The role of gustatory cortex in perceptual learning of taste

味觉皮层在味觉知觉学习中的作用

• 批准号: 10417050
• 负责人: Joshua Kogan
• 金额: $ 3.9万
• 依托单位: STATE UNIVERSITY NEW YORK STONY BROOK
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-07-01 至 2025-06-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10417050
• 关键词: Address; Ally; Animals; Area; Auditory; Auditory system; Axon; Behavioral; Brain; Calcium; Chronic; Clozapine; Code; Cognition; Control Animal; Data Analyses; Decision Making; Discrimination; Disease; Dopamine; Electrophysiology (science); Environment; Fiber; Genes; Goals; Health; Image; Implant; Infusion procedures; Ingestion; Knowledge; Learning; Lesion; Mediating; Mentors; Modality; Modeling; Monitor; Mus; Neuromodulator; Neuronal Plasticity; Neurons; Optics; Outcome; Oxides; Oxidopamine; Pattern; Perceptual learning; Performance; Poison; Population; Process; Psychometrics; Research; Rodent; Role; Sensory; Shapes; Signal Transduction; Smell Perception; Stimulus; Study models; Sucrose; System; Task Performances; Taste Perception; Testing; Training; Viral Vector; Visual; Visual system structure; Work; base; behavioral outcome; calcium indicator; design; experimental study; improved; in vivo; insight; neuromechanism; neuropsychiatric disorder; novel; relating to nervous system; response; sensory discrimination; sensory input; sensory stimulus; sound; taste stimuli; transmission process; two-photon

PROJECT SUMMARY To adapt and survive in natural environments, animals need to learn to discriminate sensory stimuli predicting different outcomes. This ability is particularly important in the case of largely overlapping sensory inputs. For example, in taste, small differences between otherwise similar solutions could mean the difference between ingesting a poison and having a safe meal. This phenomenon, known as perceptual learning, has been well documented across species and sensory modalities. However, understanding the mechanisms of neural plas- ticity underlying perceptual learning - i.e. how the brain plastically encodes, generalizes and discriminates large numbers of overlapping stimuli - remains a great challenge in neuroscientific research. Studies in the visual and auditory systems have converged on two non-mutually exclusive models, 1) enhancement of sensory represen- tations and 2) improved ability of decision-making circuits to interpret sensory evidence to guide actions. Gener- ally, these two types of activity are found in different brain areas, however both types can be found in the primary taste cortex, known as the gustatory insular cortex (GC). This makes taste an ideal system to test relative con- tributions of the two models. Additionally, the mechanisms of plasticity underlying perceptual learning remain incompletely understood, but some studies have suggested a role for the neuromodulator, dopamine. The cur- rent proposal will test the hypotheses that 1) representations of overlapping taste stimuli and associated deci- sions by GC neurons separate as mice learn a perceptual discrimination task; 2) GC DAergic signaling mediates plasticity underlying task learning and performance. I will rely on a taste-based two alternative forced choice (2AFC) in which mice are trained to detect the predominant taste in a mixture. To study chemosensory and decision-related coding in GC, I will use chronic 2-photon and widefield calcium imaging in populations of GC neurons as mice learn. To parse the role of dopamine in task learning and performance, I will use selective lesioning of GC dopaminergic axons and local chemogenetic inhibition of dopamine transmission combined with calcium imaging. These experiments will provide important information about taste processing, the neural basis of perceptual learning and the role of cortical dopamine in taste and sensory processing more broadly.

项目概要 为了适应自然环境并生存，动物需要学会区分感官刺激预测 不同的结果。在感觉输入大量重叠的情况下，这种能力尤其重要。为了 例如，在口味上，其他类似解决方案之间的微小差异可能意味着 摄入毒药并安全进食。这种现象被称为感知学习，已被广泛研究。 跨物种和感官方式的记录。然而，了解神经质的机制 感知学习的基础——即大脑如何可塑性地编码、概括和区分大的事物 重叠刺激的数量仍然是神经科学研究中的一个巨大挑战。视觉和视觉研究 听觉系统已经收敛于两个非互斥的模型，1）感觉表征的增强 2）提高决策回路解释感官证据以指导行动的能力。通用- 盟友，这两种类型的活动存在于不同的大脑区域，但这两种类型都可以在主要区域中找到 味觉皮层，称为味觉岛叶皮层（GC）。这使得味觉成为测试相对一致性的理想系统 两个模型的贡献。此外，感知学习的可塑性机制仍然存在 尚不完全清楚，但一些研究表明神经调节剂多巴胺的作用。目前的 租金提案将测试以下假设：1）重叠味觉刺激和相关决策的表示 当小鼠学习知觉辨别任务时，GC 神经元的信号会分开； 2) GC DAergic信号介导 任务学习和绩效的可塑性。我会靠一种基于品味的二选一强制选择 (2AFC)，其中训练小鼠检测混合物中的主要味道。研究化学感应和 GC 中的决策相关编码，我将在 GC 群体中使用慢性 2 光子和宽场钙成像 老鼠学习时的神经元。为了解析多巴胺在任务学习和表现中的作用，我将选择性地使用 GC多巴胺能轴突的损伤和多巴胺传递的局部化学遗传学抑制 钙成像。这些实验将提供有关味觉处理（神经基础）的重要信息 知觉学习的作用以及皮质多巴胺在味觉和感官处理中的更广泛的作用。