Diverse processing of pharmacological and natural rewards by the central amygdala
Łukasz Bijoch,
Joanna Klos,
Martyna Pękała,
Kristina Fiołna,
Leszek Kaczmarek,
Anna Beroun
Affiliations
Łukasz Bijoch
Nencki-EMBL Center of Excellence for Neural Plasticity and Brain Disorders: BRAINCITY, Laboratory of Neuronal Plasticity, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, L. Pasteura 3, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
Joanna Klos
Nencki-EMBL Center of Excellence for Neural Plasticity and Brain Disorders: BRAINCITY, Laboratory of Neuronal Plasticity, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, L. Pasteura 3, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
Martyna Pękała
Nencki-EMBL Center of Excellence for Neural Plasticity and Brain Disorders: BRAINCITY, Laboratory of Neurobiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, L. Pasteura 3, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
Kristina Fiołna
Nencki-EMBL Center of Excellence for Neural Plasticity and Brain Disorders: BRAINCITY, Laboratory of Neuronal Plasticity, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, L. Pasteura 3, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; Nencki-EMBL Center of Excellence for Neural Plasticity and Brain Disorders: BRAINCITY, Laboratory of Neurobiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, L. Pasteura 3, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
Leszek Kaczmarek
Nencki-EMBL Center of Excellence for Neural Plasticity and Brain Disorders: BRAINCITY, Laboratory of Neurobiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, L. Pasteura 3, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland
Anna Beroun
Nencki-EMBL Center of Excellence for Neural Plasticity and Brain Disorders: BRAINCITY, Laboratory of Neuronal Plasticity, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, L. Pasteura 3, 02-093 Warsaw, Poland; Corresponding author
Summary: The central amygdala (CeA) with its medial (CeM) and lateral (CeL) nuclei is the brain hub for processing stimuli with emotional context. CeL nucleus gives a strong inhibitory input to the CeM, and this local circuitry assigns values (positive or negative) to incoming stimuli, guiding appropriate behavior (approach or avoid). However, the particular involvement of CeA in processing such emotionally relevant information and adaptations of the CeA circuitry are not yet well understood. In this study, we examined synaptic plasticity in the CeA after exposure to two types of rewards, pharmacological (cocaine) and natural (sugar). We found that both rewards engage CeM, where they generate silent synapses resulting in the strengthening of the network. However, only cocaine triggers plasticity in the CeL, which leads to the weakening of its excitatory inputs. Finally, chemogenetic inhibition of CeM attenuates animal preference for sugar, while activation delays cocaine-induced increase in locomotor activity.
