A nociceptive amygdala-striatal pathway modulating affective-motivational pain

The basolateral amygdala (BLA) assigns valence to sensory stimuli, with a dedicated nociceptive ensemble encoding the negative valence of pain. However, the effects of chronic pain on the transcriptomic signatures and projection architecture of this BLA nociceptive ensemble are not well understood. Here, we show that optogenetic inhibition of the nociceptive BLA ensemble reduces affective-motivational behaviors in chronic neuropathic pain. Single-nucleus RNA sequencing revealed peripheral injury-induced changes in genetic pathways involved in axonal and presynaptic organization in nociceptive BLA neurons. Next, we identified a previously uncharacterized nociceptive hotspot in the nucleus accumbens shell that is innervated by BLA nociceptive neurons. Axonal calcium imaging of BLA projections to the accumbens and chemogenetic inhibition of this pathway revealed pain-related transmission from the amygdala to the medial nucleus accumbens, facilitating both acute and chronic pain affective-motivational behaviors. Together, this work defines a critical nociceptive amygdala-striatal circuit underlying pain unpleasantness across pain states.