Top-down control of cortical visual sensory information processing in spatial navigation

空间导航中皮层视觉感觉信息处理的自上而下控制

• 批准号: 449505290
• 负责人: Dr. Tom Floßmann
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: WBP Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 德国
• 起止时间: 2019-12-31 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/449505290?language=en
• 关键词: Top; down; control; cortical; visual

Behavioural adaptation to the environment is vital for survival and relies on the ability to selectively integrate relevant sensory information. This ability depends on the potential of neuronal networks to change through experience; for example, by learning the association of a specific sensory stimulus with a reward. Recent studies have demonstrated that sensory processing in the primary visual cortex (V1) is modulated by axonal feedback projections from higher-order cortical areas. These projections convey predictive signals encoding task-relevant features of the environment. Feedback modulation arises from experience and is thought to gate sensory information according to task demands. For example, it was shown that feedback from the higher-order anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) to V1 conveys information on spatial expectations and self-motion which is important for spatial navigation. It remains largely elusive how feedback is integrated into V1 local circuits and how it alters sensory processing. Further, it is unknown how this contextual feedback circuit is established during learning. A key structure thought to be involved in this process are the basal ganglia: They receive input from both V1 and ACC through the dorsomedial striatum (DMS) and encode action-outcome contingencies.The aim of this proposal is to determine how the integration of visual input with self-motion related input is established in V1 to encode spatial information that is crucial for navigation. Specifically, how is contextual information from ACC integrated with visual information in V1? Does this process depend on neuronal projections from V1 to DMS during the learning of a rewarded navigation task?I will use state-of-the-art two-photon Ca2+ imaging and electrophysiological recordings in combination with optogenetic and chemogenetic approaches to record and modulate neuronal activity in a projection-specific manner.The project will be organized around two aims:1) To characterize the functional inputs from ACC to V1 during and after learning a rewarded visually guided task.2) To determine the causal contribution of V1 projections to DMS and ACC to learning and performance of a rewarded visually guided task.By revealing the inputs, the local circuits computation and the output of V1 neurons to DMS and ACC during learning, I will be able to propose a unifying model that captures how behavioural training changes the neocortex to improve the encoding of behaviourally relevant visual objects.

对环境的行为适应对生存至关重要，它依赖于有选择地整合相关感官信息的能力。这种能力取决于神经元网络随经验变化的潜力；例如，通过学习特定感官刺激与奖励的联系。最近的研究表明，初级视觉皮层（V1）的感觉加工是由高阶皮层的轴突反馈投射调节的。这些投射传递了预测信号，编码了环境中与任务相关的特征。反馈调制产生于经验，并被认为是根据任务需求来控制感官信息。例如，高阶前扣带皮层（ACC）对V1的反馈传递了空间期望和自我运动的信息，这对空间导航很重要。反馈是如何整合到V1局部回路的，以及它是如何改变感觉处理的，这在很大程度上仍然是难以捉摸的。此外，在学习过程中，这种情境反馈回路是如何建立的尚不清楚。基底神经节被认为是参与这一过程的一个关键结构：它们通过背内侧纹状体（DMS）接收V1和ACC的输入并编码动作-结果偶发。本提案的目的是确定视觉输入与自运动相关输入如何在V1中建立整合，以编码对导航至关重要的空间信息。具体来说，在V1中，来自ACC的语境信息是如何与视觉信息相结合的？在学习奖励性导航任务时，这个过程是否依赖于神经元从V1到DMS的投射？我将使用最先进的双光子Ca2+成像和电生理记录，结合光遗传学和化学遗传学方法，以投影特定的方式记录和调节神经元活动。该项目将围绕两个目标进行组织：1)表征在学习奖励视觉引导任务期间和之后ACC到V1的功能输入。2)确定视觉引导奖励任务中DMS和ACC的V1投影对学习和表现的因果关系。通过揭示学习过程中V1神经元对DMS和ACC的输入、局部电路计算和输出，我将能够提出一个统一的模型，该模型捕捉行为训练如何改变新皮层，以改善与行为相关的视觉对象的编码。