The bivalent side of the nucleus accumbens

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.09.039

NeuroImage

Volume 44, Issue 3, 1 February 2009, Pages 1178-1187

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.09.039 Get rights and content

Abstract

An increasing body of evidence suggests that the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) is engaged in both incentive reward processes and in adaptive responses to conditioned and unconditioned aversive stimuli. Yet, it has been argued that NAcc activation to aversive stimuli may be a consequence of the rewarding effects of their termination, i.e., relief. To address this question we used fMRI to delineate brain response to the onset and offset of unpleasant and pleasant auditory stimuli in the absence of learning or motor response. Increased NAcc activity was seen for the onset of both pleasant and unpleasant stimuli. Our results support the expanded bivalent view of NAcc function and call for expansion of current models of NAcc function that are solely focused on reward.

Section snippets

Subjects

Twenty right-handed adults (10 male, 10 female; age: range 20–31, mean 25.7 ± 0.6; IQ = 116 ± 2.7) took part in the study. Subjects were free of any medical or neurological problems, and had no current or previous diagnosis of psychiatric or neurological disorder. All subjects gave informed consent in accordance with Weill Medical College of Cornell University IRB committee, and were paid for their participation.

Stimuli and apparatus

Auditory stimuli consisting of two unpleasant (negative tones: n1 and n2) and two

Validation of stimulus valence

At the end of the experimental session, while still in the scanner, subjects rated the auditory stimuli presented with respect to their positive and negative stimulus valence. There was a significant difference in valence ratings between the positive and negative stimuli presented (Fig. 1B), where positive sounds were rated as pleasant and negative sounds were rated as unpleasant (Z = − 3.9, p ≤ 0.001). No gender differences were found in valence rating, nor did valence ratings differ with respect

Discussion

We found that the NAcc responds to the onset of both positive and negative stimuli. Onset and offset analysis of activation of the NAcc to pleasant and unpleasant sounds in a passive listening paradigm confirmed a direct activation of this region by aversive stimuli, rather than an effect secondary to some kind of relief, or a result of preparation and regulation of instrumental motor action. These results support the expanded view of NAcc function, whereby the NAcc plays a key role in

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Bruce McCandliss and Jason Zevin for their thoughtful discussions about this work. This research was supported in part by the National Institute of Drug Abuse Grant R01 DA018879 (BJC), NIH P50 MH52196 and MH079513, the Mortimer D. Sackler family and Dewitt-Wallace Reader's Digest Foundation.

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The bivalent side of the nucleus accumbens

Abstract

Section snippets

Subjects

Stimuli and apparatus

Validation of stimulus valence

Discussion

Acknowledgments

Neuron

Neuron

Prog. Neurobiol.

Neuron

Neuron

Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry

Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev.

NeuroImage

NeuroImage

Comput. Biomed. Res.

Biol. Psychol.

Neuron

Neuron

Brain Res. Brain Res. Rev.

Behav. Brain Res.

Curr. Opin. Pharmacol.

Neuroscience

Behav. Brain Res.

Brain Res. Brain Res. Rev.

Neuron

Biol. Psychiatry

Neuroscience

Physiol. Behav.

Life Sci.

NeuroImage

Neuron

Neuron

Brain Res.

Neuron

Curr. Opin. Pharmacol.

Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev.

Curr. Opin. Neurobiol.

Brain Res.

Neuron

NeuroImage

J. Chem. Neuroanat.

Biol. Psychiatry

Biol. Psychiatry

Neuron

Behav. Brain Res.

Neurosci. Res.

NeuroImage

Fear conditioning in C57/BL/6 and DBA/2 mice: variability in nucleus accumbens function according to the strain predisposition to show contextual- or cue-based responding

Eur. J. Neurosci.

Parabrachial internal lateral neurons convey nociceptive messages from the deep laminas of the dorsal horn to the intralaminar thalamus

J. Neurosci.

Limbic corticostriatal systems and delayed reinforcement

Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci.