Real-time chemical responses in the nucleus accumbens differentiate rewarding and aversive stimuli.
Rewarding and aversive stimuli evoke very different patterns of behavior and are rapidly discriminated. Here taste stimuli of opposite hedonic valence evoked opposite patterns of dopamine and metabolic activity within milliseconds in the nucleus accumbens. This rapid encoding may serve to guide ongoing behavioral responses and promote plastic changes in underlying circuitry.
Roitman
Mitchell F
MF
Department of Psychology, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois 60607, USA. mroitman@uic.edu
Wheeler
Robert A
RA
Wightman
R Mark
RM
Carelli
Regina M
RM
D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001066:Appetite / Q000502:physiology; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques / Q000379:methods; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000502:physiology; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000502:physiology*; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011803:Quinine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012201:Reward; D013395:Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013549:Sweetening Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors
D013549:Sweetening Agents; D013395:Sucrose; D011803:Quinine; D004298:Dopamine