背景： 杏仁基底外侧核(BLA)和伏膈核(NAc)之间相互作用关联到若干奖励及上瘾行为，但我们对这些大脑区域中每一个作用机理的认识，一直受限于不能在行为发生过程中对通道进行选择性操控。
寻求奖励心理，实际上大脑也参与。
研究结论： Stuber等人利用光遗传学技术（在这些技术中，光选择性地激发或抑制在遗传上定义的神经元亚类）发现了BLA的一个出乎意料的作用。传统上认为，BLA大脑区域与令人厌恶的行为关联在一起，事实上，该大脑区域对于处理正面效应和负面效应都很重要，而BLA 和 NAc之间的谷氨酸通道只与寻求奖励的行为相关。
生物探索推荐英文摘要
Excitatory transmission from the amygdala to nucleus accumbens facilitates reward seeking
Abstract：The basolateral amygdala (BLA) has a crucial role in emotional learning irrespective of valence1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 21, 22, 23. The BLA projection to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) is thought to modulate cue-triggered motivated behaviours4, 6, 7, 24, 25, but our understanding of the interaction between these two brain regions has been limited by the inability to manipulate neural-circuit elements of this pathway selectively during behaviour. To circumvent this limitation, we used in vivo optogenetic stimulation or inhibition of glutamatergic fibres from the BLA to the NAc, coupled with intracranial pharmacology and ex vivo electrophysiology. Here we show that optical stimulation of the pathway from the BLA to the NAc in mice reinforces behavioural responding to earn additional optical stimulation of these synaptic inputs. Optical stimulation of these glutamatergic fibres required intra-NAc dopamine D1-type receptor signalling, but not D2-type receptor signalling. Brief optical inhibition of fibres from the BLA to the NAc reduced cue-evoked intake of sucrose, demonstrating an important role of this specific pathway in controlling naturally occurring reward-related behaviour. Moreover, although optical stimulation of glutamatergic fibres from the medial prefrontal cortex to the NAc also elicited reliable excitatory synaptic responses, optical self-stimulation behaviour was not observed by activation of this pathway. These data indicate that whereas the BLA is important for processing both positive and negative affect, the glutamatergic pathway from the BLA to the NAc, in conjunction with dopamine signalling in the NAc, promotes motivated behavioural responding. Thus, optogenetic manipulation of anatomically distinct synaptic inputs to the NAc reveals functionally distinct properties of these inputs in controlling reward-seeking behaviours.
