A stress-sensitive frontostriatal circuit supporting effortful reward-seeking behavior

Effort valuation-a process for selecting actions based on the anticipated value of rewarding outcomes and expectations about the work required to obtain them-plays a fundamental role in decision -making. Effort valuation is disrupted in chronic stress states and is supported by the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), but the circuit -level mechanisms by which the ACC regulates effort -based decision -making are unclear. Here, we show that ACC neurons projecting to the nucleus accumbens (ACC-NAc) play a critical role in effort valuation behavior in mice. Activity in ACC-NAc cells integrates both rewardand effort -related information, encoding a reward -related signal that scales with effort requirements and is necessary for supporting future effortful decisions. Chronic corticosterone exposure reduces motivation, suppresses effortful rewardseeking, and disrupts ACC-NAc signals. Together, our results delineate a stress -sensitive ACC-NAc circuit that supports effortful reward -seeking behavior by integrating reward and effort signals and reinforcing effort allocation in the service of maximizing reward.