Neuronal mechanisms of merging multi-modal information and modulation through experience

通过经验融合多模态信息和调制的神经机制

• 批准号: 373499214
• 负责人: Dr. Martin Fritz Strube-Bloss
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Arbeitsgruppe Biologische Kybernetik
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 德国
• 起止时间: 2016-12-31 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/373499214?language=en
• 关键词: Neuronal; mechanisms; merging; multi; modal

Multi-modal integration and its neuronal computation are central to sensory perception as the environment always comprises a composition of different sensory modalities. How brains manage to extract the relevant features and combine single modalities to a common percept is yet not fully understood. My goal is to extend our rather limited understanding on the neural mechanisms underlying multi-modal integration and experience dependent sensory perception. Due to its sensory ecology and neurobiology the honeybee represents a favorable model to investigate neuronal principles of multi-modal integration, in particular influences of olfactory-visual integration on single-modality perception. The project is focused on mushroom body output neurons (MBON) as from a neuronal circuit perspective these neurons represent the first level of olfactory-visual convergence in honeybees. I have set up a recording rig allowing for registration of MBON activity over many hours during stimulation with monochromatic light and single odor components. Preliminary data show that ~50% of the recorded MBONs respond to both modalities (odor and light). I hypothesize that these MBONs comprise a neuronal substrate for multi-modal integration and its experience dependent modulation, which will be characterized in the proposed project. As an initial step defined odor and light stimuli will be presented in a unimodal as well as in a multi-modal (compound) fashion and the MBON activity will be analyzed. The results will uncover principals of neural coding after olfactory-visual convergence. Next, I will investigate how the association of an odor-light compound with a reward influences the neuronal representations of the single components (odor and light). To test this, classical conditioning experiments that are well established in honeybees will be performed. Bees will be trained to associate an olfactory-visual compound stimulus with a reward. Subsequently, we will test if the bees respond to the compound only or if the single stimulus components (odor and light) may as well trigger a response. In a final step I will combine classical olfactory-visual conditioning (behavior) with MBON recordings (electrophysiology) and analyze how the common reward association affects the neural representation of the single components compared to the olfactory-visual compound. Using multi-unit long term recordings in combination with classical conditioning experiments in honeybees I could already show that MBONs encode the odor reward association. Moreover, recently I found that in addition to the odor identity the odor reward association includes the information about the antennal stimulation side, adding a spatial dimension. Thus, MBONs integrate different features of the reward associated stimulus situation. With the planned project I expect significant advance in our understanding of the neuronal mechanisms underlying multimodal integration and its experience dependent modulation.

多模态整合及其神经元计算是感官知觉的核心，因为环境总是由不同感觉模态组成。大脑是如何设法提取相关特征并将单一模态联合收割机组合成一个共同的概念的，这一点还没有完全弄清楚。我的目标是扩展我们对多通道整合和经验依赖性感觉知觉的神经机制的有限理解。由于其感觉生态学和神经生物学的蜜蜂代表了一个有利的模型，研究神经元的原则，多通道集成，特别是嗅觉视觉整合的影响，单通道感知。该项目的重点是蘑菇体输出神经元（MBON），因为从神经元回路的角度来看，这些神经元代表了蜜蜂嗅觉-视觉会聚的第一级。我已经建立了一个记录装置，允许在单色光和单一气味成分刺激期间记录多个小时的MBON活性。初步数据显示，约50%的记录MBON对两种方式（气味和光）都有反应。我假设，这些MBON包括一个神经基板的多模式集成和其经验依赖的调制，这将在拟议的项目的特点。作为初始步骤，将以单峰以及多峰（复合）方式呈现定义的气味和光刺激，并且将分析MBON活性。这一结果将有助于揭示嗅-视会聚后的神经编码机制。接下来，我将研究气味-光化合物与奖励的关联如何影响单个成分（气味和光）的神经元表征。为了验证这一点，将进行在蜜蜂中建立良好的经典条件反射实验。蜜蜂将被训练将嗅觉-视觉复合刺激与奖励联系起来。随后，我们将测试蜜蜂是否只对化合物做出反应，或者是否单一刺激成分（气味和光线）也会引发反应。在最后一步，我将结合联合收割机经典的嗅觉-视觉条件反射（行为）和MBON记录（电生理学），并分析与嗅觉-视觉复合物相比，共同的奖励关联如何影响单个组件的神经表征。使用多单位长期记录结合蜜蜂的经典条件反射实验，我已经可以证明MBON编码气味奖励协会。此外，最近我发现，除了气味身份的气味奖励协会包括有关触角刺激侧的信息，增加了一个空间维度。因此，MBON整合了奖励相关刺激情境的不同特征。随着计划中的项目，我期望我们的理解的神经元机制的基础上的多模态集成和其经验依赖的调制显着进步。