Project Summary
Motivated goal-directed behaviors act as mechanisms that ensure and promote survival in animals.
However, the mechanisms that underlie motivated behaviors are not fully understood. This is important because
deficits in motivation have been linked to various psychiatric disorders. Current research on this topic have largely
focused on investigating the contribution of the dopaminergic meso-accumbens pathway to this process.
However, the role that glutamatergic inputs to the NAc play in the control of motivation is far less clear. My
previous research has shown that the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) sends prominent
glutamatergic projections to the accumbens and in turn receives homeostatic signals from areas such as the
hypothalamus and brainstem. As such, the PVT has been proposed as a brain area that integrates visceroceptive
signals and to promote adaptive responses via projections to the NAc. Moreover, previous research and my
preliminary data show that the PVT has two major distinct subpopulations of neurons, Type1PVT and Type2PVT,
which differ on their genetic identity, connectional features, and functionality. However, the precise mechanisms
by which these PVT projections to the NAc influences different components of motivated behavior remains
unknown. To address this gap, we are examining the functional organization of the PVT-NAc neuronal circuit by
using a multidisciplinary approach that includes mouse genetics, electrophysiology, neuroimaging and behavior.
These findings will advance our understanding of the contributions of thalamo-striatal circuits promoting
motivational drive that can create fundamental insights to develop novel approaches for individuals suffering
from motivational deficits
Relevance: Motivational deficits are a core feature of highly prevalent psychiatric disorders (e.g., drug-
abuse or obsessive-compulsive disorder, major depressive disorder, and others), this research may provide
insights into potential therapeutic targets for these psychiatric disorders. Lastly the research conducted here
seeks to provide fundamental insight into the neural mechanisms that mediate motivated behaviors.