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Abe K, Kambe Y, Majima K, Hu Z, Ohtake M, Momennezhad A, Izumi H, Tanaka T, Matunis A, Stacy E, Itokazu T, Sato TR, Sato T. Functional diversity of dopamine axons in prefrontal cortex during classical conditioning. eLife 2024; 12:RP91136. [PMID: 38747563 PMCID: PMC11095940 DOI: 10.7554/elife.91136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Midbrain dopamine neurons impact neural processing in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) through mesocortical projections. However, the signals conveyed by dopamine projections to the PFC remain unclear, particularly at the single-axon level. Here, we investigated dopaminergic axonal activity in the medial PFC (mPFC) during reward and aversive processing. By optimizing microprism-mediated two-photon calcium imaging of dopamine axon terminals, we found diverse activity in dopamine axons responsive to both reward and aversive stimuli. Some axons exhibited a preference for reward, while others favored aversive stimuli, and there was a strong bias for the latter at the population level. Long-term longitudinal imaging revealed that the preference was maintained in reward- and aversive-preferring axons throughout classical conditioning in which rewarding and aversive stimuli were paired with preceding auditory cues. However, as mice learned to discriminate reward or aversive cues, a cue activity preference gradually developed only in aversive-preferring axons. We inferred the trial-by-trial cue discrimination based on machine learning using anticipatory licking or facial expressions, and found that successful discrimination was accompanied by sharper selectivity for the aversive cue in aversive-preferring axons. Our findings indicate that a group of mesocortical dopamine axons encodes aversive-related signals, which are modulated by both classical conditioning across days and trial-by-trial discrimination within a day.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenta Abe
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South CarolinaCharlestonUnited States
| | - Yuki Kambe
- Department of Pharmacology, Kagoshima UniversityKagoshimaJapan
| | - Kei Majima
- Institute for Quantum Life Science, National Institutes for Quantum Science and TechnologyChibaJapan
- Japan Science and Technology PRESTOSaitamaJapan
| | - Zijing Hu
- Department of Physiology, Monash UniversityClaytonAustralia
- Neuroscience Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash UniversityClaytonAustralia
| | - Makoto Ohtake
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South CarolinaCharlestonUnited States
| | - Ali Momennezhad
- Department of Pharmacology, Kagoshima UniversityKagoshimaJapan
| | - Hideki Izumi
- Faculty of Data Science, Shiga UniversityShigaJapan
| | | | - Ashley Matunis
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South CarolinaCharlestonUnited States
- Department of Biology, College of CharlestonCharlestonUnited States
- Department of Neuro-Medical Science, Osaka UniversityOsakaJapan
| | - Emma Stacy
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South CarolinaCharlestonUnited States
- Department of Biology, College of CharlestonCharlestonUnited States
| | | | - Takashi R Sato
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South CarolinaCharlestonUnited States
| | - Tatsuo Sato
- Department of Pharmacology, Kagoshima UniversityKagoshimaJapan
- Japan Science and Technology PRESTOSaitamaJapan
- Department of Physiology, Monash UniversityClaytonAustralia
- Neuroscience Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash UniversityClaytonAustralia
- Japan Science and Technology FORESTSaitamaJapan
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2
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Abe K, Kambe Y, Majima K, Hu Z, Ohtake M, Momennezhad A, Izumi H, Tanaka T, Matunis A, Stacy E, Itokazu T, Sato TR, Sato TK. Functional Diversity of Dopamine Axons in Prefrontal Cortex During Classical Conditioning. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.08.23.554475. [PMID: 37662305 PMCID: PMC10473671 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.23.554475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/05/2023]
Abstract
Midbrain dopamine neurons impact neural processing in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) through mesocortical projections. However, the signals conveyed by dopamine projections to the PFC remain unclear, particularly at the single-axon level. Here, we investigated dopaminergic axonal activity in the medial PFC (mPFC) during reward and aversive processing. By optimizing microprism-mediated two-photon calcium imaging of dopamine axon terminals, we found diverse activity in dopamine axons responsive to both reward and aversive stimuli. Some axons exhibited a preference for reward, while others favored aversive stimuli, and there was a strong bias for the latter at the population level. Long-term longitudinal imaging revealed that the preference was maintained in reward- and aversive-preferring axons throughout classical conditioning in which rewarding and aversive stimuli were paired with preceding auditory cues. However, as mice learned to discriminate reward or aversive cues, a cue activity preference gradually developed only in aversive-preferring axons. We inferred the trial-by-trial cue discrimination based on machine learning using anticipatory licking or facial expressions, and found that successful discrimination was accompanied by sharper selectivity for the aversive cue in aversive-preferring axons. Our findings indicate that a group of mesocortical dopamine axons encodes aversive-related signals, which are modulated by both classical conditioning across days and trial-by-trial discrimination within a day.
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3
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Ishino S, Kamada T, Sarpong GA, Kitano J, Tsukasa R, Mukohira H, Sun F, Li Y, Kobayashi K, Naoki H, Oishi N, Ogawa M. Dopamine error signal to actively cope with lack of expected reward. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eade5420. [PMID: 36897945 PMCID: PMC10005178 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ade5420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
To obtain more of a particular uncertain reward, animals must learn to actively overcome the lack of reward and adjust behavior to obtain it again. The neural mechanisms underlying such coping with reward omission remain unclear. Here, we developed a task in rats to monitor active behavioral switch toward the next reward after no reward. We found that some dopamine neurons in the ventral tegmental area exhibited increased responses to unexpected reward omission and decreased responses to unexpected reward, following the opposite responses of the well-known dopamine neurons that signal reward prediction error (RPE). The dopamine increase reflected in the nucleus accumbens correlated with behavioral adjustment to actively overcome unexpected no reward. We propose that these responses signal error to actively cope with lack of expected reward. The dopamine error signal thus cooperates with the RPE signal, enabling adaptive and robust pursuit of uncertain reward to ultimately obtain more reward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seiya Ishino
- Medical Innovation Center/SK Project, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
- Department of Neuroscience, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
- Department of Developmental Physiology, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8585, Japan
| | - Taisuke Kamada
- Medical Innovation Center/SK Project, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Gideon A. Sarpong
- Medical Innovation Center/SK Project, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Julia Kitano
- Medical Innovation Center/SK Project, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Reo Tsukasa
- Medical Innovation Center/SK Project, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Hisa Mukohira
- Medical Innovation Center/SK Project, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Fangmiao Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Peking University School of Life Sciences, Beijing 100871, China
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Beijing 100871, China
- PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Yulong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Peking University School of Life Sciences, Beijing 100871, China
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Beijing 100871, China
- PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Kenta Kobayashi
- Section of Viral Vector Development, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8585, Japan
- SOKENDAI (The Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Okazaki, Aichi 444-8585, Japan
| | - Honda Naoki
- Laboratory of Data-driven Biology, Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan
- Theoretical Biology Research Group, Exploratory Research Center on Life and Living Systems (ExCELLS), National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8787, Japan
- Laboratory of Theoretical Biology, Graduate School of Biostudies, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8315, Japan
- Kansei-Brain Informatics Group, Center for Brain, Mind and Kansei Sciences Research (BMK Center), Hiroshima University, Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8551, Japan
| | - Naoya Oishi
- Medical Innovation Center/SK Project, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
| | - Masaaki Ogawa
- Medical Innovation Center/SK Project, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8507, Japan
- Department of Neuroscience, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
- Department of Developmental Physiology, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8585, Japan
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Klein S, Kruse O, Tapia León I, Van Oudenhove L, van 't Hof SR, Klucken T, Wager TD, Stark R. Cross-paradigm integration shows a common neural basis for aversive and appetitive conditioning. Neuroimage 2022; 263:119594. [PMID: 36041642 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Revised: 07/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Sharing imaging data and comparing them across different psychological tasks is becoming increasingly possible as the open science movement advances. Such cross-paradigm integration has the potential to identify commonalities in findings that neighboring areas of study thought to be paradigm-specific. However, even the integration of research from closely related paradigms, such as aversive and appetitive classical conditioning is rare - even though qualitative comparisons already hint at how similar the 'fear network' and 'reward network' may be. We aimed to validate these theories by taking a multivariate approach to assess commonalities across paradigms empirically. Specifically, we quantified the similarity of an aversive conditioning pattern derived from meta-analysis to appetitive conditioning fMRI data. We tested pattern expression in three independent appetitive conditioning studies with 29, 76 and 38 participants each. During fMRI scanning, participants in each cohorts performed an appetitive conditioning task in which a CS+ was repeatedly rewarded with money and a CS- was never rewarded. The aversive pattern was highly similar to appetitive CS+ > CS- contrast maps across samples and variations of the appetitive conditioning paradigms. Moreover, the pattern distinguished the CS+ from the CS- with above-chance accuracy in every sample. These findings provide robust empirical evidence for an underlying neural system common to appetitive and aversive learning. We believe that this approach provides a way to empirically integrate the steadily growing body of fMRI findings across paradigms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanja Klein
- Department of Psychotherapy and Systems Neuroscience, Justus Liebig University, Giessen 35394, Germany; Bender Institute for Neuroimaging (BION), Justus Liebig University, Giessen 35394, Germany; Center of Mind, Brain and Behavior, Universities of Marburg and Giessen, Marburg 35032, Germany.
| | - Onno Kruse
- Department of Psychotherapy and Systems Neuroscience, Justus Liebig University, Giessen 35394, Germany; Bender Institute for Neuroimaging (BION), Justus Liebig University, Giessen 35394, Germany
| | - Isabell Tapia León
- Bender Institute for Neuroimaging (BION), Justus Liebig University, Giessen 35394, Germany; Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University Siegen, Siegen 57076, Germany
| | - Lukas Van Oudenhove
- Department of Chronic Diseases and Metabolism (CHROMETA), Laboratory for Brain-Gut Axis Studies (LaBGAS), Translational Research Centre for Gastrointestinal Disorders TARGID, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
| | - Sophie R van 't Hof
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Amsterdam 1105 AZ, The Netherlands
| | - Tim Klucken
- Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University Siegen, Siegen 57076, Germany
| | - Tor D Wager
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Lab, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
| | - Rudolf Stark
- Department of Psychotherapy and Systems Neuroscience, Justus Liebig University, Giessen 35394, Germany; Bender Institute for Neuroimaging (BION), Justus Liebig University, Giessen 35394, Germany; Center of Mind, Brain and Behavior, Universities of Marburg and Giessen, Marburg 35032, Germany
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5
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Over-representation of fundamental decision variables in the prefrontal cortex underlies decision bias. Neurosci Res 2021; 173:1-13. [PMID: 34274406 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2021.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Revised: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The brain is organized into anatomically distinct structures consisting of a variety of projection neurons. While such evolutionarily conserved neural circuit organization underlies the innate ability of animals to swiftly adapt to environments, they can cause biased cognition and behavior. Although recent studies have begun to address the causal importance of projection-neuron types as distinct computational units, it remains unclear how projection types are functionally organized in encoding variables during cognitive tasks. This review focuses on the neural computation of decision making in the prefrontal cortex and discusses what decision variables are encoded by single neurons, neuronal populations, and projection type, alongside how specific projection types constrain decision making. We focus particularly on "over-representations" of distinct decision variables in the prefrontal cortex that reflect the biological and subjective significance of the variables for the decision makers. We suggest that task-specific over-representation in the prefrontal cortex involves the refinement of the given decision making, while generalized over-representation of fundamental decision variables is associated with suboptimal decision biases, including pathological ones such as those in patients with psychiatric disorders. Such over-representation of the fundamental decision variables in the prefrontal cortex appear to be tightly constrained by afferent and efferent connections that can be optogenetically intervened on. These ideas may provide critical insights into potential therapeutic targets for psychiatric disorders, including addiction and depression.
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Costa KM, Sengupta A, Schoenbaum G. The orbitofrontal cortex is necessary for learning to ignore. Curr Biol 2021; 31:2652-2657.e3. [PMID: 33848459 PMCID: PMC8222097 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.03.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2021] [Revised: 03/08/2021] [Accepted: 03/15/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Animals learn not only what is potentially useful but also what is meaningless and should be disregarded. How this is accomplished is a key but seldom explored question in psychology and neuroscience. Learning to ignore irrelevant cues is evident in latent inhibition-the ubiquitous phenomenon where presenting a cue several times without consequences leads to retardation of subsequent conditioning to that cue.1,2 Does learning to ignore these cues, because they predict nothing, involve the same neural circuits that are critical to learning to make predictions about other "real world" impending events? If so, the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), as a key node in such networks, should be important.3 Specifically, the OFC has been hypothesized to participate in the recognition of hidden task states, which are not directly signaled by explicit outcomes.4 Evaluating its involvement in pre-exposure learning during latent inhibition would be an acid test for this hypothesis. Here, we report that selective chemogenetic inactivation of rat orbitofrontal cortex principal neurons during stimulus pre-exposure markedly reduces latent inhibition in subsequent conditioning. Inactivation only during pre-exposure ensured that the observed effects were due to an impact on the acquisition of information prior to its use in any sort of behavior, i.e., during latent learning. Further behavioral tests confirmed this, showing that the impact of OFC inactivation during pre-exposure was limited to the latent inhibition effect. These results demonstrate that the OFC is important for latent learning and the formation of associations even in the absence of explicit outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kauê Machado Costa
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
| | - Ayesha Sengupta
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Geoffrey Schoenbaum
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA.
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7
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Schoenbaum G, Ishii H, Walton ME, Panayi MC. Defining an orbitofrontal compass: Functional and anatomical heterogeneity across anterior-posterior and medial-lateral axes. Behav Neurosci 2021; 135:165-173. [PMID: 34060873 PMCID: PMC7613671 DOI: 10.1037/bne0000442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) plays a critical role in the flexible control of behaviors and has been the focus of increasing research interest. However, there have been a number of controversies around the exact theoretical role of the OFC. One potential source of these issues is the comparison of evidence from different studies, particularly across species, which focus on different specific sub-regions within the OFC. Furthermore, there is emerging evidence that there may be functional diversity across the OFC which may account for these theoretical differences. Therefore, in this review we consider evidence supporting functional heterogeneity within the OFC and how it relates to underlying anatomical heterogeneity. We highlight the importance of anatomical and functional distinctions within the traditionally defined OFC subregions across the medial-lateral axis, which are often not differentiated for practical and historical reasons. We then consider emerging evidence of even finer-grained distinctions within these defined subregions along the anterior-posterior axis. These fine-grained anatomical considerations reveal a pattern of dissociable, but often complementary functions within the OFC. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Hironori Ishii
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford
| | - Mark E Walton
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford
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8
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Van Dessel J, Danckaerts M, Moerkerke M, Van der Oord S, Morsink S, Lemiere J, Sonuga-Barke E. Dissociating brain systems that respond to contingency and valence during monetary loss avoidance in adolescence. Brain Cogn 2021; 150:105723. [PMID: 33812271 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2021.105723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2020] [Revised: 02/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/14/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Negative reinforcement processes allow individuals to avoid negative and/or harmful outcomes. They depend on the brain's ability to differentiate; (i) contingency from non-contingency, separately from (ii) judgements about positive and negative valence. Thirty-three males (8-18 years) performed a cued reaction-time task during fMRI scanning to differentiate the brain's responses to contingency and valence during loss avoidance. In two conditions, cues indicated no -contingency between participants' responses and monetary loss - (1) CERTAIN LOSS (negative valence) of €0.20, €1 or €5 or (2) CERTAIN LOSS AVOIDANCE (positive valence). In a third condition, cues indicated a contingency between short reaction times and avoidance of monetary loss. As expected participants had shorter reaction times in this latter condition where CONDITIONAL LOSS AVOIDANCE cues activated salience and motor-response-preparation brain networks - independent of the relative valence of the contrast (CERTAIN LOSS or CERTAIN LOSS AVOIDANCE). Effects of valence were seen toward the session's end where CERTAIN LOSS AVOIDANCE cues activated ventral striatum, medial-orbitofrontal cortex and medial-temporal areas more than CERTAIN LOSS. CONDITIONAL LOSS AVOIDANCE trials with feedback indicating "success" activated ventral striatum more than "failure feedback". The findings support the hypothesis that brain networks controlling contingency and valence processes during negative reinforcement are dissociable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeroen Van Dessel
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, UPC - KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Marina Danckaerts
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, UPC - KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Matthijs Moerkerke
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, UPC - KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Saskia Van der Oord
- Clinical Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Developmental Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Sarah Morsink
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, UPC - KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jurgen Lemiere
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, UPC - KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Edmund Sonuga-Barke
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Kings College London, London, UK; Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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9
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Panayi MC, Killcross S. The Role of the Rodent Lateral Orbitofrontal Cortex in Simple Pavlovian Cue-Outcome Learning Depends on Training Experience. Cereb Cortex Commun 2021; 2:tgab010. [PMID: 34296155 PMCID: PMC8152875 DOI: 10.1093/texcom/tgab010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2020] [Revised: 01/29/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is a critical structure in the flexible control of value-based behaviors. OFC dysfunction is typically only detected when task or environmental contingencies change, against a backdrop of apparently intact initial acquisition and behavior. While intact acquisition following OFC lesions in simple Pavlovian cue-outcome conditioning is often predicted by models of OFC function, this predicted null effect has not been thoroughly investigated. Here, we test the effects of lesions and temporary muscimol inactivation of the rodent lateral OFC on the acquisition of a simple single cue-outcome relationship. Surprisingly, pretraining lesions significantly enhanced acquisition after overtraining, whereas post-training lesions and inactivation significantly impaired acquisition. This impaired acquisition to the cue reflects a disruption of behavioral control and not learning since the cue could also act as an effective blocking stimulus in an associative blocking procedure. These findings suggest that even simple cue-outcome representations acquired in the absence of OFC function are impoverished. Therefore, while OFC function is often associated with flexible behavioral control in complex environments, it is also involved in very simple Pavlovian acquisition where complex cue-outcome relationships are irrelevant to task performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marios C Panayi
- School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, Cellular Neurobiology Research Branch, Behavioral Neurophysiology Research Section, 251 Bayview Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Simon Killcross
- School of Psychology, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
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10
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Hart EE, Sharpe MJ, Gardner MPH, Schoenbaum G. Responding to preconditioned cues is devaluation sensitive and requires orbitofrontal cortex during cue-cue learning. eLife 2020; 9:e59998. [PMID: 32831173 PMCID: PMC7481003 DOI: 10.7554/elife.59998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is necessary for inferring value in tests of model-based reasoning, including in sensory preconditioning. This involvement could be accounted for by representation of value or by representation of broader associative structure. We recently reported neural correlates of such broader associative structure in OFC during the initial phase of sensory preconditioning (Sadacca et al., 2018). Here, we used optogenetic inhibition of OFC to test whether these correlates might be necessary for value inference during later probe testing. We found that inhibition of OFC during cue-cue learning abolished value inference during the probe test, inference subsequently shown in control rats to be sensitive to devaluation of the expected reward. These results demonstrate that OFC must be online during cue-cue learning, consistent with the argument that the correlates previously observed are not simply downstream readouts of sensory processing and instead contribute to building the associative model supporting later behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan E Hart
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of HealthBaltimoreUnited States
| | - Melissa J Sharpe
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of HealthBaltimoreUnited States
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Matthew PH Gardner
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of HealthBaltimoreUnited States
| | - Geoffrey Schoenbaum
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of HealthBaltimoreUnited States
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins School of MedicineBaltimoreUnited States
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of MedicineBaltimoreUnited States
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of MedicineBaltimoreUnited States
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11
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Amphetamine disrupts haemodynamic correlates of prediction errors in nucleus accumbens and orbitofrontal cortex. Neuropsychopharmacology 2020; 45:793-803. [PMID: 31703234 PMCID: PMC7075902 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-019-0564-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2019] [Revised: 10/02/2019] [Accepted: 10/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
In an uncertain world, the ability to predict and update the relationships between environmental cues and outcomes is a fundamental element of adaptive behaviour. This type of learning is typically thought to depend on prediction error, the difference between expected and experienced events and in the reward domain that has been closely linked to mesolimbic dopamine. There is also increasing behavioural and neuroimaging evidence that disruption to this process may be a cross-diagnostic feature of several neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders in which dopamine is dysregulated. However, the precise relationship between haemodynamic measures, dopamine and reward-guided learning remains unclear. To help address this issue, we used a translational technique, oxygen amperometry, to record haemodynamic signals in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), while freely moving rats performed a probabilistic Pavlovian learning task. Using a model-based analysis approach to account for individual variations in learning, we found that the oxygen signal in the NAc correlated with a reward prediction error, whereas in the OFC it correlated with an unsigned prediction error or salience signal. Furthermore, an acute dose of amphetamine, creating a hyperdopaminergic state, disrupted rats' ability to discriminate between cues associated with either a high or a low probability of reward and concomitantly corrupted prediction error signalling. These results demonstrate parallel but distinct prediction error signals in NAc and OFC during learning, both of which are affected by psychostimulant administration. Furthermore, they establish the viability of tracking and manipulating haemodynamic signatures of reward-guided learning observed in human fMRI studies by using a proxy signal for BOLD in a freely behaving rodent.
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12
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Salience processing by glutamatergic neurons in the ventral pallidum. Sci Bull (Beijing) 2020; 65:389-401. [PMID: 36659230 DOI: 10.1016/j.scib.2019.11.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2019] [Revised: 11/07/2019] [Accepted: 11/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Organisms must make sense of a constant stream of sensory inputs from both internal and external sources which compete for attention by determining which ones are salient. The ability to detect and respond appropriately to potentially salient stimuli in the environment is critical to all organisms. However, the neural circuits that process salience are not fully understood. Here, we identify a population of glutamatergic neurons in the ventral pallidum (VP) that play a unique role in salience processing. Using cell-type-specific fiber photometry, we find that VP glutamatergic neurons are robustly activated by a variety of aversion- and reward-related stimuli, as well as novel social and non-social stimuli. Inhibition of the VP glutamatergic neurons reduces the ability to detect salient stimuli in the environment, such as aversive cue, novel conspecific and novel object. Besides, VP glutamatergic neurons project to both the lateral habenula (LHb) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Together, our findings demonstrate that the VP glutamatergic neurons participate in salience processing and therefore provide a new perspective on treating several neuropsychiatric disorders, including dementia and psychosis.
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13
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Ishikawa J, Sakurai Y, Ishikawa A, Mitsushima D. Contribution of the prefrontal cortex and basolateral amygdala to behavioral decision-making under reward/punishment conflict. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2020; 237:639-654. [PMID: 31912190 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-019-05398-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2019] [Accepted: 11/08/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
RATIONALE Control of reward-seeking behavior under conditions of punishment is an important function for survival. OBJECTIVES AND METHODS We designed a task in which rats could choose to either press a lever and obtain a food pellet accompanied by a footshock or refrain from pressing the lever to avoid footshock, in response to tone presentation. In the task, footshock intensity steadily increased, and the task was terminated when the lever press probability reached < 25% (last intensity). Rats were trained until the last intensity was stable. Subsequently, we investigated the effects of the pharmacological inactivation of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC), and basolateral amygdala (BLA) on task performance. RESULTS Bilateral inactivation of the vmPFC, lOFC, and BLA did not alter lever press responses at the early stage of the task. The number of lever presses increased following vmPFC and BLA inactivation but decreased following lOFC inactivation during the later stage of the task. The last intensity was elevated by vmPFC or BLA inactivation but lowered by lOFC inactivation. Disconnection of the vmPFC-BLA pathway induced behavioral alterations that were similar to vmPFC or BLA inactivation. Inactivation of any regions did not alter footshock sensitivity and anxiety levels. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrate a strong role of the vmPFC and BLA and their interactions in reward restraint to avoid punishment and a prominent role of the lOFC in reward-seeking under reward/punishment conflict situations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junko Ishikawa
- Neurophysiology, Department of Neuroscience, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1-1 Minamikogushi, Ube, Yamaguchi, 755-8505, Japan.
| | - Yoshio Sakurai
- Laboratory of Neural Information, Systems Neuroscience, Doshisha University Graduate School of Brain Science, 1-3 Tatara Miyakodani, Kyotanabe-shi, Kyoto, 610-0394, Japan
| | - Akinori Ishikawa
- Neurophysiology, Department of Neuroscience, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1-1 Minamikogushi, Ube, Yamaguchi, 755-8505, Japan
| | - Dai Mitsushima
- Neurophysiology, Department of Neuroscience, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1-1 Minamikogushi, Ube, Yamaguchi, 755-8505, Japan
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14
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Howard JD, Reynolds R, Smith DE, Voss JL, Schoenbaum G, Kahnt T. Targeted Stimulation of Human Orbitofrontal Networks Disrupts Outcome-Guided Behavior. Curr Biol 2020; 30:490-498.e4. [PMID: 31956033 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2019] [Revised: 11/07/2019] [Accepted: 12/03/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Outcome-guided behavior requires knowledge about the current value of expected outcomes. Such behavior can be isolated in the reinforcer devaluation task, which assesses the ability to infer the current value of specific rewards after devaluation. Animal lesion studies demonstrate that orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is necessary for normal behavior in this task, but a causal role for human OFC in outcome-guided behavior has not been established. Here, we used sham-controlled, non-invasive, continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS) to temporarily disrupt human OFC network activity by stimulating a site in the lateral prefrontal cortex that is strongly connected to OFC prior to devaluation of food odor rewards. Subjects in the sham group appropriately avoided Pavlovian cues associated with devalued food odors. However, subjects in the stimulation group persistently chose those cues, even though devaluation of food odors themselves was unaffected by cTBS. This behavioral impairment was mirrored in changes in resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) activity such that subjects in the stimulation group exhibited reduced OFC network connectivity after cTBS, and the magnitude of this reduction was correlated with choices after devaluation. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of indirectly targeting the human OFC with non-invasive cTBS and indicate that OFC is specifically required for inferring the value of expected outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- James D Howard
- Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 320 E. Superior Street, Searle 11-643, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
| | - Rachel Reynolds
- Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 320 E. Superior Street, Searle 11-643, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Devyn E Smith
- Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 320 E. Superior Street, Searle 11-643, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Joel L Voss
- Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 320 E. Superior Street, Searle 11-643, Chicago, IL 60611, USA; Department of Medical Social Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 303 E. Chicago Avenue, Ward 19, Chicago, IL 60611, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 446 E. Ontario Street, Suite 7-200, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Geoffrey Schoenbaum
- Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, 251 Bayview Boulevard, Room 04A505, Suite 200, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Thorsten Kahnt
- Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 320 E. Superior Street, Searle 11-643, Chicago, IL 60611, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 446 E. Ontario Street, Suite 7-200, Chicago, IL 60611, USA; Department of Psychology, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Northwestern University, Swift Hall 102, 2029 Sheridan Road, Evanston, IL 60208, USA.
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15
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Guillem K, Ahmed SH. Preference for Cocaine is Represented in the Orbitofrontal Cortex by an Increased Proportion of Cocaine Use-Coding Neurons. Cereb Cortex 2019; 28:819-832. [PMID: 28057724 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2016] [Accepted: 12/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cocaine addiction is a harmful preference for drug use over and at the expense of other nondrug-related activities. Here we identify in the rat orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) a mechanism that explains individual preferences between cocaine use and an alternative, nondrug action. OFC neuronal activity was recorded while rats performed each of these 2 actions separately or while they chose between them. First, we found that these actions are encoded by 2 nonoverlapping neuronal populations and that the relative size of the cocaine population represented individual preferences. A larger relative size was only observed in cocaine-preferring individuals. Second, OFC neurons encoding a given individual's preferred action progressively fired more than other action-coding neurons few seconds before the preferred action was actually chosen, suggesting a prechoice neuronal competition for action selection. In cocaine-preferring rats, this manifested by a prechoice ramping-up activity in favor of the cocaine population. Finally, pharmacological manipulation of prechoice activity in favor of the cocaine population caused nondrug-preferring rats to shift their choice to cocaine. Overall, this study suggests that an individual preference for cocaine is represented in the OFC by a population size bias that systematically advantages cocaine use-coding neurons during prechoice competition for action selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karine Guillem
- Université de Bordeaux, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, 146 rue Léo-Saignat, F-33000 Bordeaux, France.,CNRS, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, 146 rue Léo-Saignat, F-33000 Bordeaux, France
| | - Serge H Ahmed
- Université de Bordeaux, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, 146 rue Léo-Saignat, F-33000 Bordeaux, France.,CNRS, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, 146 rue Léo-Saignat, F-33000 Bordeaux, France
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16
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Hong DD, Huang WQ, Ji AA, Yang SS, Xu H, Sun KY, Cao A, Gao WJ, Zhou N, Yu P. Neurons in rat orbitofrontal cortex and medial prefrontal cortex exhibit distinct responses in reward and strategy-update in a risk-based decision-making task. Metab Brain Dis 2019; 34:417-429. [PMID: 30535618 DOI: 10.1007/s11011-018-0360-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2017] [Accepted: 12/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are known to participate in risk-based decision-making. However, whether neuronal activities of these two brain regions play similar or differential roles during different stages of risk-based decision-making process remains unknown. Here we conducted multi-channel in vivo recordings in the OFC and mPFC simultaneously when rats were performing a gambling task. Rats were trained to update strategy as the task was shifted in two stages. Behavioral testing suggests that rats exhibited different risk preferences and response latencies to food rewards during stage-1 and stage-2. Indeed, the firing patterns and numbers of non-specific neurons and nosepoking-predicting neurons were similar in OFC and mPFC. However, there were no reward-expecting neurons and significantly more reward-excitatory neurons (fired as rats received rewards) in the mPFC. Further analyses suggested that nosepoking-predicting neurons may encode the overall value of reward and strategy, whereas reward-expecting neurons show more intensive firing to a big food reward in the OFC. Nosepoking-predicting neurons in mPFC showed no correlation with decision-making strategy updating, whereas the response of reward-excitatory neurons in mPFC, which were barely observed in OFC, were inhibited during nosepoking, but were enhanced in the post-nosepoking period. These findings indicate that neurons in the OFC and mPFC exhibit distinct responses in decision-making process during reward consumption and strategy updating. Specifically, OFC encodes the overall value of a choice and is thus important for learning and strategy updating, whereas mPFC plays a key role in monitoring and execution of a strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan-Dan Hong
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, College of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100037, China
| | - Wen-Qiang Huang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, College of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100037, China
| | - Ai-Ai Ji
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, College of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100037, China
| | - Sha-Sha Yang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, College of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100037, China
| | - Hui Xu
- Interdepartmental Program in Neuroscience, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Ke-Yi Sun
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, College of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100037, China
| | - Aihua Cao
- Department of Pediatrics, Shandong University Qilu Hospital, Jinan, China
| | - Wen-Jun Gao
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19129, USA
| | - Ning Zhou
- The General Hospital of Chinese People's Liberation Army, Beijing, 100853, China.
| | - Ping Yu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, College of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100037, China.
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17
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Noritake A, Nakamura K. Encoding prediction signals during appetitive and aversive Pavlovian conditioning in the primate lateral hypothalamus. J Neurophysiol 2019; 121:396-417. [DOI: 10.1152/jn.00247.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The lateral hypothalamus (LH), which plays a role in homeostatic functions such as appetite regulation, is also linked to arousal and motivational behavior. However, little is known about how these components are encoded in the LH. Thus cynomolgus monkeys were conditioned with two distinct contexts, i.e., an appetitive context with available rewards and an aversive context with predicted air puffs. Different LH neuron groups encoded different degrees of expectation, predictability, and risks of rewards in a specific manner. A nearly equal number of one-third of the recorded LH neurons showed a positive or negative correlation between their response to visual conditioned stimuli (CS) that predicted the probabilistic delivery of rewards (0%, 50%, and 100%) and the associative values. For another one-third of recorded neurons, a nearly equal number showed a positive or negative correlation between their responses to rewards [appetitive unconditioned stimulus (US)] and reward predictability. Some neurons exhibited their highest or lowest trace-period responses in the 50% reward trials. These response modulations were represented independently and overlaid on a consistent excitatory or inhibitory response across the conditioning events. LH neurons also showed consistent responses in the aversive context. However, the responses to aversive conditioning events depending on the air puff value and predictability were less common. The multifaceted modulation of consistent activity related to outcome predictions may reflect motivational and arousal signals. Furthermore, it may underlie the role the LH plays in the integration and relay of signals to cortices for adaptive and goal-directed physiological and behavioral responses to environmental changes. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The lateral hypothalamus (LH) is implicated in motivational and arousal behavior; however, the detailed information carried by single LH neurons remains unclear. We demonstrate that primate LH neurons encode multiple combinations of signals concerning different degrees of expectation, appreciation, and uncertainty of rewards in consistent responses across conditioning events and between different contexts. This multifaceted modulation of activity may underlie the role of the LH as a critical node integrating motivational signals with arousal signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Atsushi Noritake
- Department of Physiology, Kansai Medical University, Hirakata-city, Osaka, Japan
- National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki-city, Aichi, Japan
| | - Kae Nakamura
- Department of Physiology, Kansai Medical University, Hirakata-city, Osaka, Japan
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18
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Passecker J, Mikus N, Malagon-Vina H, Anner P, Dimidschstein J, Fishell G, Dorffner G, Klausberger T. Activity of Prefrontal Neurons Predict Future Choices during Gambling. Neuron 2019; 101:152-164.e7. [PMID: 30528555 PMCID: PMC6318061 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2018.10.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2018] [Revised: 07/23/2018] [Accepted: 10/29/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Neuronal signals in the prefrontal cortex have been reported to predict upcoming decisions. Such activity patterns are often coupled to perceptual cues indicating correct choices or values of different options. How does the prefrontal cortex signal future decisions when no cues are present but when decisions are made based on internal valuations of past experiences with stochastic outcomes? We trained rats to perform a two-arm bandit-task, successfully adjusting choices between certain-small or possible-big rewards with changing long-term advantages. We discovered specialized prefrontal neurons, whose firing during the encounter of no-reward predicted the subsequent choice of animals, even for unlikely or uncertain decisions and several seconds before choice execution. Optogenetic silencing of the prelimbic cortex exclusively timed to encounters of no reward, provoked animals to excessive gambling for large rewards. Firing of prefrontal neurons during outcome evaluation signals subsequent choices during gambling and is essential for dynamically adjusting decisions based on internal valuations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes Passecker
- Center for Brain Research, Division of Cognitive Neurobiology, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Nace Mikus
- Center for Brain Research, Division of Cognitive Neurobiology, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Hugo Malagon-Vina
- Center for Brain Research, Division of Cognitive Neurobiology, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Philip Anner
- Center for Brain Research, Division of Cognitive Neurobiology, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Center for Medical Statistics, Informatics and Intelligent Systems, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | | | - Gordon Fishell
- NYU Neuroscience Institute, NYU School of Medicine, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Georg Dorffner
- Center for Medical Statistics, Informatics and Intelligent Systems, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Thomas Klausberger
- Center for Brain Research, Division of Cognitive Neurobiology, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
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19
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Zhu Y, Nachtrab G, Keyes PC, Allen WE, Luo L, Chen X. Dynamic salience processing in paraventricular thalamus gates associative learning. Science 2018; 362:423-429. [PMID: 30361366 DOI: 10.1126/science.aat0481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2018] [Accepted: 08/28/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
The salience of behaviorally relevant stimuli is dynamic and influenced by internal state and external environment. Monitoring such changes is critical for effective learning and flexible behavior, but the neuronal substrate for tracking the dynamics of stimulus salience is obscure. We found that neurons in the paraventricular thalamus (PVT) are robustly activated by a variety of behaviorally relevant events, including novel ("unfamiliar") stimuli, reinforcing stimuli and their predicting cues, as well as omission of the expected reward. PVT responses are scaled with stimulus intensity and modulated by changes in homeostatic state or behavioral context. Inhibition of the PVT responses suppresses appetitive or aversive associative learning and reward extinction. Our findings demonstrate that the PVT gates associative learning by providing a dynamic representation of stimulus salience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingjie Zhu
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.,Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Behavior, The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Gregory Nachtrab
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Piper C Keyes
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.,Neurosciences Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - William E Allen
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.,Neurosciences Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Liqun Luo
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Xiaoke Chen
- Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
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20
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Selective Attention Controls Olfactory Decisions and the Neural Encoding of Odors. Curr Biol 2018; 28:2195-2205.e4. [PMID: 30056854 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2018] [Revised: 03/28/2018] [Accepted: 05/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Critical animal behaviors, especially among rodents, are guided by odors in remarkably well-coordinated manners, yet many extramodal sensory cues compete for cognitive resources in these ecological contexts. That rodents can engage in such odor-guided behaviors suggests that they can selectively attend to odors. Indeed, higher-order cognitive processes-such as learning, memory, decision making, and action selection-rely on the proper filtering of sensory cues based on their relative salience. We developed a behavioral paradigm to reveal that rats are capable of selectively attending to odors in the presence of competing extramodal stimuli. We found that this selective attention facilitates accurate odor-guided decisions, which become further strengthened with experience. Further, we uncovered that selective attention to odors adaptively sharpens their representation among neurons in the olfactory tubercle, an olfactory cortex region of the ventral striatum that is considered integral for evaluating sensory information in the context of motivated behaviors. Odor-directed selective attention exerts influences during moments of heightened odor anticipation and enhances odorant representation by increasing stimulus contrast in a signal-to-noise-type coding scheme. Together, these results reveal that rats engage selective attention to optimize olfactory outcomes. Further, our finding of attention-dependent coding in the olfactory tubercle challenges the notion that a thalamic relay is integral for the attentional control of sensory coding.
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21
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Guillem K, Brenot V, Durand A, Ahmed SH. Neuronal representation of individual heroin choices in the orbitofrontal cortex. Addict Biol 2018; 23:880-888. [PMID: 28703355 DOI: 10.1111/adb.12536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2017] [Revised: 05/12/2017] [Accepted: 06/21/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Drug addiction is a harmful preference for drug use over and at the expense of other non-drug-related activities. We previously identified in the rat orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) a mechanism that influences individual preferences between cocaine use and an alternative action rewarded by a non-drug reward (i.e. sweet water). Here, we sought to test the generality of this mechanism to a different addictive drug, heroin. OFC neuronal activity was recorded while rats responded for heroin or the alternative non-drug reward separately or while they chose between the two. First, we found that heroin-rewarded and sweet water-rewarded actions were encoded by two non-overlapping OFC neuronal populations and that the relative size of the heroin population represented individual drug choices. Second, OFC neurons encoding the preferred action-which was the non-drug action in the large majority of individuals-progressively fired more than non-preferred action-coding neurons 1 second after the onset of choice trials and around 1 second before the preferred action was actually chosen, suggesting a pre-choice neuronal competition for action selection. Together with a previous study on cocaine choice, the present study on heroin choice reveals important commonalities in how OFC neurons encode individual drug choices and preferences across different classes of drugs. It also reveals some drug-specific differences in OFC encoding activity. Notably, the proportion of neurons that non-selectively encode both the drug and the non-drug reward was higher when the drug was heroin (present study) than when it was cocaine (previous study). We will discuss the potential functional significance of these commonalities and differences in OFC neuronal activity across different drugs for understanding drug choice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karine Guillem
- Université de Bordeaux; Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives; France
- CNRS; Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives; France
| | - Viridiana Brenot
- Université de Bordeaux; Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives; France
| | - Audrey Durand
- Université de Bordeaux; Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives; France
- CNRS; Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives; France
| | - Serge H. Ahmed
- Université de Bordeaux; Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives; France
- CNRS; Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives; France
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22
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Sarlitto MC, Foilb AR, Christianson JP. Inactivation of the Ventrolateral Orbitofrontal Cortex Impairs Flexible Use of Safety Signals. Neuroscience 2018; 379:350-358. [PMID: 29604383 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2018.03.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2017] [Revised: 03/20/2018] [Accepted: 03/21/2018] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Survival depends on adaptation to shifting environmental risks and opportunities. Regarding risks, the mechanisms which permit acquisition, recall, and flexible use of aversive associations is poorly understood. Drawing on the evidence that the orbital frontal cortex is critical to integrating outcome expectancies with flexible appetitive behavioral responses, we hypothesized that OFC would contribute to behavioral flexibility within an aversive learning domain. We introduce a fear conditioning procedure in which adult male rats were presented with shock-paired conditioned stimulus (CS+) or a safety cue (CS-). In a recall test, rats exhibit greater freezing to the CS+ than the CS-. Temporary inactivation of the ventrolateral OFC with muscimol prior to conditioning did not affect later discrimination, but inactivation after learning and prior to recall impaired discrimination between safety and danger cues. This result complements prior research in the appetitive domain and suggests that the OFC plays a general role in behavioral flexibility regardless of the valence of the CS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary C Sarlitto
- Department of Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA
| | - Allison R Foilb
- Department of Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467, USA
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23
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Barack DL, Chang SWC, Platt ML. Posterior Cingulate Neurons Dynamically Signal Decisions to Disengage during Foraging. Neuron 2017; 96:339-347.e5. [PMID: 29024659 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2017.09.048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2017] [Revised: 08/30/2017] [Accepted: 09/26/2017] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Foraging for resources is a fundamental behavior balancing systematic search and strategic disengagement. The foraging behavior of primates is especially complex and requires long-term memory, value comparison, strategic planning, and decision-making. Here we provide evidence from two different foraging tasks that neurons in primate posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) signal decision salience during foraging to motivate disengagement from the current strategy. In our foraging tasks, salience refers to the difference between decision thresholds and the net harvested reward. Salience signals were stronger in poor foraging contexts than rich ones, suggesting low harvest rates recruit mechanisms in PCC that regulate strategic disengagement and exploration during foraging.
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Affiliation(s)
- David L Barack
- Department of Philosophy and Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC 27701, USA.
| | - Steve W C Chang
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Michael L Platt
- Departments of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Marketing, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
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24
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Stringfield SJ, Palmatier MI, Boettiger CA, Robinson DL. Orbitofrontal participation in sign- and goal-tracking conditioned responses: Effects of nicotine. Neuropharmacology 2017; 116:208-223. [PMID: 28012948 PMCID: PMC5385154 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2016.12.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2016] [Revised: 11/15/2016] [Accepted: 12/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Pavlovian conditioned stimuli can acquire incentive motivational properties, and this phenomenon can be measured in animals using Pavlovian conditioned approach behavior. Drugs of abuse can influence the expression of this behavior, and nicotine in particular exhibits incentive amplifying effects. Both conditioned approach behavior and drug abuse rely on overlapping corticolimbic circuitry. We hypothesize that the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) regulates conditioned approach, and that one site of nicotine action is in the OFC where it reduces cortical output. To test this, we repeatedly exposed rats to 0.4 mg/kg nicotine (s.c.) during training and then pharmacologically inactivated the lateral OFC or performed in vivo electrophysiological recordings of lateral OFC neurons in the presence or absence of nicotine. In Experiment 1, animals were trained in a Pavlovian conditioning paradigm and behavior was evaluated after inactivation of the OFC by microinfusion of the GABA agonists baclofen and muscimol. In Experiment 2, we monitored phasic firing of OFC neurons during Pavlovian conditioning sessions. Nicotine reliably enhanced conditioned responding to the conditioned cue, and inactivation of the OFC reduced conditioned responding, especially the sign-tracking response. OFC neurons exhibited phasic excitations to cue presentation and during goal tracking, and nicotine acutely blunted this phasic neuronal firing. When nicotine was withheld, both conditioned responding and phasic firing in the OFC returned to the level of controls. These results suggest that the OFC is recruited for the expression of conditioned responses, and that nicotine acutely influences this behavior by reducing phasic firing in the OFC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sierra J Stringfield
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Neurobiology Curriculum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Matthew I Palmatier
- Department of Psychology, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, USA
| | - Charlotte A Boettiger
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Neurobiology Curriculum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Donita L Robinson
- Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Neurobiology Curriculum, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
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25
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Whole-Brain Neural Dynamics of Probabilistic Reward Prediction. J Neurosci 2017; 37:3789-3798. [PMID: 28270567 PMCID: PMC5394896 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2943-16.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2016] [Revised: 01/31/2017] [Accepted: 02/02/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Predicting future reward is paramount to performing an optimal action. Although a number of brain areas are known to encode such predictions, a detailed account of how the associated representations evolve over time is lacking. Here, we address this question using human magnetoencephalography (MEG) and multivariate analyses of instantaneous activity in reconstructed sources. We overtrained participants on a simple instrumental reward learning task where geometric cues predicted a distribution of possible rewards, from which a sample was revealed 2000 ms later. We show that predicted mean reward (i.e., expected value), and predicted reward variability (i.e., economic risk), are encoded distinctly. Early on, representations of mean reward are seen in parietal and visual areas, and later in frontal regions with orbitofrontal cortex emerging last. Strikingly, an encoding of reward variability emerges simultaneously in parietal/sensory and frontal sources and later than mean reward encoding. An orbitofrontal variability encoding emerged around the same time as that seen for mean reward. Crucially, cross-prediction showed that mean reward and variability representations are distinct and also revealed that instantaneous representations become more stable over time. Across sources, the best fitting metric for variability signals was coefficient of variation (rather than SD or variance), but distinct best metrics were seen for individual brain regions. Our data demonstrate how a dynamic encoding of probabilistic reward prediction unfolds in the brain both in time and space. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Predicting future reward is paramount to optimal behavior. To gain insight into the underlying neural computations, we investigate how reward representations in the brain arise over time. Using magnetoencephalography, we show that a representation of predicted mean reward emerges early in parietal/sensory regions and later in frontal cortex. In contrast, predicted reward variability representations appear in most regions at the same time, and slightly later than for mean reward. For both features, representations dynamically change >1000 ms before stabilizing. The best metric for encoding variability is coefficient of variation, with heterogeneity in this encoding seen between brain areas. The results provide novel insights into the emergence of predictive reward representations.
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Nasser HM, Calu DJ, Schoenbaum G, Sharpe MJ. The Dopamine Prediction Error: Contributions to Associative Models of Reward Learning. Front Psychol 2017; 8:244. [PMID: 28275359 PMCID: PMC5319959 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2016] [Accepted: 02/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Phasic activity of midbrain dopamine neurons is currently thought to encapsulate the prediction-error signal described in Sutton and Barto’s (1981) model-free reinforcement learning algorithm. This phasic signal is thought to contain information about the quantitative value of reward, which transfers to the reward-predictive cue after learning. This is argued to endow the reward-predictive cue with the value inherent in the reward, motivating behavior toward cues signaling the presence of reward. Yet theoretical and empirical research has implicated prediction-error signaling in learning that extends far beyond a transfer of quantitative value to a reward-predictive cue. Here, we review the research which demonstrates the complexity of how dopaminergic prediction errors facilitate learning. After briefly discussing the literature demonstrating that phasic dopaminergic signals can act in the manner described by Sutton and Barto (1981), we consider how these signals may also influence attentional processing across multiple attentional systems in distinct brain circuits. Then, we discuss how prediction errors encode and promote the development of context-specific associations between cues and rewards. Finally, we consider recent evidence that shows dopaminergic activity contains information about causal relationships between cues and rewards that reflect information garnered from rich associative models of the world that can be adapted in the absence of direct experience. In discussing this research we hope to support the expansion of how dopaminergic prediction errors are thought to contribute to the learning process beyond the traditional concept of transferring quantitative value.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen M Nasser
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore MD, USA
| | - Donna J Calu
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore MD, USA
| | - Geoffrey Schoenbaum
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, BaltimoreMD, USA; Cellular Neurobiology Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, BaltimoreMD, USA; Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, BaltimoreMD, USA
| | - Melissa J Sharpe
- Cellular Neurobiology Research Branch, National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, BaltimoreMD, USA; Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, PrincetonNJ, USA
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27
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Abstract
Experiments in which monkeys have to select or estimate the location of a target are revealing more about the role of the dorsal premotor cortex in decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veit Stuphorn
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States.,Department of Neuroscience and the Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, United States
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28
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Jo S, Jung MW. Differential coding of uncertain reward in rat insular and orbitofrontal cortex. Sci Rep 2016; 6:24085. [PMID: 27052943 PMCID: PMC4823699 DOI: 10.1038/srep24085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2015] [Accepted: 03/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Anterior insular and orbitofrontal cortex (AIC and OFC, respectively) are known to play important roles in decision making under risk. However, risk-related AIC neural activity has not been investigated and it is controversial whether the rodent OFC conveys genuine risk signals. To address these issues, we examined AIC and OFC neuronal activity in rats responding to five distinct auditory cues predicting water reward with different probabilities. Both structures conveyed significant neural signals for reward, value and risk, with value and risk signals conjunctively coded. However, value signals were stronger and appeared earlier in the OFC, and many risk-coding OFC neurons responded only to the cue predicting certain (100%) reward. Also, AIC neurons tended to increase their activity for a prolonged time following a negative outcome and according to previously expected value. These results show that both the AIC and OFC convey neural signals related to reward uncertainty, but in different ways. The OFC might play an important role in encoding certain reward-biased, risk-modulated subjective value, whereas the AIC might convey prolonged negative outcome and disappointment signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suhyun Jo
- Center for Synaptic Brain Dysfunctions, Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon 305-701, Korea
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon 443-721, Korea
| | - Min Whan Jung
- Center for Synaptic Brain Dysfunctions, Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon 305-701, Korea
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon 443-721, Korea
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 305-701, Korea
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29
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Treviño M. Associative Learning Through Acquired Salience. Front Behav Neurosci 2016; 9:353. [PMID: 26793078 PMCID: PMC4708076 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2015] [Accepted: 12/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Most associative learning studies describe the salience of stimuli as a fixed learning-rate parameter. Presumptive saliency signals, however, have also been linked to motivational and attentional processes. An interesting possibility, therefore, is that discriminative stimuli could also acquire salience as they become powerful predictors of outcomes. To explore this idea, we first characterized and extracted the learning curves from mice trained with discriminative images offering varying degrees of structural similarity. Next, we fitted a linear model of associative learning coupled to a series of mathematical representations for stimulus salience. We found that the best prediction, from the set of tested models, was one in which the visual salience depended on stimulus similarity and a non-linear function of the associative strength. Therefore, these analytic results support the idea that the net salience of a stimulus depends both on the items' effective salience and the motivational state of the subject that learns about it. Moreover, this dual salience model can explain why learning about a stimulus not only depends on the effective salience during acquisition but also on the specific learning trajectory that was used to reach this state. Our mathematical description could be instrumental for understanding aberrant salience acquisition under stressful situations and in neuropsychiatric disorders like schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and addiction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Treviño
- Laboratorio de Plasticidad Cortical y Aprendizaje Perceptual, Instituto de Neurociencias, Universidad de Guadalajara Guadalajara, Mexico
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30
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Oyama K, Tateyama Y, Hernádi I, Tobler PN, Iijima T, Tsutsui KI. Discrete coding of stimulus value, reward expectation, and reward prediction error in the dorsal striatum. J Neurophysiol 2015; 114:2600-15. [PMID: 26378201 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00097.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2015] [Accepted: 08/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
To investigate how the striatum integrates sensory information with reward information for behavioral guidance, we recorded single-unit activity in the dorsal striatum of head-fixed rats participating in a probabilistic Pavlovian conditioning task with auditory conditioned stimuli (CSs) in which reward probability was fixed for each CS but parametrically varied across CSs. We found that the activity of many neurons was linearly correlated with the reward probability indicated by the CSs. The recorded neurons could be classified according to their firing patterns into functional subtypes coding reward probability in different forms such as stimulus value, reward expectation, and reward prediction error. These results suggest that several functional subgroups of dorsal striatal neurons represent different kinds of information formed through extensive prior exposure to CS-reward contingencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kei Oyama
- Division of Systems Neuroscience, Tohoku University Graduate School of Life Sciences, Sendai, Japan; Department of Physiology, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan
| | - Yukina Tateyama
- Division of Systems Neuroscience, Tohoku University Graduate School of Life Sciences, Sendai, Japan
| | - István Hernádi
- Department of Experimental Zoology and Neurobiology and Szentagothai Research Center, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary; and
| | - Philippe N Tobler
- Laboratory for Social and Neural Systems Research, Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Toshio Iijima
- Division of Systems Neuroscience, Tohoku University Graduate School of Life Sciences, Sendai, Japan
| | - Ken-Ichiro Tsutsui
- Division of Systems Neuroscience, Tohoku University Graduate School of Life Sciences, Sendai, Japan;
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31
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Neurons in the Primate Medial Basal Forebrain Signal Combined Information about Reward Uncertainty, Value, and Punishment Anticipation. J Neurosci 2015; 35:7443-59. [PMID: 25972172 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0051-15.2015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
It has been suggested that the basal forebrain (BF) exerts strong influences on the formation of memory and behavior. However, what information is used for the memory-behavior formation is unclear. We found that a population of neurons in the medial BF (medial septum and diagonal band of Broca) of macaque monkeys encodes a unique combination of information: reward uncertainty, expected reward value, anticipation of punishment, and unexpected reward and punishment. The results were obtained while the monkeys were expecting (often with uncertainty) a rewarding or punishing outcome during a Pavlovian procedure, or unexpectedly received an outcome outside the procedure. In vivo anterograde tracing using manganese-enhanced MRI suggested that the major recipient of these signals is the intermediate hippocampal formation. Based on these findings, we hypothesize that the medial BF identifies various contexts and outcomes that are critical for memory processing in the hippocampal formation.
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32
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Stalnaker TA, Cooch NK, Schoenbaum G. What the orbitofrontal cortex does not do. Nat Neurosci 2015; 18:620-7. [PMID: 25919962 DOI: 10.1038/nn.3982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 328] [Impact Index Per Article: 36.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2015] [Accepted: 02/27/2015] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The number of papers about the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) has grown from 1 per month in 1987 to a current rate of over 50 per month. This publication stream has implicated the OFC in nearly every function known to cognitive neuroscience and in most neuropsychiatric diseases. However, new ideas about OFC function are typically based on limited data sets and often ignore or minimize competing ideas or contradictory findings. Yet true progress in our understanding of an area's function comes as much from invalidating existing ideas as proposing new ones. Here we consider the proposed roles for OFC, critically examining the level of support for these claims and highlighting the data that call them into question.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas A Stalnaker
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, US National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Nisha K Cooch
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, US National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Geoffrey Schoenbaum
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, US National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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33
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Abstract
Rewards are crucial objects that induce learning, approach behavior, choices, and emotions. Whereas emotions are difficult to investigate in animals, the learning function is mediated by neuronal reward prediction error signals which implement basic constructs of reinforcement learning theory. These signals are found in dopamine neurons, which emit a global reward signal to striatum and frontal cortex, and in specific neurons in striatum, amygdala, and frontal cortex projecting to select neuronal populations. The approach and choice functions involve subjective value, which is objectively assessed by behavioral choices eliciting internal, subjective reward preferences. Utility is the formal mathematical characterization of subjective value and a prime decision variable in economic choice theory. It is coded as utility prediction error by phasic dopamine responses. Utility can incorporate various influences, including risk, delay, effort, and social interaction. Appropriate for formal decision mechanisms, rewards are coded as object value, action value, difference value, and chosen value by specific neurons. Although all reward, reinforcement, and decision variables are theoretical constructs, their neuronal signals constitute measurable physical implementations and as such confirm the validity of these concepts. The neuronal reward signals provide guidance for behavior while constraining the free will to act.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wolfram Schultz
- Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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34
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Ward RD, Winiger V, Kandel ER, Balsam PD, Simpson EH. Orbitofrontal cortex mediates the differential impact of signaled-reward probability on discrimination accuracy. Front Neurosci 2015; 9:230. [PMID: 26157358 PMCID: PMC4477136 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2015.00230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2015] [Accepted: 06/12/2015] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) function is critical to decision making and behavior based on the value of expected outcomes. While some of the roles the OFC plays in value computations and behavior have been identified, the role of the OFC in modulating cognitive resources based on reward expectancy has not been explored. Here we assessed the involvement of OFC in the interaction between motivation and attention. We tested mice in a sustained-attention task in which explicitly signaling the probability of reward differentially modulates discrimination accuracy. Using pharmacogenetic methods, we generated mice in which neuronal activity in the OFC could be transiently and reversibly inhibited during performance of our signaled-probability task. We found that inhibiting OFC neuronal activity abolished the ability of reward-associated cues to differentially impact accuracy of sustained-attention performance. This failure to modulate attention occurred despite evidence that mice still processed the differential value of the reward-associated cues. These data indicate that OFC function is critical for the ability of a reward-related signal to impact other cognitive and decision-making processes and begin to delineate the neural circuitry involved in the interaction between motivation and attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan D Ward
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University New York, NY, USA
| | - Vanessa Winiger
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University New York, NY, USA
| | - Eric R Kandel
- Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University New York, NY, USA ; Howard Hughes Medical Institute Chevy Chase, MD, USA ; Kavli Institute for Brain Science, Columbia University New York, NY, USA
| | - Peter D Balsam
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University New York, NY, USA ; Department of Psychology, Barnard College New York, NY, USA ; New York State Psychiatric Institute New York, NY, USA
| | - Eleanor H Simpson
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University New York, NY, USA ; New York State Psychiatric Institute New York, NY, USA
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35
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O'Neill M, Schultz W. Economic risk coding by single neurons in the orbitofrontal cortex. JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY, PARIS 2015; 109:70-7. [PMID: 24954027 PMCID: PMC4451954 DOI: 10.1016/j.jphysparis.2014.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2014] [Revised: 05/19/2014] [Accepted: 06/09/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Risk is a ubiquitous feature of the environment for all organisms. Very few things in life are achieved with absolute certainty. Therefore, it is essential that organisms process risky information efficiently to promote adaptive behaviour and enhance survival. Here we outline a clear definition of economic risk derived from economic theory and focus on two experiments in which we have shown subpopulations of single neurons in the orbitofrontal cortex of rhesus macaques that code either economic risk per se or an error-related risk signal, namely a risk prediction error. These biological risk signals are essential for processing and updating risky information in the environment to contribute to efficient decision making and adaptive behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin O'Neill
- Department of Physiology, Development, and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3DY, UK.
| | - Wolfram Schultz
- Department of Physiology, Development, and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3DY, UK.
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36
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Walton ME, Chau BKH, Kennerley SW. Prioritising the relevant information for learning and decision making within orbital and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2015; 1:78-85. [PMID: 26937446 DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2014.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Our environment and internal states are frequently complex, ambiguous and dynamic, meaning we need to have selection mechanisms to ensure we are basing our decisions on currently relevant information. Here, we review evidence that orbitofrontal (OFC) and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) play conserved, critical but distinct roles in this process. While OFC may use specific sensory associations to enhance task-relevant information, particularly in the context of learning, VMPFC plays a role in ensuring irrelevant information does not impinge on the decision in hand.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark E Walton
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Bolton K H Chau
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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37
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Metereau E, Dreher JC. The medial orbitofrontal cortex encodes a general unsigned value signal during anticipation of both appetitive and aversive events. Cortex 2015; 63:42-54. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2014.08.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2014] [Revised: 05/27/2014] [Accepted: 08/05/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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38
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Blanchard TC, Hayden BY, Bromberg-Martin ES. Orbitofrontal cortex uses distinct codes for different choice attributes in decisions motivated by curiosity. Neuron 2015; 85:602-14. [PMID: 25619657 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2014.12.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 165] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2014] [Revised: 11/10/2014] [Accepted: 12/11/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Decision makers are curious and consequently value advance information about future events. We made use of this fact to test competing theories of value representation in area 13 of orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). In a new task, we found that monkeys reliably sacrificed primary reward (water) to view advance information about gamble outcomes. While monkeys integrated information value with primary reward value to make their decisions, OFC neurons had no systematic tendency to integrate these variables, instead encoding them in orthogonal manners. These results suggest that the predominant role of the OFC is to encode variables relevant for learning, attention, and decision making, rather than integrating them into a single scale of value. They also suggest that OFC may be placed at a relatively early stage in the hierarchy of information-seeking decisions, before evaluation is complete. Thus, our results delineate a circuit for information-seeking decisions and suggest a neural basis for curiosity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tommy C Blanchard
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA
| | - Benjamin Y Hayden
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA.
| | - Ethan S Bromberg-Martin
- Department of Neuroscience and Kavli Institute for Brain Science, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
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39
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Abstract
Economic goods may vary on multiple dimensions (determinants). A central conjecture in decision neuroscience is that choices between goods are made by comparing subjective values computed through the integration of all relevant determinants. Previous work identified three groups of neurons in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) of monkeys engaged in economic choices: (1) offer value cells, which encode the value of individual offers; (2) chosen value cells, which encode the value of the chosen good; and (3) chosen juice cells, which encode the identity of the chosen good. In principle, these populations could be sufficient to generate a decision. Critically, previous work did not assess whether offer value cells (the putative input to the decision) indeed encode subjective values as opposed to physical properties of the goods, and/or whether offer value cells integrate multiple determinants. To address these issues, we recorded from the OFC while monkeys chose between risky outcomes. Confirming previous observations, three populations of neurons encoded the value of individual offers, the value of the chosen option, and the value-independent choice outcome. The activity of both offer value cells and chosen value cells encoded values defined by the integration of juice quantity and probability. Furthermore, both populations reflected the subjective risk attitude of the animals. We also found additional groups of neurons encoding the risk associated with a particular option, the risky nature of the chosen option, and whether the trial outcome was positive or negative. These results provide substantial support for the conjecture described above and for the involvement of OFC in good-based decisions.
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40
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Abstract
Adaptive execution and inhibition of behavior are guided by the activity of neuronal populations across multiple frontal cortical areas. The rodent medial prefrontal cortex has been well studied with respect to these behaviors, influencing behavioral execution/inhibition based on context. Other frontal regions, in particular the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), are critical in directing behavior to obtain rewards, but the relationship between OFC neuronal activity and response execution or inhibition has been poorly characterized. In particular, little is known about OFC with respect to extinction learning, an important example of context-guided response inhibition. Here, we recorded the activity of OFC neurons while rats performed a discriminative-stimulus (DS)-driven sucrose-seeking task followed by multiple days of extinction of the DS. OFC neuronal activity was maximally responsive (1) to reward-predicting stimuli (RS) that triggered a lever press (i.e., lever-response initiation) and (2) during reward-well approach in pursuit of sucrose (i.e., well-response initiation). RS presentation that was not followed by a lever press or RS presentation during extinction produced weak activation, as did nonrewarded stimulus (NS) presentation regardless of response (press or withhold) or session (DS-sucrose or extinction). Activity related to nonrewarded well entry was minor, and activity was significantly inhibited during reward consumption. Finally, OFC neuronal activity switched selectivity to track rewarded behaviors when the RS/NS contingencies were reversed. Thus, rather than signaling variables related to extinction or response inhibition, activity in OFC was strongest at the initiation of multiple components of reward-seeking behavior, most prominently when valid reward-predicting cues drove these behaviors.
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41
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An oxytocin-induced facilitation of neural and emotional responses to social touch correlates inversely with autism traits. Neuropsychopharmacology 2014; 39:2078-85. [PMID: 24694924 PMCID: PMC4104346 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2014.78] [Citation(s) in RCA: 131] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2014] [Revised: 02/26/2014] [Accepted: 03/19/2014] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Social communication through touch and mutual grooming can convey highly salient socio-emotional signals and has been shown to involve the neuropeptide oxytocin (OXT) in several species. Less is known about the modulatory influence of OXT on the neural and emotional responses to human interpersonal touch. The present randomized placebo (PLC)-controlled within-subject pharmaco-functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was designed to test the hypothesis that a single intranasal dose of synthetic OXT (24 IU) would facilitate both neural and emotional responses to interpersonal touch in a context- (female vs male touch) and trait- (autistic trait load) specific manner. Specifically, the experimental rationale was to manipulate the reward value of interpersonal touch independent of the intensity and type of actual cutaneous stimulation administered. Thus, 40 heterosexual males believed that they were touched by either a man or a woman, although in fact an identical pattern of touch was always given by the same female experimenter blind to condition type. Our results show that OXT increased the perceived pleasantness of female, but not male touch, and associated neural responses in insula, precuneus, orbitofrontal, and pregenual anterior cingulate cortex. Moreover, the behavioral and neural effects of OXT were negatively correlated with autistic-like traits. Taken together, this is the first study to show that the perceived hedonic value of human heterosexual interpersonal touch is facilitated by OXT in men, but that its behavioral and neural effects in this context are blunted in individuals with autistic traits.
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42
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McDannald MA, Esber GR, Wegener MA, Wied HM, Liu TL, Stalnaker TA, Jones JL, Trageser J, Schoenbaum G. Orbitofrontal neurons acquire responses to 'valueless' Pavlovian cues during unblocking. eLife 2014; 3:e02653. [PMID: 25037263 PMCID: PMC4132288 DOI: 10.7554/elife.02653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) has been described as signaling outcome expectancies or value. Evidence for the latter comes from the studies showing that neural signals in the OFC correlate with value across features. Yet features can co-vary with value, and individual units may participate in multiple ensembles coding different features. Here we used unblocking to test whether OFC neurons would respond to a predictive cue signaling a ‘valueless’ change in outcome flavor. Neurons were recorded as the rats learned about cues that signaled either an increase in reward number or a valueless change in flavor. We found that OFC neurons acquired responses to both predictive cues. This activity exceeded that exhibited to a ‘blocked’ cue and was correlated with activity to the actual outcome. These results show that OFC neurons fire to cues with no value independent of what can be inferred through features of the predicted outcome. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.02653.001 Imagine you are at a restaurant and the waiter offers you a choice of cheesecake or fruit salad for dessert. When making your choice it is likely that you will consider the features of these desserts, such as their taste, their sweetness or how healthy they are. However, when you decide which dessert to have, you will pick the one that you judge to have the highest value for you at that moment in time. In this sense, ‘value’ is a subjective concept that varies from person to person, while ‘features’ remain relatively static. It is generally agreed that the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is involved in making these sorts of decisions, but its role is still a topic of debate. According to one theory the neurons in the OFC signal the subjective value of an outcome, whereas a rival theory suggests that they signal the features of the expected outcome. However, it has proved challenging to test these theories in experiments because it is difficult to say for certain that a given decision was clearly due to the value or a feature. Now, McDannald et al. have devised an approach that can tell the difference between neurons signaling value and neurons signaling features. They trained thirsty rats to associate different odours with either an increase in the amount of milk they were given (a change in both value and a feature), or a change in the flavor of the milk (a change in a feature without a change in value). Extensive testing showed that the rats did not value one flavor over the other. McDannald et al. then examined how the neurons in the OFC responded. If these neurons signal only value, they should only fire when the value of the outcome changes. On the other hand, if they signal features, they should fire when a feature changes, even if the value does not. It turned out that the neurons in the OFC responded whenever the features changed, irrespective of whether or not the value changed. These findings present a challenge to popular conceptions of the role of the neurons in the OFC. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.02653.002
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael A McDannald
- Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, United States
| | - Guillem R Esber
- Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, United States
| | - Meredyth A Wegener
- Center for Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Pittsburg, Pittsburg, United States
| | - Heather M Wied
- Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, United States
| | - Tzu-Lan Liu
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Thomas A Stalnaker
- Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, United States
| | - Joshua L Jones
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, United States
| | - Jason Trageser
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States
| | - Geoffrey Schoenbaum
- Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, United States Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, United States Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States
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43
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Strait CE, Blanchard TC, Hayden BY. Reward value comparison via mutual inhibition in ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Neuron 2014; 82:1357-66. [PMID: 24881835 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2014.04.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 175] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/21/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Recent theories suggest that reward-based choice reflects competition between value signals in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). We tested this idea by recording vmPFC neurons while macaques performed a gambling task with asynchronous offer presentation. We found that neuronal activity shows four patterns consistent with selection via mutual inhibition: (1) correlated tuning for probability and reward size, suggesting that vmPFC carries an integrated value signal; (2) anti-correlated tuning curves for the two options, suggesting mutual inhibition; (3) neurons rapidly come to signal the value of the chosen offer, suggesting the circuit serves to produce a choice; and (4) after regressing out the effects of option values, firing rates still could predict choice-a choice probability signal. In addition, neurons signaled gamble outcomes, suggesting that vmPFC contributes to both monitoring and choice processes. These data suggest a possible mechanism for reward-based choice and endorse the centrality of vmPFC in that process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caleb E Strait
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA.
| | - Tommy C Blanchard
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA
| | - Benjamin Y Hayden
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA
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44
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Sugam JA, Saddoris MP, Carelli RM. Nucleus accumbens neurons track behavioral preferences and reward outcomes during risky decision making. Biol Psychiatry 2014; 75:807-816. [PMID: 24143880 PMCID: PMC3992205 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2013] [Revised: 09/16/2013] [Accepted: 09/17/2013] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND To make appropriate decisions, organisms must evaluate the risks and benefits of action selection. The nucleus accumbens (NAc) has been shown to be critical for this processing and is necessary for appropriate risk-based decision-making behavior. However, it is not clear how NAc neurons encode this information to promote appropriate behavioral responding. METHODS Here, rats (n = 17) were trained to perform a risky decision-making task in which discrete visual cues predicted the availability to respond for a smaller certain (safer) or larger uncertain (riskier) reward. Electrophysiological recordings were made in the NAc core and shell to evaluate neural activity during task performance. RESULTS At test, animals exhibited individual differences in risk-taking behavior; some displayed a preference for the risky option, some the safe option, and some did not have a preference. Electrophysiological analysis indicated that NAc neurons differentially encoded information related to risk versus safe outcomes. Further, during free choice trials, neural activity during reward-predictive cues reflected individual behavioral preferences. In addition, neural encoding of reward outcomes was correlated with risk-taking behavior, with safe-preferring and risk-preferring rats showing differential activity in the NAc core and shell during reward omissions. CONCLUSIONS Consistent with previously demonstrated alterations in prospective reward value with effort and delay, NAc neurons encode information during reward-predictive cues and outcomes in a risk task that tracked the rats' preferred responses. This processing appears to contribute to subjective encoding of anticipated outcomes and thus may function to bias future risk-based decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan A. Sugam
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
| | - Michael P. Saddoris
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
| | - Regina M. Carelli
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599,Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
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45
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Todd RM, Taylor MJ, Robertson A, Cassel DB, Doesberg SM, Lee DH, Shek PN, Pang EW. Temporal-spatial neural activation patterns linked to perceptual encoding of emotional salience. PLoS One 2014; 9:e93753. [PMID: 24727751 PMCID: PMC3984101 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2013] [Accepted: 03/08/2014] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
It is well known that we continuously filter incoming sensory information, selectively allocating attention to what is important while suppressing distracting or irrelevant information. Yet questions remain about spatiotemporal patterns of neural processes underlying attentional biases toward emotionally significant aspects of the world. One index of affectively biased attention is an emotional variant of an attentional blink (AB) paradigm, which reveals enhanced perceptual encoding for emotionally salient over neutral stimuli under conditions of limited executive attention. The present study took advantage of the high spatial and temporal resolution of magnetoencephalography (MEG) to investigate neural activation related to emotional and neutral targets in an AB task. MEG data were collected while participants performed a rapid stimulus visual presentation task in which two target stimuli were embedded in a stream of distractor words. The first target (T1) was a number and the second (T2) either an emotionally salient or neutral word. Behavioural results replicated previous findings of greater accuracy for emotionally salient than neutral T2 words. MEG source analyses showed that activation in orbitofrontal cortex, characterized by greater power in the theta and alpha bands, and dorsolateral prefrontal activation were associated with successful perceptual encoding of emotionally salient relative to neutral words. These effects were observed between 250 and 550 ms, latencies associated with discrimination of perceived from unperceived stimuli. These data suggest that important nodes of both emotional salience and frontoparietal executive systems are associated with the emotional modulation of the attentional blink.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca M. Todd
- Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- * E-mail:
| | - Margot J. Taylor
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Neurosciences and Mental Health Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Amanda Robertson
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Daniel B. Cassel
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sam M. Doesberg
- Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Neurosciences and Mental Health Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Medical Imaging, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Daniel H. Lee
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Pang N. Shek
- Military Medicine Section, Defence Research and Development, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Elizabeth W. Pang
- Neurosciences and Mental Health Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Division of Neurology, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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46
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Avila I, Lin SC. Motivational salience signal in the basal forebrain is coupled with faster and more precise decision speed. PLoS Biol 2014; 12:e1001811. [PMID: 24642480 PMCID: PMC3958335 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1001811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2013] [Accepted: 02/06/2014] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The survival of animals depends critically on prioritizing responses to motivationally salient stimuli. While it is generally believed that motivational salience increases decision speed, the quantitative relationship between motivational salience and decision speed, measured by reaction time (RT), remains unclear. Here we show that the neural correlate of motivational salience in the basal forebrain (BF), defined independently of RT, is coupled with faster and also more precise decision speed. In rats performing a reward-biased simple RT task, motivational salience was encoded by BF bursting response that occurred before RT. We found that faster RTs were tightly coupled with stronger BF motivational salience signals. Furthermore, the fraction of RT variability reflecting the contribution of intrinsic noise in the decision-making process was actively suppressed in faster RT distributions with stronger BF motivational salience signals. Artificially augmenting the BF motivational salience signal via electrical stimulation led to faster and more precise RTs and supports a causal relationship. Together, these results not only describe for the first time, to our knowledge, the quantitative relationship between motivational salience and faster decision speed, they also reveal the quantitative coupling relationship between motivational salience and more precise RT. Our results further establish the existence of an early and previously unrecognized step in the decision-making process that determines both the RT speed and variability of the entire decision-making process and suggest that this novel decision step is dictated largely by the BF motivational salience signal. Finally, our study raises the hypothesis that the dysregulation of decision speed in conditions such as depression, schizophrenia, and cognitive aging may result from the functional impairment of the motivational salience signal encoded by the poorly understood noncholinergic BF neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Avila
- Neural Circuits and Cognition Unit, Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Shih-Chieh Lin
- Neural Circuits and Cognition Unit, Laboratory of Behavioral Neuroscience, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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47
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Disentangling neural representations of value and salience in the human brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2014; 111:5000-5. [PMID: 24639493 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1320189111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 111] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A large body of evidence has implicated the posterior parietal and orbitofrontal cortex in the processing of value. However, value correlates perfectly with salience when appetitive stimuli are investigated in isolation. Accordingly, considerable uncertainty has remained about the precise nature of the previously identified signals. In particular, recent evidence suggests that neurons in the primate parietal cortex signal salience instead of value. To investigate neural signatures of value and salience, here we apply multivariate (pattern-based) analyses to human functional MRI data acquired during a noninstrumental outcome-prediction task involving appetitive and aversive outcomes. Reaction time data indicated additive and independent effects of value and salience. Critically, we show that multivoxel ensemble activity in the posterior parietal cortex encodes predicted value and salience in superior and inferior compartments, respectively. These findings reinforce the earlier reports of parietal value signals and reconcile them with the recent salience report. Moreover, we find that multivoxel patterns in the orbitofrontal cortex correlate with value. Importantly, the patterns coding for the predicted value of appetitive and aversive outcomes are similar, indicating a common neural scale for appetite and aversive values in the orbitofrontal cortex. Thus orbitofrontal activity patterns satisfy a basic requirement for a neural value signal.
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48
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Späti J, Chumbley J, Brakowski J, Dörig N, Grosse Holtforth M, Seifritz E, Spinelli S. Functional lateralization of the anterior insula during feedback processing. Hum Brain Mapp 2014; 35:4428-39. [PMID: 24753396 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2013] [Revised: 12/19/2013] [Accepted: 01/21/2014] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Effective adaptive behavior rests on an appropriate understanding of how much responsibility we have over outcomes in the environment. This attribution of agency to ourselves or to an external event influences our behavioral and affective response to the outcomes. Despite its special importance to understanding human motivation and affect, the neural mechanisms involved in self-attributed rewards and punishments remain unclear. Previous evidence implicates the anterior insula (AI) in evaluating the consequences of our own actions. However, it is unclear if the AI has a general role in feedback evaluation (positive and negative) or plays a specific role during error processing. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and a motion prediction task, we investigate neural responses to self- and externally attributed monetary gains and losses. We found that attribution effects vary according to the valence of feedback: significant valence × attribution interactions in the right AI, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), the midbrain, and the right ventral putamen. Self-attributed losses were associated with increased activity in the midbrain, the ACC and the right AI, and negative BOLD response in the ventral putamen. However, higher BOLD activity to self-attributed feedback (losses and gains) was observed in the left AI, the thalamus, and the cerebellar vermis. These results suggest a functional lateralization of the AI. The right AI, together with the midbrain and the ACC, is mainly involved in processing the salience of the outcome, whereas the left is part of a cerebello-thalamic-cortical pathway involved in cognitive control processes important for subsequent behavioral adaptations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jakub Späti
- Preclinical Laboratory for Translational Research into Affective Disorders, Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Switzerland
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Comparison of functional near-infrared spectroscopy and electrodermal activity in assessing objective versus subjective risk during risky financial decisions. Neuroimage 2014; 84:833-42. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.09.047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2013] [Revised: 09/15/2013] [Accepted: 09/20/2013] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
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50
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Lateral hypothalamus contains two types of palatability-related taste responses with distinct dynamics. J Neurosci 2013; 33:9462-73. [PMID: 23719813 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3935-12.2013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The taste of foods, in particular the palatability of these tastes, exerts a powerful influence on our feeding choices. Although the lateral hypothalamus (LH) has long been known to regulate feeding behavior, taste processing in LH remains relatively understudied. Here, we examined single-unit LH responses in rats subjected to a battery of taste stimuli that differed in both chemical composition and palatability. Like neurons in cortex and amygdala, LH neurons produced a brief epoch of nonspecific responses followed by a protracted period of taste-specific firing. Unlike in cortex, however, where palatability-related information only appears 500 ms after the onset of taste-specific firing, taste specificity in LH was dominated by palatability-related firing, consistent with LH's role as a feeding center. Upon closer inspection, taste-specific LH neurons fell reliably into one of two subtypes: the first type showed a reliable affinity for palatable tastes, low spontaneous firing rates, phasic responses, and relatively narrow tuning; the second type showed strongest modulation to aversive tastes, high spontaneous firing rates, protracted responses, and broader tuning. Although neurons producing both types of responses were found within the same regions of LH, cross-correlation analyses suggest that they may participate in distinct functional networks. Our data shed light on the implementation of palatability processing both within LH and throughout the taste circuit, and may ultimately have implications for LH's role in the formation and maintenance of taste preferences and aversions.
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