A Spiking Model of Hippocampus for Guiding Behavior

描述（由申请人提供）：拟研究的重点是建立一个详细和现实的模型，研究海马、内嗅皮层、前额叶皮层和腹侧被盖区的神经放电模式如何调节特定行为任务中的目标导向行为。这些项目探讨了目标激活、反应选择和情景记忆在指导行为中的相互作用。理解这些动机行为的过程对于理解药物成瘾过程是很重要的。特别地，这项工作允许对众多相互作用区域内谷氨酸能、gaba能、胆碱能和多巴胺能过程的变化如何影响成瘾行为进行建模。拟议的研究将进一步开发现有的软件，允许在虚拟环境中的虚拟老鼠的神经模拟和行为之间建立直接接口，这是一个同时受行为功能和生物现实结构要求约束的模型。神经模拟使用基于节律场电位（EEG）和单个神经元放电模式（单位记录）的广泛生理数据的动力学。这里提出的研究将涉及三个组之间的持续互动：

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed research focuses on development of a detailed and realistic model of how neural firing patterns in the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, prefrontal cortex and ventral tegmental area mediate goal directed behavior in specific behavioral tasks. These projects explore the interaction of goal activation, response selection and episodic memory for guiding behavior. Understanding these processes of motivated behavior should prove important for understanding the drug addiction processes. In particular this work allows modeling of how alterations in glutamatergic, GABAergic cholinergic and dopaminergic processes within numerous interacting regions could influence addictive behavior. The proposed research will further develop existing software that allows a direct interface between a neural simulation and behavior of a virtual rat in a virtual environment, a model simultaneously constrained by requirements about behavioral function and biologically realistic structure. The neural simulation uses dynamics based on extensive physiological data on rhythmic field potentials (EEG) and firing patterns of individual neurons (unit recording). The research proposed here will involve a continuous interaction between three groups: 1. The group in Edinburgh (Robert Cannon and Nigel Goddard) will provide ongoing development of a flexible, graphics based simulation package (CATACOMB), which allows construction of neural simulations for guiding behavior of a virtual rat in a variety of different experimental tasks, including spatial memory tasks and operant tasks. 2. The Hasselmo group will continue development of simulations of how the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, prefrontal cortex and ventral tegmental area are involved in goal directed movements in behavioral tasks. This work will generate clear experimental predictions about the timing of spikes relative o behavior and relative to theta rhythm EEG based on hypotheses about the physiological interaction. 3. The Eichenbaum group will analyze data from a spatial alternation task to test specific predictions of the simulation about the timing of spikes during behavior. This project will have a synergistic interaction with a separate collaboration between the Hasselmo and Kantak laboratories at B.U., which focuses on modeling operant tasks used in experimental studies of drug self-administration phenomena, in work supported by a supplement to a previous grant from NIDA.