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Ventral pallidum encodes relative reward value earlier and more robustly than nucleus accumbens.

ABSTRACT: The ventral striatopallidal system, a basal ganglia network thought to convert limbic information into behavioral action, includes the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and the ventral pallidum (VP), typically described as a major output of NAc. Here, to investigate how reward-related information is transformed across this circuit, we measure the activity of neurons in NAc and VP when rats receive two highly palatable but differentially preferred rewards, allowing us to track the reward-specific information contained within the neural activity of each region. In VP, we find a prominent preference-related signal that flexibly reports the relative value of reward outcomes across multiple conditions. This reward-specific firing in VP is present in a greater proportion of the population and arises sooner following reward delivery than in NAc. Our findings establish VP as a preeminent value signaler and challenge the existing model of information flow in the ventral basal ganglia.

SUBMITTER: Ottenheimer D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6195583 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Ventral pallidum encodes relative reward value earlier and more robustly than nucleus accumbens.

Ottenheimer David D Richard Jocelyn M JM Janak Patricia H PH

Nature communications 20181019 1

The ventral striatopallidal system, a basal ganglia network thought to convert limbic information into behavioral action, includes the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and the ventral pallidum (VP), typically described as a major output of NAc. Here, to investigate how reward-related information is transformed across this circuit, we measure the activity of neurons in NAc and VP when rats receive two highly palatable but differentially preferred rewards, allowing us to track the reward-specific informati ...[more]

PMID: 30341305

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Project description:UnlabelledThere is considerable individual variation in the extent to which reward cues are attributed with incentive salience. For example, a food-predictive conditioned stimulus (CS; an illuminated lever) becomes attractive, eliciting approach toward it only in some rats ("sign trackers," STs), whereas others ("goal trackers," GTs) approach the food cup during the CS period. The purpose of this study was to determine how individual differences in Pavlovian approach responses are represented in neural firing patterns in the major output structure of the mesolimbic system, the ventral pallidum (VP). Single-unit in vivo electrophysiology was used to record neural activity in the caudal VP during the performance of ST and GT conditioned responses. All rats showed neural responses to both cue onset and reward delivery but, during the CS period, STs showed greater neural activity than GTs both in terms of the percentage of responsive neurons and the magnitude of the change in neural activity. Furthermore, neural activity was positively correlated with the degree of attraction to the cue. Given that the CS had equal predictive value in STs and GTs, we conclude that neural activity in the VP largely reflects the degree to which the CS was attributed with incentive salience.Significance statementCues associated with reward can acquire motivational properties (i.e., incentive salience) that cause them to have a powerful influence on desire and motivated behavior. There are individual differences in sensitivity to reward-paired cues, with some individuals attaching greater motivational value to cues than others. Here, we investigated the neural activity associated with these individual differences in incentive salience. We found that cue-evoked neural firing in the ventral pallidum (VP) reflected the strength of incentive motivation, with the greatest neural responses occurring in individuals that demonstrated the strongest attraction to the cue. This suggests that the VP plays an important role in the process by which cues gain control over motivation and behavior.

Dataset Information

Ventral pallidum encodes relative reward value earlier and more robustly than nucleus accumbens.

Publications

Ventral pallidum encodes relative reward value earlier and more robustly than nucleus accumbens.

Similar Datasets

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