Amygdala inputs to prefrontal cortex guide behavior amid conflicting cues of reward and punishment
Open accessAbstract
Orchestrating appropriate behavioral responses in the face of competing signals that predict either rewards or threats in the environment is crucial for survival. The basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA) and prelimbic (PL) medial prefrontal cortex have been implicated in reward-seeking and fear-related responses, but how information flows between these reciprocally connected structures to coordinate behavior is unknown. We recorded neuronal activity from the BLA and PL while rats performed a task wherein competing shock- and sucrose-predictive cues were simultaneously presented. The correlated firing primarily displayed a BLA→PL directionality during the shock-associated cue. Furthermore, BLA neurons optogenetically identified as projecting to PL more accurately predicted behavioral responses during competition than unidentified BLA neurons. Finally photostimulation of the BLA→PL projection increased freezing, whereas both chemogenetic and optogenetic inhibition reduced freezing. Therefore, the BLA→PL circuit is critical in governing the selection of behavioral responses in the face of competing signals.
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The BLA sends bidirectional projections to the mPFC.
“The BLA sends bidirectional projections to the mPFC [50].”
From Prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and threat processing: implications for PTSD (2022) · cites this paper as [50]
The BLA-to-PL circuit is critical in governing selection of behavioral responses amid conflicting cues of reward and punishment.
“The reciprocal connection between PFC and BLA is implicated in reward-seeking and fear-related responses, and optogenetic studies have revealed that BLA to PL circuit is critical in governing the selection of behavioral responses amid conflicting cues of reward and punishment 26.”
From Mechanisms of synaptic transmission dysregulation in the prefrontal cortex: pathophysiological implications (2022) · cites this paper as [26]
Amygdala inputs to prefrontal cortex help guide behavior when reward and punishment cues conflict, aiding resolution of conflicting actions.
“In fact, Tye and colleagues have gone on to show that these amygdala-prefrontal inputs guide behavior amid conflicting cues of reward and punishment [32] to resolve conflicting actions.”
From Development of the emotional brain (2019) · cites this paper as [32]
Reciprocal connections between the BLA and mPFC are important for fear extinction, fear discrimination, and other processes requiring the resolution of conflicting information.
“Reciprocal connections between the BLA and mPFC are important for fear extinction, fear discrimination, and other processes requiring the resolution of conflicting information (47–50), and dendritic hypotrophy in mPFC neurons has been linked to stress and alcohol-related deficits in fear extinction (51,52).”
From Chronic Stress Remodels Synapses in an Amygdala Circuit-Specific Manner (2019) · cites this paper as [47]
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References 73 · Cited by 318
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- [74]Permutation, Parametric, and Bootstrap Tests of Hypotheses Phillip I Good Springer
- Authors
- Burgos-Robles, A., Kimchi, E. Y., Izadmehr, E. M., Porzenheim, M. J., Ramos-Guasp, W. A., Nieh, E. H., Felix-Ortiz, A. C., Namburi, P., Leppla, C. A., Presbrey, K. N., Anandalingam, K. K., Pagan-Rivera, P. A., Anahtar, M., Beyeler, A., & Tye, K. M.
- Affiliations
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
- Massachusetts General Hospital (US)
- Corresponding author
- Tye, Kay M
- ORCID
- Venue
- Nature Neuroscience
- Published
- 2017-04-24
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 824-835
- ISSN
- 1097-6256 (ISSN-L)
- 1546-1726
- PMC
- PMC5448704
- OpenAlex
- W2607528746
- Cited by
- 318
- References
- 73
- Citations by year
- 2026: 31 · 2025: 35 · 2024: 40 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 25 · 2021: 42 · 2020: 39 · 2019: 28 · 2018: 37 · 2017: 11
- FWCI
- 17.83
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- DSpace@MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PMC
- Funders
- National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (R01AA023305)
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH102441)
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences (T32GM007484)
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (DP2DK102256)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Keywords
- amygdala, prefrontal cortex, basolateral amygdala, prelimbic cortex, reward seeking, neural circuits, behavioral selection, freezing behavior, optogenetics, chemogenetics
- MeSH terms
- Action Potentials, Amygdala, Animals, Conditioning, Classical, Cues, Discrimination, Psychological, Electric Stimulation, Male, Microinjections, Neural Inhibition, Neural Pathways, Punishment, Quinoxalines, Reward, Sucrose, 2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate, Prefrontal Cortex, Immobility Response, Tonic, Rats, Rats, Transgenic
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