The amygdaloid complex is comprised of several interconnected regions which can be classified into cortical-like nuclei including the basolateral complex (BLA; which is comprised of the lateral (LA), basal (BA) and basomedial (BM) nuclei), as well as the centromedial nuclei, which include the central amygdala (CeA; which is subdivided into the lateral (CeAL) and medial (CeAM) compartments) and the medial amygdala (MeA)(see (Sah et al., 2003; Pape and Pare, 2010) for review). The BLA exhibits a cortical-like structure (i.e. being comprised of principal projection neurons and local interneurons), whereas the CeAL exhibits a striatal-like cytoarchitecture (medium spiny-like, predominantly GABAergic, neurons). Furthermore, it has been suggested that cells of the CeM share significant homology to pallidal neurons based on neurochemical, connectional, and cytoarchitectural evidence (Cassell et al., 1999; McDonald, 2003). Thus, the concept of a cortico-striato-pallidal motif, traditionally conceptualized as a functional unit of forebrain organization relevant to motor/cognitive control, may also be relevant to the fundamental organization of the amygdala (Cassell et al., 1999). There also exists a population of identified amygdalar neurons known as intercalated cell masses (ICMs). These
