Engagement of basal amygdala-nucleus accumbens glutamate neurons in the processing of rewarding or aversive social stimuli.

Basal amygdala (BA) neurons projecting to nucleus accumbens (NAc) core/shell are primarily glutamatergic and are integral to the circuitry of emotional processing. Several recent mouse studies have addressed whether neurons in this population(s) respond to reward, aversion or both emotional valences. The focus has been on processing of physical emotional stimuli, and here, we extend this to salient social stimuli.