The Role of the Ventral Hippocampal-accumbens Shell Circuit in Cued Approach-avoidance Decision Making

Approach-avoidance conflict resolution is a form of decision making that is critical for survival and requires the effective evaluation of stimuli with mixed outcomes. Recent evidence has implicated the ventral hippocampus (vHPC) and nucleus accumbens (NAc) in the regulation of approach-avoidance conflict resolution. This thesis aimed to extend this finding by investigating the functional connectivity between the vHPC and NAc shell in learned approach-avoidance decision making. To achieve this, rats were surgically injected with inhibitory DREADDs into the vCA1 and implanted with guide cannulae over the shell. Rats were trained to associate visual-tactile cues with three different outcomes: reward, shock or no outcome, in a Y-maze. Following successful learning, rodents underwent a test in which aversive and appetitive cues were superimposed to elicit approach-avoidance conflict. In the presence of this motivational conflict, chemogenic inhibition of the vCA1-NAc circuit resulted in an increased time spent decision making.M.Sc