title: Distinct memory engrams in the infralimbic cortex of rats control opposing environmental actions on a learned behavior.
abstract: Conflicting evidence exists regarding the role of infralimbic cortex (IL) in the environmental control of appetitive behavior. Inhibition of IL, irrespective of its intrinsic neural activity, attenuates not only the ability of environmental cues predictive of reward availability to promote reward seeking, but also the ability of environmental cues predictive of reward omission to suppress this behavior. Here we report that such bidirectional behavioral modulation in rats is mediated by functionally distinct units of neurons (neural ensembles) that are concurrently localized within the same IL brain area but selectively reactive to different environmental cues. Ensemble-specific neural activity is thought to function as a memory engram representing a learned association between environment and behavior. Our findings establish the causal evidence for the concurrent existence of two distinct engrams within a single brain site, each mediating opposing environmental actions on a learned behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, United States.
authors.forename: Nobuyoshi
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8994-2592
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Suto
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, United States.
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3650-0459
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Laque
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, United States.
authors.forename: Genna L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: De Ness
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, United States.
authors.forename: Grant E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, United States.
authors.forename: Debbie
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Watry
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, United States.
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kerr
authors.affiliation: Sussex Neuroscience, School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Eisuke
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-5039-4875
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Koya
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, San Diego, United States.
authors.forename: Mark R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Mayford
authors.affiliation: Behavioral Neuroscience Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse/National Institutes of Health/Intramural Research program, Baltimore, United States.
authors.forename: Bruce T
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5804-7061
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Hope
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, United States.
authors.forename: Friedbert
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6211-6058
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Weiss
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001070:Appetitive Behavior; D001245:Association Learning; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D003463:Cues; D065726:Limbic Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D008568:Memory; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D012201:Reward
keywords: Pavlovian conditioning; appetitive behavior; infralimbic cortex; memory engrams; neuronal ensemble; neuroscience; operant conditioning; rat