Amygdala:
Basolateral Amygdala (BLa):
BLa: implicated in associative learning that feeds into motivation circuits.
You can train a rat to bar press to gain access to an estrus female.
- If you lesion the BLa, the male rat will not show bar pressing for the female.
- However, if you place the receptive female in the chamber with the male, he readily copulates with her.
- It is thought that the association between bar pressing to gain access to a female rat (for copulation) has been lost.
The BLa, via connections within the nucleus accumbens, is thought to play a role in sexual motivation--searching out a female (e.g., bar pressing) in order to mate.