Phillips Anthony G, Ahn Soyon, Howland John G
Department of Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, 2255 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6T 2A1.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2003 Oct;27(6):543-54. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2003.09.002.
The present review focuses on recent findings from our laboratory showing that there are major differences in the influence exerted by the central (CeN) and basolateral (BLA) nuclei of the amygdala on dopamine (DA) efflux in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) of the rat. Based on these data, we propose that the CeN maintains control, via an indirect pathway, of the tonic activity of a population of ventral tegmental dopamine neurons that specifically regulate basal DA efflux in the NAc. Related experiments also support the hypothesis that control of mesocorticolimbic DA activity by the CeN can influence the incentive value of the sensory property of food and its modulation by the drive-state of the animal. In contrast, we suggest that activation of the BLA can evoke transient increases in DA efflux in the NAc and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and may also stabilize the activity of dopaminergic neurons projecting to the mPFC. We hypothesize that the rapid transient regulation of DA efflux in the NAc by the BLA plays an essential role in the selection and co-ordination of specific sequences of behaviors appropriate to incentive stimuli present in the environment. In this manner, the amygdala may exert differential control on motivated behavior, thereby ensuring the selection of behavioral responses that are optimal for survival.
本综述聚焦于我们实验室最近的研究发现，这些发现表明，杏仁核的中央核（CeN）和基底外侧核（BLA）对大鼠伏隔核（NAc）中多巴胺（DA）流出的影响存在重大差异。基于这些数据，我们提出，CeN通过一条间接途径维持对一群腹侧被盖区多巴胺神经元紧张性活动的控制，这群神经元专门调节NAc中的基础DA流出。相关实验也支持这样的假说，即CeN对中脑皮质边缘DA活动的控制可影响食物感官特性的激励价值及其受动物驱动状态的调节。相比之下，我们认为BLA的激活可引起NAc和内侧前额叶皮质（mPFC）中DA流出的短暂增加，并且还可能稳定投射至mPFC的多巴胺能神经元的活动。我们假设，BLA对NAc中DA流出的快速短暂调节在选择和协调适合环境中存在的激励刺激的特定行为序列方面起着至关重要的作用。通过这种方式，杏仁核可能对动机行为施加不同的控制，从而确保选择对生存最有利的行为反应。
