The role of prefrontal dopamine in the neural dynamics of perceptual decisions

前额叶多巴胺在知觉决策的神经动力学中的作用

• 批准号: 317157544
• 负责人: Professor Dr. Simon N. Jacob
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Neurochirurgische Klinik und Poliklinik
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 德国
• 起止时间: 2015-12-31 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/317157544?language=en
• 关键词: role; prefrontal; dopamine; neural; dynamics

A fundamental challenge in neuroscience is to understand how neuronal activity creates a subjective experience of our sensory environment. Several brain regions, from primary sensory areas to higher cognitive regions such as the prefrontal cortex, are involved in translating external stimulation into an internal representation and a decision to act. The neuromodulator dopamine has frequently been linked to neuropsychiatric diseases with characteristic disturbances of sensory perception. However, it is still unknown whether dopamine controls how sensory stimuli are subjectively experienced and interpreted.In this project, we will combine targeted perturbations of dopamine neurotransmission in prefrontal cortex using optogenetic techniques with electrophysiological recordings and behavioural analyses in mice performing a perceptual decision making task. Our goal is to provide a spatially and temporally detailed description of how dopamine modulates perceptual judgements on a behavioural and neuronal level. Our experiments will also determine whether dopamine causally contributes to a stable and truthful mental representation of the sensory environment. They could pave the way for a mechanistic understanding of how disrupted dopamine neurotransmission might result in alterations of subjective experience that are a hallmark of neuropsychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia.

神经科学的一个基本挑战是了解神经元活动如何创造我们感觉环境的主观体验。从初级感觉区域到高级认知区域（例如前额叶皮层）的几个大脑区域都参与将外部刺激转化为内部表征和行动决定。神经调节剂多巴胺经常与具有感觉知觉障碍的神经精神疾病有关。然而，目前尚不清楚多巴胺是否控制感觉刺激的主观体验和解释方式。在这个项目中，我们将利用光遗传学技术对执行感知决策任务的小鼠进行电生理记录和行为分析，将前额皮质多巴胺神经传递的有针对性的扰动结合起来。我们的目标是提供多巴胺如何在行为和神经元水平上调节感知判断的空间和时间详细描述。我们的实验还将确定多巴胺是否因果性地有助于感官环境的稳定和真实的心理表征。它们可以为从机制上理解多巴胺神经传递中断如何导致主观体验的改变铺平道路，而主观体验是精神分裂症等神经精神疾病的标志。