Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33495635›Full record

ArticleNature neuroscience2021

Ventral arkypallidal neurons inhibit accumbal firing to promote reward consumption.

Yvan M Vachez, Jessica R Tooley, Kavitha Abiraman, Bridget Matikainen-Ankney, Eric Casey, Tom Earnest, Leana M Ramos, Hanna Silberberg, Elizabeth Godynyuk, Olivia Uddin and 3 more

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature neuroscience, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
44citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
5.8field-weighted citation impact, top 3% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

44 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 77 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Trial
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Unpacking Ventral Pallidum GABA Neuron Contributions to Opioid Drug Reward in Rats.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026
    Article
  6. Ventral pallidal GABAergic neurons control hedonic feeding and obesity.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  7. Review
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Sense of agency and decision making.Frontiers in psychology · 2026
    Article
  15. Article
  16. A Drd1-cre mouse line with nucleus accumbens gene dysregulation exhibits blunted fentanyl seeking.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025
    Article
  17. Review
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Yvan M Vachez *Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University Pain Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA.
Jessica R Tooley *Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University Pain Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA.
Kavitha AbiramanDepartment of Anesthesiology, Washington University Pain Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA.
Bridget Matikainen-AnkneyDepartment of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA.
Eric CaseyDepartment of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA.
Tom EarnestDepartment of Anesthesiology, Washington University Pain Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8671-8424
Leana M RamosEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Hanna SilberbergEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Elizabeth GodynyukDepartment of Anesthesiology, Washington University Pain Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA.
Olivia UddinDepartment of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Lauren MarconiPerelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Claire E Le PichonEunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9274-3615
Meaghan C CreedDepartment of Anesthesiology, Washington University Pain Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO, USA. meaghan.creed@wustl.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9658-2601
Washington University in St. Louis · USNational Institutes of Health · USUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore · USUniversity of Pennsylvania · US

Funding

The neuronal stress response in neurodegenerative disease and painZIAHD008966 · NICHD · EUNICE KENNEDY SHRIVER NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CHILD HEALTH & HUMAN DEVELOPMENT · PI LE PICHON, CLAIRE · 2017 to 2025
$17.1M
Dissecting the role of ventral pallidal projections to nucleus accumbens in reward processingR01DA049924 · NIDA · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI CREED, MEAGHAN C · 2020 to 2024
$2.0M
A novel deep brain stimulation protocol to prevent relapse driven by negative reinforcementR21DA047127 · NIDA · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · PI CREED, MEAGHAN C · 2018 to 2019
$352k
Intramural NIH HHS ZIA HD008966NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA049924NIDA NIH HHS R21 DA047127
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The nucleus accumbens shell (NAcSh) and the ventral pallidum (VP) are critical for reward processing, although the question of how coordinated activity within these nuclei orchestrates reward valuation and consumption remains unclear. Inhibition of NAcSh firing is necessary for reward consumption, but the source of this inhibition remains unknown. Here, we report that a subpopulation of VP neurons, the ventral arkypallidal (vArky) neurons, project back to the NAcSh, where they inhibit NAcSh neurons in vivo in mice. Consistent with this pathway driving reward consumption via inhibition of the NAcSh, calcium activity of vArky neurons scaled with reward palatability (which was dissociable from reward seeking) and predicted the subsequent drinking behavior during a free-access paradigm. Activation of the VP-NAcSh pathway increased ongoing reward consumption while amplifying hedonic reactions to reward. These results establish a pivotal role for vArky neurons in the promotion of reward consumption through modulation of NAcSh firing in a value-dependent manner.

Indexed as

RewardAction PotentialsAnimalsBasal ForebrainCalciumDrinking BehaviorFemaleMaleMiceNeural InhibitionNeural PathwaysNeuronsNucleus AccumbensTasteCalcium

Identifiers

PMID33495635
PMCPMC7933121
OpenAlexW3121196420

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.