Amygdala circuits underlying valence-specific behaviors

Abstract

Threatening and rewarding stimuli evoke a set of distinct stereotyped behaviors, which can be categorized as negative and positive valence-related behaviors, respectively. The stereotypic nature of negative and positive valence-related behaviors suggests that threatening and rewarding stimuli engage evolutionarily predetermined neural circuits in the brain. The amygdala is an important mammalian brain region that is activated by negative and positive stimuli and mediates negative and positive valence-related behaviors. The current prevailing circuit model of the amygdala mainly considers negative behaviors and only recently has cell-type specific models have been proposed. Hence, the substrates, genetically distinct neuronal populations, for negative and positive behaviors are not known. The work presented here describes a genetically-defined amygdala circuit model for negative and positive behaviors. Development of a genetic-based circuit model of the amygdala revealed anatomical and genetic circuit motifs that underlie that amygdala circuits that mediate valence-specific behaviors.