Central amygdalar and dorsal striatal NMDA receptor involvement in instrumental learning and spontaneous behavior.

Glutamate-coded signaling in corticostriatal circuits has been shown to be important in various forms of learning and memory. In the present study, the authors found that N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonism in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) and the posterior lateral striatum (PLS) impaired instrumental conditioning but had no effect in the anterior dorsal striatum. NMDA receptor antagonism in the CeA and PLS also affected spontaneous motor behavior and certain aspects of feeding. The present findings extend knowledge of the dynamic neurophysiological processes, instantiated in a complex neural network, required for instrumental learning in the mammalian brain.