The Nucleus Accumbens: An Interface Between Cognition, Emotion, and Action

Floresco, Stan

doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115159

Cited by 678 publications

(653 citation statements)

References 151 publications

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“…The NAc involvement seems to be particularly critical when there is ambiguity and/or uncertainty about which are the appropriate actions to be taken or under situations of instability and fluidity (42). Neural computations underlying these processes are all conceivably relevant for the evolving interactions entailed in the establishment of a social hierarchy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…48). Given the proposed roles of the NAc in the regulation of behavioral vigor and exertion of effort, particularly in appetitively or aversely motivated behaviors (42), it is now tempting to speculate that the detected differences in mitochondrial function in the NAc as a function of anxiety could be critically involved in the decision-making processes weighing the amount of effort and/or cost exerted against the tradeoff of the prospect to win or, more generally, in defining differences in vulnerability to persist during sustained challenge.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mitochondrial function in the brain links anxiety with social subordination

Hollis

Kooij

Zanoletti

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

224

257

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Dominance hierarchies are integral aspects of social groups, yet whether personality traits may predispose individuals to a particular rank remains unclear. Here we show that trait anxiety directly influences social dominance in male outbred rats and identify an important mediating role for mitochondrial function in the nucleus accumbens. High-anxious animals that are prone to become subordinate during a social encounter with a low-anxious rat exhibit reduced mitochondrial complex I and II proteins and respiratory capacity as well as decreased ATP and increased ROS production in the nucleus accumbens. A causal link for these findings is indicated by pharmacological approaches. In a dyadic contest between anxietymatched animals, microinfusion of specific mitochondrial complex I or II inhibitors into the nucleus accumbens reduced social rank, mimicking the low probability to become dominant observed in highanxious animals. Conversely, intraaccumbal infusion of nicotinamide, an amide form of vitamin B3 known to enhance brain energy metabolism, prevented the development of a subordinate status in high-anxious individuals. We conclude that mitochondrial function in the nucleus accumbens is crucial for social hierarchy establishment and is critically involved in the low social competitiveness associated with high anxiety. Our findings highlight a key role for brain energy metabolism in social behavior and point to mitochondrial function in the nucleus accumbens as a potential marker and avenue of treatment for anxiety-related social disorders.anxiety | mitochondria | nucleus accumbens | social dominance | social competition

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitochondrial function in the brain links anxiety with social subordination

Hollis

Kooij

Zanoletti

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

224

257

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The salience network comprises cortical (anterior insula and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex) and subcortical (amygdala, ventral striatum, including nucleus accumbens, and substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area) regions with diverse roles in detecting events salient to the organism, and integrating cognitive, emotional, motivational, motor, and interoceptive signals into response selection (Floresco, 2015;Menon, 2015;Sridharan, Levitin, & Menon, 2008). The salience network has recently been identified as critical in executing the switch between networks focused on exogenous and self-referential processing to reposition the organism for new tasks (Sridharan et al, 2008).…”

Section: Mechanisms For Attentional Focus Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimizing performance through intrinsic motivation and attention for learning: The OPTIMAL theory of motor learning

2016

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Effective motor performance is important for surviving and thriving, and skilled movement is critical in many activities. Much theorizing over the past few decades has focused on how certain practice conditions affect the processing of task-related information to affect learning. Yet, existing theoretical perspectives do not accommodate significant recent lines of evidence demonstrating motivational and attentional effects on performance and learning. These include research on (a) conditions that enhance expectancies for future performance, (b) variables that influence learners' autonomy, and (c) an external focus of attention on the intended movement effect. We propose the OPTIMAL (Optimizing Performance through Intrinsic Motivation and Attention for Learning) theory of motor learning. We suggest that motivational and attentional factors contribute to performance and learning by strengthening the coupling of goals to actions. We provide explanations for the performance and learning advantages of these variables on psychological and neuroscientific grounds. We describe a plausible mechanism for expectancy effects rooted in responses of dopamine to the anticipation of positive experience and temporally associated with skill practice. Learner autonomy acts perhaps largely through an enhanced expectancy pathway. Furthermore, we consider the influence of an external focus for the establishment of efficient functional connections across brain networks that subserve skilled movement. We speculate that enhanced expectancies and an external focus propel performers' cognitive and motor systems in productive "forward" directions and prevent "backsliding" into self-and non-task focused states. Expected success presumably breeds further success and helps consolidate memories. We discuss practical implications and future research directions.Keywords Motivation . Attentional focus . Self-efficacy . Positive affect . Dopamine . Motor performance Skilled movement is fundamental to surviving and thriving in the world and the basis as well for many of the highest human endeavors and cultural achievements, from sport to art to music. How people learn and relearn movement skills has been addressed from a number of disparate scientific perspectives and levels of analysis, including behavioral, social cognitive, neurophysiological, and neurocomputational. In part, differences in assumptions, scientific terminology and philosophy, as well as methodological approaches have made scholarly rapprochement challenging, but we see the end goal of optimizing motor learning as important. We suggest that it may be valuable to bring recent insights from various approaches together to identify a coherent way forward that can result in optimized learning from humans' earliest encounters with new motor skills to the lifelong development of motoric expertise.It is typically considered time to look afresh at dominant theories in a field when the accumulating evidence suggests that old frameworks cannot account for substantial new insights an...

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“…The nucleus accumbens is considered as an important region of brain reward circuits (Basar et al, 2010; Carlezon & Thomas, 2009; Day & Carelli, 2007; Floresco, 2015; Ikemoto, 2007; Salamone, Correa, Mingote, & Weber, 2005). Spiny GABAergic neurons in the nucleus accumbens are involved in major depression (Francis & Lobo, 2016; Lim, Huang, Grueter, Rothwell, & Malenka, 2012; Wang et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

microRNA and mRNA profiles in nucleus accumbens underlying depression versus resilience in response to chronic stress

Song

Sun

et al. 2018

American J of Med Genetics Pt B

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Major depression in negative mood is presumably induced by chronic stress with lack of reward. However, most individuals who experience chronic stress demonstrate resilience. Molecular mechanisms underlying stress‐ induced depression versus resilience remain unknown, which are investigated in brain reward circuits. Mice were treated by chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) for 4 weeks. The tests of sucrose preference, Y‐maze, and forced swimming were used to identify depression‐like emotion behavior or resilience. High‐throughput sequencing was used to analyze mRNA and miRNA quantity in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) harvested from the mice in the groups of control, CUMS‐induced depression (CUMS‐MDD), and CUMS‐resistance to identify molecular profiles of CUMS‐MDD versus CUMS‐resilience. In data analyses and comparison among three groups, 1.5‐fold ratio in reads per kilo‐base per million reads (RPKM) was set to judge involvements of mRNA and miRNA in CUMS, MDD, or resilience. The downregulations of serotonergic/dopaminergic synapses, MAPK/calcium signaling pathways, and morphine addiction as well as the upregulations of cAMP/PI3K‐Akt signaling pathways and amino acid metabolism are associated with CUMS‐MDD. The downregulations of chemokine signaling pathway, synaptic vesicle cycle, and nicotine addiction as well as the upregulations of calcium signaling pathway and tyrosine metabolism are associated with CUMS‐resilience. The impairments of serotonergic/dopaminergic synapses and PI3K‐Akt/MAPK signaling pathways in the NAc are associated with depression. The upregulation of these entities is associated with resilience. Consistent results from analyzing mRNA/miRNA and using different methods validate our finding and conclusion.

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The Nucleus Accumbens: An Interface Between Cognition, Emotion, and Action

Cited by 678 publications

References 151 publications

Mitochondrial function in the brain links anxiety with social subordination

Mitochondrial function in the brain links anxiety with social subordination

Optimizing performance through intrinsic motivation and attention for learning: The OPTIMAL theory of motor learning

microRNA and mRNA profiles in nucleus accumbens underlying depression versus resilience in response to chronic stress

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