Fig. 5: mPFC-NAc and vHip-NAc modulate task engagement.
A Heatmap of estimated latency to respond on the subsequent trial given mPFC-NAc and vHip-NAc activity at ITI end shows that increased activity associates with longer latency. B Optogenetic stimulation in the two-armed bandit task55 is delivered for the duration of the ITI to either mPFC-NAc, vHip-NAc, or simultaneously to both circuits. C AAVrg-ChR2-mCherry or AAVrg-mCherry is injected into the NAc, and optic fibers implanted in mPFC and vHip to stimulate (D) mPFC-NAc neurons (representative image; scale bars, 200 μm) and (E) vHip-NAc neurons (representative image; scale bars, 200 μm). F Simultaneous 5 Hz stimulation of mPFC-NAc and vHip-NAc, but neither circuit individually, increased latency to respond in ChR2 animals (male n = 6, female n = 7) compared to mCherry controls (male n = 6, female n = 6; Z = -6.3611, p = 1.60E−9 (G) 8 Hz stimulation of mPFC-NAc (Z = −3.8398, p = 0.0010), vHip-NAc (Z = −5.3250, p = 8.08E−7), and simultaneous stimulation of both mPFC-NAc and vHip-NAc (Z = −6.4875, p = 6.98E−10) all increased latency in ChR2 animals (male n = 5, female n = 6) compared to mCherry controls (male n = 6, female n = 6). Individual-animal averages are indicated by circles for males and triangles for females. Comparisons were performed using a two-sided Z-test and Sidak’s method to adjust for multiple comparisons. Error bars represent SEM around the estimated mean. Source data are provided as a Source Data file. **p < 0.01,****p < 0.0001.
