Scott, Alexandra2023-05-122023-05-122023-03https://hdl.handle.net/11299/254136University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. March 2023. Major: Neuroscience. Advisor: Jocelyn Richard. 1 computer file (PDF); ix, 114 pages.Cues are powerful modulators of motivated behaviors. Environmental cues can invigorate reward-seeking by signaling to neuronal circuits whose output initiates reward-seeking behaviors. Understanding the contribution environmental cues have to elicit reward seeking behavior is an important area of focus in neuroscience research. Determining the neural circuitry responsible for encoding environmental reward-predictive signals can help determine what circuits are involved when cue reactivity becomes maladaptive. The ventral pallidum (VP) is a brain region implicated in contributing greatly to cue-elicited reward seeking. The predominant cell type in VP is gamma-Aminobutyric acidergic (GABA) neurons, many of which are projection neurons. These neurons are excited by rewards and reward-related cues, and project to other major brain regions involved in an array of motivated behaviors. However, VP GABA encoding of reward predictive cues, has yet to be explored. Additionally, it has been shown that VP signaling greatly impacts consumption and that impact varies between reward types. However, it has yet to be identified how VP GABA neurons contribute to routine consumption behaviors for different reward types. This proposal advances the understanding of the neural contributions to cue-elicited behaviors by 1) determining which cues VP GABA neurons encode and if this neuronal activity is predictive of reward seeking behavior and 2) if VP GABA functional modulation can impact consumption behavior of different value rewards. Our major findings were that VP GABA neuronal calcium activity developed in response to reward predictive cues as animals learned a cue-elicited reward seeking task. VP GABA neurons encoded a reward predictive auditory cue and the operant action required to obtain reward. Additionally, the reward predictive auditory cue elicited a VP GABA calcium response that was predictive of the incentive value of the cue. Finally, we found that activation of VP GABA neurons during routine consumption tasks can significantly decrease and increase chow intake, and increase sucrose intake, in a sex specific manner. These findings show that VP GABA neurons are an important component to the neural circuits that promote cue-elicited reward-seeking and consumption behaviors. This work will guide future research interested in neuromodulation as a therapy for maladaptive reward-seeking or consumption behaviors.enThesis or Dissertation