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Link to original content: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22386516/
Effects of lesions of the amygdala central nucleus on autoshaped lever pressing - PubMed Skip to main page content
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. 2012 Apr 23:1450:49-56.
doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2012.02.029. Epub 2012 Feb 20.

Effects of lesions of the amygdala central nucleus on autoshaped lever pressing

Stephen E Chang  1 , Daniel S Wheeler, Peter C Holland
Affiliations

Effects of lesions of the amygdala central nucleus on autoshaped lever pressing

Stephen E Chang et al. Brain Res. .

Abstract

Neutral cues paired with rewards often appear to acquire motivational significance, as if the incentive motivational value of the reward is transferred to the cue. Such cues have been reported to modulate the performance of instrumental action (Pavlovian-instrumental transfer, PIT), serve as conditioned reinforcers in the establishment of new learning, and be the targets of approach and other cue-directed behaviors. Here we examined the effects of lesions of the amygdala central nucleus (CeA) on the acquisition of discriminative autoshaped lever-pressing. Insertion of one lever into the experimental chamber was reinforced by sucrose delivery, but insertion of another lever was not reinforced. Although sucrose delivery was not contingent on lever pressing, both CeA- and sham-lesioned rats rapidly came to press the reinforced but not the nonreinforced lever. Despite their showing little evidence of impairments in autoshaped lever pressing, these same CeA-lesioned rats showed significant deficits in the expression of PIT in a subsequent phase of the experiment. The lack of impaired autoshaping in CeA-lesioned rats contrasts with effects previously reported for conditioned orienting responses (ORs) and for other putative measures of incentive learning including PIT and conditioned approach to visual cues.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Histological results (A) Schematic representation of bilateral amygdala central nucleus (CeA) lesions showing the minimum (black) and maximum (white) amount of neuronal damage. Coronal sections are −1.60 mm to −3.30 mm relative to bregma (Paxinos & Watson, 1998; used by Permission of Elsevier). (B) Photomicrograph of a rat with a representative CeA lesion. (C) Photomicrograph of a rat with a representative sham CeA lesion
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effects of amygdala central nucleus (CeA) lesions on autoshaped responding during the last 5 s of CS presentations. Compared to sham-lesioned controls, CeA-lesioned rats showed no deficits in lever presses/min (A), percentage of trials with a lever press (B), or the percent of time spent in the food cup (C). Error bars represent ±SEM.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effects of amygdala central nucleus (CeA) lesions on (A) acquisition of Pavlovian discriminative conditioning of food cup CRs to auditory stimuli, (B) instrumental responding in the Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT) test, (C) Pavlovian food cup CRs in PIT test. Entries are mean ± SEM.
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