Inactivation of the ventral tegmental area abolished the general excitatory influence of Pavlovian cues on instrumental performance
Abstract
Pavlovian stimuli can markedly elevate instrumental responding, an effect known as Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT). As the role of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in PIT is yet unknown, we examined the effects of transient VTA inactivation by direct microinjections of a mixture of the GABAA and GABAB receptor agonists, muscimol and baclofen. Results reveal that PIT, i.e., the increase in instrumental responding during presentation of a Pavlovian stimulus, was abolished by intra-VTA microinjections of muscimol/baclofen. These data provide the first evidence that the VTA mediates Pavlovian influences on instrumental behavior.
Footnotes
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↵1 Corresponding author.
↵1 E-mail hauber{at}bio.uni-stuttgart.de; fax 49-711-685-5090.
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Article published online ahead of print. Article and publication date are at http://www.learnmem.org/cgi/doi/10.1101/lm.127106
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- Received November 24, 2005.
- Accepted January 2, 2006.
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press