To survive in a dangerous world, animals must overcome intense fear during traumatic experiences and ultimately learn which actions to take in the future to avoid threats (active avoidance). Unlike instinctive responses, active avoidance demands deliberate decision-making, action, and an understanding of the behavioral consequences involved. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is an important node for goal directed behavior, serving as an interface between motivation and action by integrating information from cortical and subcortical afferents through a diversity of interneuron and projection cell types. How NAc neurons encode information to override the initial fear and to produce a goal directed behavioral response is still not clear. and no study has thoroughly examined How the distinct NAc cell populations interact during the acquisition and expression of avoidance behavior and whether neuronal activity in this region reflects a shift from fear to avoidance is not known. In this work, we recorded the electrophysiological activity of neurons in the Core and Shell of the NAc in rats as they learned to avoid aversive electric shocks by actively shuttling between two compartments in response to predictive cues. Utilizing electrophysiological criteria, we distinguished different interneuron and projection cell populations and assessed their responsivity during the task. Together, these results will provide new information on aversive behavioral coding in this important brain region which connects decision making and emotion.