus Accumbens Core and Shell Differentially Encode Reward-Associated Cues after Reinforcer Devaluation

The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience
Elizabeth A West, Regina M Carelli

Abstract

Nucleus accumbens (NAc) neurons encode features of stimulus learning and action selection associated with rewards. The NAc is necessary for using information about expected outcome values to guide behavior after reinforcer devaluation. Evidence suggests that core and shell subregions may play dissociable roles in guiding motivated behavior. Here, we recorded neural activity in the NAc core and shell during training and performance of a reinforcer devaluation task. Long-Evans male rats were trained that presses on a lever under an illuminated cue light delivered a flavored sucrose reward. On subsequent test days, each rat was given free access to one of two distinctly flavored foods to consume to satiation and were then immediately tested on the lever pressing task under extinction conditions. Rats decreased pressing on the test day when the reinforcer earned during training was the sated flavor (devalued) compared with the test day when the reinforcer was not the sated flavor (nondevalued), demonstrating evidence of outcome-selective devaluation. Cue-selective encoding during training by NAc core (but not shell) neurons reliably predicted subsequent behavioral performance; that is, the greater the percentage of neurons that res...Continue Reading

Citations

May 25, 2016·Behavioral and Brain Functions : BBF·Kevin Lloyd, Peter Dayan
Aug 16, 2016·The European Journal of Neuroscience·Marcia SpoelderLouk J M J Vanderschuren
Sep 21, 2018·ELife·Jimmie M GmazMatthijs Aa van der Meer
May 22, 2018·Frontiers in Neuroscience·Miguel VillavicencioRanier Gutierrez
Aug 20, 2019·The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics·Xiangdang ShiEllen M Unterwald
Mar 3, 2020·Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience·Sara E KeeferDonna J Calu
Apr 22, 2020·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Meena M MakaryPaul Geha
Apr 23, 2020·Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience·Ramon GuiradoEsther Castillo-Gómez
Aug 28, 2020·Physiology & Behavior·Ileana Morales, Kent C Berridge
Oct 13, 2017·Neuron·Dennis A BurkeVeronica A Alvarez
Sep 10, 2017·Progress in Neuro-psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry·Rachel J Smith, Lillian S Laiks

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