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| Open AccessMolecular characterization of Thy1 expressing fear-inhibiting neurons within the basolateral amygdala
Activation of Thy-1 expressing neurons in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) has been shown to result in inhibition of fear. Here the authors present a comprehensive workflow to identify genes that are upregulated in this population and can be pharmacologically targeted to enable fear extinction.
- Kenneth M. McCullough
- , Dennis Choi
- & Kerry J. Ressler
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| Open AccessRepresentational changes of latent strategies in rat medial prefrontal cortex precede changes in behaviour
The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is involved in changing behavioural strategies. Recording neural ensembles in rats, Powell and Redish find that the requirement for those changes is represented in mPFC before they manifest behaviourally, both in tasks that externally force a change and in tasks with self-determined change.
- Nathaniel James Powell
- & A. David Redish
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| Open AccessNeural correlates of two different types of extinction learning in the amygdala central nucleus
There are two forms of extinction learning, which are vital for adaptive behaviour: simple extinction, when an expected outcome fails to occur, and overexpectation, when an exaggerated expectation is in conflict with the actual outcome. Iordanova et al.show that both forms of extinction learning have a common neural substrate in the amygdala.
- Mihaela D. Iordanova
- , Mickael L. D. Deroche
- & Geoffrey Schoenbaum
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| Open AccessBasolateral amygdala nucleus responses to appetitive conditioned stimuli correlate with variations in conditioned behaviour
Neurons in the basolateral amygdala show increased response to conditioned stimuli predicting rewards. Here the authors show that their activity is not correlated with the reward-predicting stimulus but rather with the conditioned behaviour.
- Seung-Chan Lee
- , Alon Amir
- & Denis Pare
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| Open AccessOpposite monosynaptic scaling of BLP–vCA1 inputs governs hopefulness- and helplessness-modulated spatial learning and memory
How emotions affect memory is an open question. Here the authors establish learnt hopeful and learnt helpless mouse models, and find that posterior basolateral amygdala to ventral hippocampal CA1 monosynaptic glutamatergic inputs link emotions to spatial memory performance.
- Ying Yang
- , Zhi-Hao Wang
- & Jian-Zhi Wang
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| Open AccessSpecific frontal neural dynamics contribute to decisions to check
Information seeking is thought to rely on the brain's frontal cortex but which regions specifically control this drive remains unknown. Here the authors show that monkeys deciding to seek information on the current state of the environment showed specific neural dynamics in the lateral prefrontal cortex and midcingulate cortex.
- Frederic M. Stoll
- , Vincent Fontanier
- & Emmanuel Procyk
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| Open AccessThe social contingency of momentary subjective well-being
Comparing oneself to others is inherently human but exactly how social comparison affects one's emotional state is unclear. Here the authors demonstrate that unequal social outcomes decrease happiness and these emotional impacts are proportional to individual levels of generosity.
- Robb B. Rutledge
- , Archy O. de Berker
- & Raymond J. Dolan
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| Open AccessThe child brain computes and utilizes internalized maternal choices
Mothers advocate eating healthy foods while children like to eat tasty foods. Lim and colleagues demonstrate that children incorporate their mothers' food choices while deciding what to eat as well as provide the neural correlates of this decision making process.
- Seung-Lark Lim
- , J. Bradley C. Cherry
- & Amanda S. Bruce
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| Open AccessConverging prefrontal pathways support associative and perceptual features of conditioned stimuli
Animals often need to form specific associations between perceptually similar stimuli and the different outcomes they may predict. Howard et al. find that the human brain accomplishes this via enhanced coupling between stable codes of sensory features and flexible codes of stimulus reward value.
- James D. Howard
- , Thorsten Kahnt
- & Jay A. Gottfried
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| Open AccessEphrin-B3 coordinates timed axon targeting and amygdala spinogenesis for innate fear behaviour
The molecular mechanism underlying initial circuit wiring in amygdala is poorly understood. Here the authors show that ephrin-B3 is required for axon targeting and amygdala spinogenesis during a critical period in development, and plays an important role in amygdala mediated fear responses.
- Xiao-Na Zhu
- , Xian-Dong Liu
- & Nan-Jie Xu
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| Open AccessRule learning enhances structural plasticity of long-range axons in frontal cortex
The orbitofrontal cortex is associated with foraging behaviour yet the structural changes underlying such rule-based learning remain unclear. Here, the authors imaged OFC axons throughout a digging-based odour discrimination task and found correlations between the rate of bouton turnover and the behavioural strategies of individual mice.
- Carolyn M. Johnson
- , Hannah Peckler
- & Linda Wilbrecht
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| Open AccessBasolateral and central amygdala differentially recruit and maintain dorsolateral striatum-dependent cocaine-seeking habits
Drug seeking behaviour has habitual neural substrates. Here, Murray et al. show that the basolateral amygdala and central nucleus of the amygdala are necessary to recruit and maintain, respectively, the intrastriatal functional transition that underlies cocaine seeking habits.
- Jennifer E. Murray
- , Aude Belin-Rauscent
- & David Belin
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| Open AccessAmygdala lesions in rhesus macaques decrease attention to threat
The amygdala in the medial temporal lobe of the human and non-human primate brain is known to process salient social stimuli and to mediate threat discrimination. Here, Dal Monte et al.show that rhesus monkeys with amygdala lesions have deficits in detecting threat signals and directing attention to the eye region of a conspecific's face.
- Olga Dal Monte
- , Vincent D. Costa
- & Bruno B. Averbeck
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| Open AccessCorticostriatal pathways contribute to the natural time course of positive mood
Positive mood can occur as a result of a stimulus or spontaneously. Admon and Pizzagalli measure variations in neural responses to a positive stimulus over time, and identify cortico-striatal interactions associated with sustained positive mood which are reduced in individuals with a history of depression.
- Roee Admon
- & Diego A. Pizzagalli
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| Open AccessDARPP-32 interaction with adducin may mediate rapid environmental effects on striatal neurons
Changes in environment are known to alter reward system responses, although the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here, Engmann et al.show that DARPP-32 interacts directly with β-adducin in the mouse striatum to regulate structural and behavioural plasticity in response to novel environment and drug exposure.
- Olivia Engmann
- , Albert Giralt
- & Jean-Antoine Girault
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| Open AccessInsulin enhances striatal dopamine release by activating cholinergic interneurons and thereby signals reward
Insulin signals satiety after a meal; however, the rising incidence of obesity and chronic insulin elevation suggests that insulin may also signal reward. Here, Stouffer et al. show that insulin amplifies dopamine release in rodent striatum depending on diet, and that striatal insulin can influence food choice.
- Melissa A. Stouffer
- , Catherine A. Woods
- & Margaret E. Rice
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| Open AccessTwo spatiotemporally distinct value systems shape reward-based learning in the human brain
Learning to reinforce rewarding decisions and avoiding repeated mistakes is critical, yet the neural systems mediating feedback processing in value-guided choices remain elusive. Here the authors uncover the spatiotemporal dynamics of two separate but interacting value systems during learning.
- Elsa Fouragnan
- , Chris Retzler
- & Marios G. Philiastides
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| Open AccessContextual modulation of value signals in reward and punishment learning
In contrast to predictions from learning theory, humans learn to seek rewards and avoid punishments equally well. Here the authors offer an elegant solution to this problem by demonstrating that humans learn option values relative to a reference point subserved by a common neural substrate.
- Stefano Palminteri
- , Mehdi Khamassi
- & Giorgio Coricelli
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| Open AccessLearning-related representational changes reveal dissociable integration and separation signatures in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex
Our memory system maintains flexibility by representing both specific events as well as generalizations across events, yet the brain regions supporting each remain unknown. Here the authors reveal dissociable neural signatures of memory separation and integration in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.
- Margaret L. Schlichting
- , Jeanette A. Mumford
- & Alison R. Preston
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| Open AccessDeactivation of excitatory neurons in the prelimbic cortex via Cdk5 promotes pain sensation and anxiety
The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is implicated in pain regulation, yet the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here the authors establish a critical role for mPFC in regulating pain sensation and pain-related anxiety, mediated by activation of the cyclin-dependent kinase 5 signalling pathway.
- Guo-Qiang Wang
- , Cheng Cen
- & Yun Wang
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Orbitofrontal lesions eliminate signalling of biological significance in cue-responsive ventral striatal neurons
The ventral striatum (VS) has long been proposed as crucial for integrating biologically significant associative information to drive actions. Here, the authors demonstrate that orbitofrontal cortical inputs to the VS play a critical role in biasing activity to represent reward value.
- Nisha K. Cooch
- , Thomas A. Stalnaker
- & Geoffrey Schoenbaum
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| Open AccessProcessing of visually evoked innate fear by a non-canonical thalamic pathway
The ability of animals to respond to life-threatening stimuli is critical for survival, yet the neural circuits mediating innate defensive behaviors are not well understood. Here, the authors reveal a novel collicular–thalamic–amygdala circuit critical for innate defensive responses to visual threats.
- Pengfei Wei
- , Nan Liu
- & Liping Wang
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A causal role of the right inferior frontal cortex in implementing strategies for multi-component behaviour
Complex behaviours, such as driving a car, require the organization and processing of several individual actions. Here, the authors use transcranial magnetic stimulation to demonstrate that the right inferior frontal gyrus determines the strategy used to sequence actions during complex behaviours.
- Gabriel Dippel
- & Christian Beste
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FAAH genetic variation enhances fronto-amygdala function in mouse and human
Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) is a key regulator of endocannabinoid signalling. Here, the authors develop a knock-in mouse that recapitulates a common human mutation in the FAAH gene and demonstrate parallel neural and behavioural alterations across species, suggesting a gain-of-function in fear regulation.
- Iva Dincheva
- , Andrew T. Drysdale
- & Francis S. Lee
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Interaction between emotional state and learning underlies mood instability
Whether emotional state affects the perception of outcomes, and the possible consequences of this interaction remain unclear. Here the authors use behavioural tests and brain imaging to study the bidirectional interaction between emotional state and learning in humans and find that this interaction may play a role in mood instability.
- Eran Eldar
- & Yael Niv
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Singular localization of sodium channel β4 subunit in unmyelinated fibres and its role in the striatum
Voltage-gated Na+ channel β-subunits are concentrated in the nodes of Ranvier and axon initial segments of myelinated axons and have a variety of functions. Here the authors show, using genetically modified mice, that this subunit is present in unmyelinated fibres in the striatum and is required for generation of resurgent Na+ current in striatal neurons.
- Haruko Miyazaki
- , Fumitaka Oyama
- & Nobuyuki Nukina
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| Open AccessAudience preferences are predicted by temporal reliability of neural processing
Encephalographic brain recordings are often used to characterize neuronal dynamics at the network level in relation to specific behaviours. Here, Dmochowski et al. show that neural activity from a few individuals viewing popular media can predict population-level neural activity in thousands of individuals.
- Jacek P. Dmochowski
- , Matthew A. Bezdek
- & Lucas C. Parra
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Prefrontal cortex reactivity underlies trait vulnerability to chronic social defeat stress
Connectivity between the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and the amygdala (AMY) is implicated in responses to stress and regulation of affect. Here, the authors show that stress is regulated by changes in PFC–AMY coherence, PFC oscillatory activity and AMY oscillatory activity across the 2–7 Hz frequency band.
- Sunil Kumar
- , Rainbo Hultman
- & Kafui Dzirasa
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| Open AccessAction-value comparisons in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex control choice between goal-directed actions
In humans, choice between actions depends on the ability to compare action–outcome values. Here, the authors show that action–outcome values are compared on the basis of the relative advantage of a particular action over alternative actions, which takes place in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of the brain.
- Richard W. Morris
- , Amir Dezfouli
- & Bernard W. Balleine
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| Open AccessBalanced activity in basal ganglia projection pathways is critical for contraversive movements
The striatum is required for evoking contraversive movements from each brain hemisphere, but it is unclear how. Here, Tecuapetla et al.use optogenetics to inhibit direct and indirect downstream striatal projection pathways, and show that activity in both pathways is necessary for contraversive movements.
- Fatuel Tecuapetla
- , Sara Matias
- & Rui M. Costa
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Structural and functional differences in medial prefrontal cortex underlie distractibility and suppression deficits in ageing
Brain-imaging studies have shown that compared with younger adults, older adults experience an increase in distractibility during working memory tasks. Here, the authors show that the increase in distractibility is in part due to reduced integrity and connectivity of the medial prefrontal cortex in older adults.
- James Z. Chadick
- , Theodore P. Zanto
- & Adam Gazzaley
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Tailless and Atrophin control Drosophila aggression by regulating neuropeptide signalling in the pars intercerebralis
It is unclear whether the mechanisms giving rise to aggression in animals are conserved across the animal kingdom. Here, the authors show that knockdown of tailless, an orthologue of a mouse gene involved in aggression, leads to increased aggression in Drosophila, suggesting that the molecular mechanisms behind aggression are conserved.
- Shaun M. Davis
- , Amanda L. Thomas
- & Herman A. Dierick
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Single neurons in monkey prefrontal cortex encode volitional initiation of vocalizations
The Broca area is located in the human prefrontal cortex and is involved in voluntary speech. Hage and Nieder now show that a monkey homologue of Broca’s area is similarly responsible for monkey volitional vocalizations.
- Steffen R. Hage
- & Andreas Nieder
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Two principles of organization in the prefrontal cortex are cognitive hierarchy and degree of automaticity
Regional differences in cognitive processing exist in language domains in the brain. Jeon and Friederici study cognitive processing in native German speakers exposed to different languages, and describe the functional and structural features that account for the regional differences.
- Hyeon-Ae Jeon
- & Angela D. Friederici
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Identity of endogenous NMDAR glycine site agonist in amygdala is determined by synaptic activity level
NMDA receptor activation requires the occupation of binding sites by glutamate and a glycine site agonist. Li and colleagues study this in synapses of the lateral nucleus of the amygdala and find that the identity of the NMDAR glycine site agonist depends on the level of synaptic activation.
- Yan Li
- , Silvia Sacchi
- & Vadim Y. Bolshakov
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Human hypocretin and melanin-concentrating hormone levels are linked to emotion and social interaction
The emotional state of humans depends on the temporal concentration of neurochemicals. Blouin et al. measure temporal changes in two neuropeptides, hypocretin and melanin-concentrating hormone, and find that hypocretin but not melanin-concentrating hormone is linked to positive emotions and social interaction.
- Ashley M. Blouin
- , Itzhak Fried
- & Jerome M. Siegel