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Updated: Aug 7, 2026
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A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats
Published on: February 20, 2019
A Selective Cortico-Limbic Network Organizes Behavior During Reward Seeking Under Threat
Rodrigo O Sierra1, Leticia Ramirez-Lugo2, Elizabeth Illescas-Huerta3
1Psychology Program, Universidad Ean, Bogotá, Colombia.
Journal of Neuroscience Research
|August 6, 2026
Summary
Researchers identified key brain regions, including the prelimbic (PL) cortex and posterior insular cortex (pIC), essential for controlling approach behavior during motivational conflict. This study clarifies neural control over competing drives for rewards and threats.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Systems Neuroscience
Background:
- Neural circuits for isolated threats or rewards are known, but the specific brain regions controlling behavior during motivational conflict are unclear.
- Understanding motivational conflict is crucial as animals often must pursue rewards while facing potential threats.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify specific cortical and subcortical brain structures causally necessary for organizing behavior during motivational conflict.
- To investigate the roles of prelimbic (PL) and infralimbic (IL) cortices, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), insular cortices (IC), lateral habenula (LHb), basolateral amygdala (BLA), and nucleus accumbens (NAc) in mediating competing drives.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the step-down avoidance-mediated conflict (SDAmC) task in adult male rats to quantify avoidance, risk assessment, and reward approach.
- Performed pharmacological inactivation of eight candidate brain structures to assess their causal role in conflict resolution.
Main Results:
- Inactivation of the prelimbic cortex (PL) or posterior insular cortex (pIC) facilitated approach behavior during conflict, with distinct effects on risk assessment.
- Basolateral amygdala (BLA) inactivation led to general behavioral disinhibition, while nucleus accumbens (NAc) inactivation disrupted the temporal organization of approach.
- Infralimbic cortex (IL), lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC), anterior insular cortex (aIC), and lateral habenula (LHb) inactivation did not significantly alter conflict resolution.
Conclusions:
- Identified a selective cortico-limbic network where PL and pIC are necessary for limiting approach behavior under conflict.
- Demonstrated that BLA is involved in avoidance expression across motivational states, and NAc is crucial for organizing approach behavior during conflict.
- Constrained the set of brain regions causally involved in organizing behavior when reward seeking competes with threat detection.
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