Authors: |
*L. DIAZ-MATAIX1, M. GRAUPNER1, J. E. LEDOUX1,2, V. DOYERE3,4;
1Ctr. for Neural Sci., New York Univ., NEW YORK, NY; 2Nathan Kline Inst. for Psychiatric Res., Orangeburg, NY; 3Ctr. de Neurosciences Paris-Sud, UMR 8195, Univ. Paris-Sud, Orsay, France; 4CNRS, Orsay, France |
Abstract: |
Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) demonstrates the ability of classically conditioned stimuli (CS) to modulate instrumental responding, either through specific or general processes (Corbit & Balleine 2005; 2011). While the neural circuits underlying these different forms of PIT in appetitive conditioning have been found to include the amydala and ventral striatum, very little is known about the neural control of aversive PIT. Campese, LeDoux and Cain (in prep) have recently developed an aversive PIT task using rats in which presentation of an aversive CS augments ongoing 2-way shuttling behavior that had previously been trained on a Sidman active avoidance schedule. Using this task to determine a PIT baseline for each subject, the impact of electrolytic lesions of the lateral (LA), basal (B) or central (CE) amygdala on PIT was evaluated by performing additional tests following recovery from surgery. Preliminary findings show that damage to the CE or LA impairs aversive PIT and suggest that B lesions do not. To provide more specificity to this investigation DREADD will be injected into amygdala nuclei before any training takes place. Prior to PIT tests intraperitoneal injections of either clozapine-n-oxide (CNO) or vehicle will be administered. The effects of temporary inactivation of B, LA and CE by CNO injections are expected to reproduce what had been obtained using lesions.
|