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Related Concept Videos

Diencephalon: Thalamus and Information Relay01:27

Diencephalon: Thalamus and Information Relay

The thalamus, often called “the gateway to the cerebral cortex,” is vital in processing and directing sensory and motor signals throughout the brain. Almost all inputs destined for the cerebral cortex, except for olfactory signals, are relayed through the thalamus. The thalamus is  a sophisticated relay station, channeling information from various brain regions to the cerebral cortex, as well as a filter, prioritizing certain signals over others based on current physiological states or needs.

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Distinct Action Signals by Subregions in the Nucleus Accumbens during STOP-Change Performance.

Sydney E Ashton1,2, Paul Sharalla2, Naru Kang2

  • 1Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland, Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland 21201 mroesch@umd.edu sashton@umaryland.edu.

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Summary

Neurons in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) differentially signal action selection. Reward-excited cells promote proactive choices, while reward-inhibited cells aid reactive stopping and redirection.

Keywords:
action selectionimpulsivityinhibitionnucleus accumbensratsingle unitstop-signal

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Behavioral Neuroscience
  • Computational Neuroscience

Background:

  • The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is crucial for motivated behavior, processing reward cues and delivery.
  • The NAc comprises core and shell subregions with distinct neuronal populations.
  • Existing theories primarily link NAc function to reward processing, with less focus on general action selection.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of NAc neurons in action selection during a STOP-change task.
  • To differentiate the functions of reward-excited and reward-inhibited neurons in the NAc core and shell.

Main Methods:

  • Single-unit recordings in the NAc of rats performing a STOP-change task.
  • Analysis of neuronal activity related to GO (respond) and STOP (inhibit/redirect) trials.
  • Examination of neuronal firing patterns in relation to response accuracy and trial type.

Main Results:

  • Reward-excited neurons signaled accurate responses on GO trials but not STOP trials.
  • Reward-inhibited neurons represented response direction on STOP trials.
  • Neuronal activity varied across NAc subregions, with a gradient of reward-excited to reward-inhibited cells.

Conclusions:

  • Reward-excited NAc neurons (predominantly in the core) facilitate proactive action selection.
  • Reward-inhibited NAc neurons (predominantly in the shell) contribute to reactive behavioral control on STOP trials.