Prefrontal Cortex Contributions to Behavior Organization

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overall goal of this proposal is to understand how the prefrontal cortex contributes to the organization of behavior. Prefrontal cortical pathology may be linked to symptoms of disorganized behavior in schizophrenia or obsessive-compulsive disorder. Here, behavioral organization and the role of the prelimbic/infralimbic (PL/IL) region of the rat prefrontal cortex will be investigated. The PL/IL is necessary for rats to learn a new strategy in the same environment where an old strategy was previously successful. This proposal hypothesizes that the PL/IL is also required to use two previously learned strategies flexibly. Rats will be taught to solve a maze using one strategy, then the PL/IL will be inactivated while the rats learn a second strategy or use two familiar strategies flexibly. Electrophysiological recordings of PL/IL neurons will be taken from rats performing the same PL/IL dependent tasks. Behavioral and task correlates of PL/IL activity will suggest how these neurons encode information and how the PL/IL contributes to the organization of flexible behavior. By understanding normal function in prefrontal cortical regions, we may begin to understand how dysfunction is related to disease.