# The role of the basolateral amygdala in occasion setting

> **NIH NIH F31** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $43,410

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Reward-seeking is driven by cues that can have ambiguous predictive and motivational value. To produce
adaptive, flexible reward-seeking it is necessary to exploit events surrounding the current encounter with the
cue, often called occasion setters, to resolve the ambiguity of Pavlovian reward-paired cues and set the
occasion for reward-seeking. For example, an individual who has remained abstinent from drug use for many
years may receive routine care in a hospital that provide similar cues for illicit substance use (e.g injections,
tourniquets for blood draws) that fail to trigger relapse. However, the sight of an empty syringe or pipe near
their home may trigger craving and eventual seeking for drug as the ambiguous cue was encountered in the
presence of its occasion setter. The neurobiology underlying occasion setting remains poorly understood. This
proposal makes use of a novel model of occasion setting that is robust and amenable to investigations into the
psychological and neurobiological factors contributing to occasion setting processes. The basolateral
amygdala is a candidate region for the control of occasion setting processes as it is situated to integrate
sensory information to modulate the activity of the limbic system. This proposal seeks to elucidate the
contributions of the basolateral amygdala to occasion setting by using sophisticated behavioral,
electrophysiological, and optogenetic approaches. In aim 1 the contributions of neural activity within the
basolateral amygdala to occasion setting will be directly assessed. Electrophysiological recordings of single
neurons within the basolateral amygdala will also be conducted to better understand the neural representation
of occasion setters. In aim 2 the circuit-level contributions of basolateral amygdala projections throughout the
limbic system will be dissected using an optogenetic approach. The long-term goal of this work is to better
understand the transformation of reward-predictive stimuli into powerful motivational triggers for relapse and
related behaviors. This work will lead to a better understanding of the underlying neural mechanisms of cue-
triggered motivation and has the potential to lead to novel therapeutic behavioral and medical interventions.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9877955
- **Project number:** 5F31DA046136-02
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Kurt Michael Fraser
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $43,410
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-06-01 → 2021-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9877955

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9877955, The role of the basolateral amygdala in occasion setting (5F31DA046136-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9877955. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*