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GABAergic Pallidal-Hypothalamic Regulation of Approach/Avoidance Conflict Behaviors

Award Number: F32MH143407
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: FELLOWSHIP/SCHOLARSHIP/STUDENT LOANS
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 12/02/2026
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 12/01/2027

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GABAergic Pallidal-Hypothalamic Regulation of Approach/Avoidance Conflict Behaviors - Project Summary The ventral pallidum (VP) and lateral hypothalamus (LH) are key nodes in motivational circuits regulating both approach and avoidance behaviors. VP GABAergic (VPGABA) neurons, which comprise most of the VP, are implicated in encoding both reward and threat-related signals, positioning them as potential integrators of motivational conflict. The VPGABA-LH pathway has been primarily linked to reward-seeking behavior, raising the possibility that this projection may selectively promote approach under conditions of conflict. However, its functional role when animals simultaneously evaluate competing drives remains unclear. Investigating both the broader VPGABA population and this projection will help clarify how these circuits contribute to adaptive decision- making processes often disrupted in anxiety, depression, and addiction-related disorders. This F32 proposal will investigate how VPGABA neurons and the VPGABA-LH pathway encode and modulate opposing behavioral responses during motivational conflict. I will use the platform-mediated avoidance (PMA) task, a behavioral paradigm developed by my sponsor. In this task, mice learn to approach a sucrose reward signaled by a light cue and to avoid a mild footshock signaled by a tone by stepping onto a safety platform far from the reward port. During conflict trials, both cues are presented simultaneously, requiring mice to dynamically weigh the competing drives of reward-seeking and threat avoidance in real time. In Aim 1, I will use fiber photometry and optogenetics to characterize how VPGABA neuronal activity encodes reward- and threat-related cues, as well as approach and avoidance behaviors during the PMA task. I will also determine whether temporally precise, closed-loop silencing of VPGABA neurons during key behavioral epochs can impair approach or avoidance responses. In Aim 2, I will combine projection-specific fiber photometry and optogenetics to examine how VPGABA-LH neurons contribute to conflict resolution. I will record VPGABA-LH activity during PMA to determine whether this pathway selectively encodes approach over avoidance. Using whole-cue and closed-loop optogenetic activation and silencing, I will test whether this projection is necessary and/or sufficient to bias behavior toward approach in the face of conflict. Together, these studies will clarify how VPGABA circuits guide adaptive decision-making and establish a mechanistic framework for understanding maladaptive behaviors in neuropsychiatric disease. These studies will directly support my transition to research independence and help establish the foundation for my lab focused on the neural circuits of motivation and decision-making.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $79,348 )
2026	2026	UNIVERSITY OF PUERTO RICO MEDICAL SCIENCES CAMPUS	B622 MAIN BUILDING FLR 6	SAN JUAN	PR	00935	SAN JUAN	USA	Mental Health Research Grants	000	1	6/5/2026	NEW	$79,348
														Subtotal = $79,348

Grand Total All Awards = $79,348

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GABAergic Pallidal-Hypothalamic Regulation of Approach/Avoidance Conflict Behaviors

Award Number: F32MH143407

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: FELLOWSHIP/SCHOLARSHIP/STUDENT LOANS

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 12/02/2026

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 12/01/2027

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