Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Oxytocin attenuates fear learning via enhancing somatostatin interneuron-mediated local GABAergic inhibition in the prelimbic cortex.

Science advances·2026

Same author

Molecular signatures and lineage diversification of neurogenic and gliogenic radial glia in the gyrencephalic ferret cortex.

Communications biology·2026

Same author

Excitatory synapses onto axonic spines jump-start action potentials and route information flow.

Nature neuroscience·2026

Same author

<i>SHANK3</i> mutations disrupt olfactory valence coding across species, with cortical amygdala mechanisms identified in mice.

Science advances·2026

Same author

Paradoxical role of the mesocorticolimbic Netrin1-DCC pathway in social competition and vulnerability to methamphetamine abuse during adolescence.

Molecular psychiatry·2026

Same author

Prefrontal chandelier cells encode stimulus salience to influence learning in male mice.

Nature communications·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 24, 2025

A Fully Automated and Highly Versatile System for Testing Multi-cognitive Functions and Recording Neuronal Activities in Rodents

A Fully Automated and Highly Versatile System for Testing Multi-cognitive Functions and Recording Neuronal Activities in Rodents

Published on: May 3, 2012

Reward and aversion processing by input-defined parallel nucleus accumbens circuits in mice.

Kuikui Zhou^1,2, Hua Xu¹, Shanshan Lu^1,3

¹Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Drug Addiction, Shenzhen Neher Neural Plasticity Laboratory, the Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, 518055, Shenzhen, China.

Nature Communications

|October 21, 2022

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

The nucleus accumbens (NAc) controls reward and aversion. Neurons receiving basolateral amygdala inputs promote reward, while those receiving paraventricular thalamic inputs mediate aversion and opiate withdrawal symptoms.

More Related Videos

Two Different Real-Time Place Preference Paradigms Using Optogenetics within the Ventral Tegmental Area of the Mouse

Two Different Real-Time Place Preference Paradigms Using Optogenetics within the Ventral Tegmental Area of the Mouse

Published on: February 12, 2020

Operant Sensation Seeking in the Mouse

Operant Sensation Seeking in the Mouse

Published on: November 10, 2010

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Aug 24, 2025

A Fully Automated and Highly Versatile System for Testing Multi-cognitive Functions and Recording Neuronal Activities in Rodents

A Fully Automated and Highly Versatile System for Testing Multi-cognitive Functions and Recording Neuronal Activities in Rodents

Published on: May 3, 2012

Two Different Real-Time Place Preference Paradigms Using Optogenetics within the Ventral Tegmental Area of the Mouse

Two Different Real-Time Place Preference Paradigms Using Optogenetics within the Ventral Tegmental Area of the Mouse

Published on: February 12, 2020

Operant Sensation Seeking in the Mouse

Operant Sensation Seeking in the Mouse

Published on: November 10, 2010

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Molecular Biology
Behavioral Science

Background:

The nucleus accumbens (NAc) plays a key role in reward seeking and negative emotion processing.
The specific cellular and circuitry mechanisms underlying these opposing functions are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To elucidate the distinct neural circuits within the NAc that mediate opposing behaviors like reward and aversion.
To investigate the role of afferent-specific NAc pathways in reinforcement and withdrawal.

Main Methods:

Utilized AAV1-mediated anterograde transsynaptic tagging in mice.
Investigated NAc neurons receiving inputs from the basolateral amygdala (NAc^BLA) and paraventricular thalamus (NAc^PVT).
Examined the effects of silencing specific NAc pathways on reward seeking and opiate withdrawal behaviors.

Main Results:

NAc^BLA neurons disinhibit ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopamine neurons, promoting positive reinforcement.
NAc^PVT neurons innervate lateral hypothalamus (LH) GABAergic neurons, mediating aversion.
Silencing NAc^BLA impaired reward seeking; silencing NAc^PVT or the NAc^PVT→LH pathway abolished opiate withdrawal aversions.

Conclusions:

The NAc exhibits distinct, afferent-specific circuit architectures for controlling reward and aversion.
Identified specific pathways (NAc^BLA→VTA and NAc^PVT→LH) involved in opposing motivated behaviors.