title: Nucleus Accumbens and Posterior Amygdala Mediate Cue-Triggered Alcohol Seeking and Suppress Behavior During the Omission of Alcohol-Predictive Cues.
abstract: Neurobiological mechanisms that influence behavior in the presence of alcohol-associated stimuli involve processes that organize behavior during the presence of these cues, and separately, regulation of behavior in their absence. However, little is known about anatomical structures that might mediate this regulation. Here we examined nucleus accumbens shell (AcbSh) as a possible neural substrate mediating behavior modulation triggered by the presence and absence of alcohol-associated environmental cues and contexts. We also examined subregions of basal amygdala nuclei- rostral basolateral (BLA) and basal posterior (BAP)- as they provide a major source of glutamatergic input to the AcbSh. Animals were trained to associate an auditory conditioning stimulus with alcohol in a discriminative context and then subsequently tested for conditioned port-entries across contexts either previously associated or not associated with alcohol. We found that, on test to the alcohol cue alone, AcbSh inactivation prevented conditioned port-entries in contexts that either were associated with alcohol or were novel, while also increasing unconditioned port-entries during the intertrial intervals. When tested to alcohol-reinforced cues, AcbSh inactivation produced more cue-trial omissions and elevated unconditioned port-entries. Interestingly, BLA and BAP inactivation produced dissociable effects. BAP but not BLA increased unconditioned port-entries, while both manipulations prevented conditioned port-entries during the alcohol-cue. We conclude that AcbSh is necessary for modulating control over behavior otherwise guided by the presence of alcohol-predictive environmental stimuli and contexts. Moreover, this role may involve integration of functionally segregated inputs from rostral and posterior portions of basal amygdala nuclei.
authors: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors: E Zayra
authors: EZ
authors: Millan
authors: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors: Rebecca M
authors: RM
authors: Reese
authors: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors: Cooper D
authors: CD
authors: Grossman
authors: Center for Studies in Behavioural Neurobiology/Groupe de recherche en neurobiologie comportementale, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors: Nadia
authors: N
authors: Chaudhri
authors: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors: Patricia H
authors: PH
authors: Janak
mesh_terms: D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000679:Amygdala / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000818:Animals; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D003463:Cues; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D058999:Drug-Seeking Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008297:Male; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011897:Random Allocation; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D012054:Reinforcement, Psychology
chemical_list: D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol