Amygdala Signaling during Foraging in a Hazardous Environment
Amygdala Signaling during Foraging in a Hazardous Environment
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DOI：
10.1523/jneurosci.0407-15.2015
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发表时间：
2015-09-23
影响因子：
5.3
通讯作者：
Pare, Denis
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Amir, Alon;Lee, Seung-Chan;Pare, Denis
我们在一个半自然觅食任务中记录了基底外侧杏仁核（BL）神经元。大鼠必须离开巢穴，在一个有机械捕食者的狭长区域获取食物。行为在每次试验之间存在显著差异。在将头探入觅食区域并等待一段时间后，大鼠要么退回巢穴，要么开始觅食。在开始觅食之前，大鼠在失败试验后的等待时间比成功试验后更长，这表明先前的经验影响了行为。在开始觅食时，大多数主细胞（1型）的放电频率降低，而少数（2型）则升高。当大鼠放弃觅食时，1型细胞的放电频率增加，而2型细胞则没有变化。令人惊讶的是，在没有明确威胁或奖励的对照任务中，也能看到1型和2型单元相反的活动模式。在这些任务中，BL活动的共同相关因素是运动速度，尽管也观察到位置的影响。因此，取决于大鼠是否开始运动，BL神经元的活动会降低或增加，无论是否存在威胁或奖励。因此，BL活动不仅编码威胁或奖励，还与行为输出密切相关。我们提出，高级皮质区域根据奖励/威胁预期和内部状态决定BL活动中与任务相关的变化。由于1型和2型细胞可能与中央杏仁核（控制冻结行为）形成不同的连接，这个过程将决定旨在获取食物或探索的运动是被抑制还是被促进。
We recorded basolateral amygdala (BL) neurons in a seminaturalistic foraging task. Rats had to leave their nest to retrieve food in an elongated arena inhabited by a mechanical predator. There were marked trial-to-trial variations in behavior. After poking their head into the foraging arena and waiting there for a while, rats either retreated to their nest or initiated foraging. Before initiating foraging, rats waited longer on trials that followed failed than successful trials indicating that prior experience influenced behavior. Upon foraging initiation, most principal cells (Type-1) reduced their firing rate, while in a minority (Type-2) it increased. When rats aborted foraging, Type-1 cells increased their firing rates, whereas in Type-2 cells it did not change. Surprisingly, the opposite activity profiles of Type-1 and Type-2 units were also seen in control tasks devoid of explicit threats or rewards. The common correlate of BL activity across these tasks was movement velocity, although an influence of position was also observed. Thus depending on whether rats initiated movement or not, the activity of BL neurons decreased or increased, regardless of whether threat or rewards were present. Therefore, BL activity not only encodes threats or rewards, but is closely related to behavioral output. We propose that higher order cortical areas determine task-related changes in BL activity as a function of reward/threat expectations and internal states. Because Type-1 and Type-2 cells likely form differential connections with the central amygdala (controlling freezing), this process would determine whether movement aimed at attaining food or exploration is suppressed or facilitated.