Functional specialization of mPFC-BLA and mPFC-NAc pathways in affective state representation

Effective emotional processing, crucial for adaptive behavior, is mediated by the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) via connections to the basolateral amygdala (BLA), and nucleus accumbens (NAc), traditionally considered functionally similar in modulating reward and aversion responses. However, the functional specialization of the mPFC→BLA and mPFC→NAc pathways in representing affective states…