The ability to differentiate stimuli predicting positive or negative outcomes is critical for survival, and perturbations of emotional processing underlie many psychiatric disease states. Synaptic plasticity in the basolateral amygdala complex (BLA) mediates the acquisition of associative memories, both positive1,2 and negative3–7. Different populations of BLA neurons may encode fearful or rewarding associations8–10, but the identifying features of these populations and the synaptic mechanisms of differentiating positive and negative emotional valence have remained an enigma. Here, we show that BLA neurons projecting to the nucleus accumbens (NAc projectors) or the centromedial amygdala (CeM projectors) underwent opposing synaptic changes following fear or reward conditioning. We found that photostimulation of NAc projectors supports positive reinforcement while photostimulation of CeM projectors mediates negative reinforcement. Photoinhibition of CeM projectors impaired fear conditioning and enhanced reward conditioning. We then characterized these functionally-distinct neuronal populations by comparing their electrophysiological, morphological and genetic features. We provide a mechanistic explanation for the representation of positive and negative associations within the amygdala.

Bile acids are best known as detergents involved in the digestion of lipids. In addition, new data in the last decade have shown that bile acids also function as gut hormones capable of influencing metabolic processes via receptors such as FXR (farnesoid X receptor) and TGR5 (Takeda G protein-coupled receptor 5). These effects of bile acids are not restricted to the gastrointestinal tract, but can affect different tissues throughout the organism. It is still unclear whether these effects also involve signaling of bile acids to the central nervous system (CNS). Bile acid signaling to the CNS encompasses both direct and indirect pathways. Bile acids can act directly in the brain via central FXR and TGR5 signaling. In addition, there are two indirect pathways that involve intermediate agents released upon interaction with bile acids receptors in the gut. Activation of intestinal FXR and TGR5 receptors can result in the release of fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19) and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), both capable of signaling to the CNS. We conclude that when plasma bile acids levels are high all three pathways may contribute in signal transmission to the CNS. However, under normal physiological circumstances, the indirect pathway involving GLP-1 may evoke the most substantial effect in the brain.