Neural Coding of Reward in Ventral Forebrain

腹侧前脑奖励的神经编码

• 批准号: 7022940
• 负责人: J Wayne Aldridge
• 金额: $ 29.21万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-03-01 至 2010-01-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7022940
• 关键词: amphetamines; behavior test; behavioral /social science research tag; behavioral extinction; behavioral habituation /sensitization; conditioning; craving; cues; drug addiction; drug habituation; ethology; food flavor; germ free condition; laboratory rat; lenticular nucleus; motivation; neural information processing; neuropsychology; pathologic process; prosencephalon; reinforcer; single cell analysis; substance abuse related behavior; sucrose; taste

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): In this study, we will investigate possible neural coding mechanisms for reward liking and wanting, which are important to drug addiction as well as motivation for natural rewards. We will focus on neural firing in the ventral pallidum (VP), which is a primary target of brain mesolimbic circuits involved in wanting and liking rewards. We will test the idea that neural activity in the ventral pallidum encodes stimuli that are hedonic rewards, such as sucrose taste, and encodes also conditioned incentive stimuli that predict rewards, such as Pavlovian-trained sounds. We will record activity of single neurons in rats trained to discriminate a tone (CS+) that predicts a sucrose reward (UCS) from a tone that predicts nothing (CS-). We anticipate finding that VP neurons have population codes and firing rate codes both for hedonic UCS receipt and for predictive CS+s. To find out whether such codes reflect the value of these reward stimuli or else more stable properties (sensory features or prior associations), we will test VP firing after manipulations that change CS or UCS reward values (e.g., neural sensitization, taste aversion conditioning). Based on preliminary work, we anticipate that VP neuronal firing rates will code CS and UCS reward values independently of other features, providing neural bases for integrating reward liking and wanting. Our findings could lead to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of reward and new therapeutic tactics for drug abuse.

描述(由申请人提供)：在这项研究中，我们将调查可能的神经编码机制的奖励喜好和想要，这是重要的毒瘾和动机的自然奖励。我们将专注于腹侧苍白球(VP)的神经放电，这是参与想要和喜欢奖励的大脑中脑边缘回路的主要靶点。我们将测试这样一种想法，即腹侧苍白球的神经活动编码作为享乐奖励的刺激，如蔗糖味道，并编码预测奖励的条件性激励刺激，如巴甫洛夫训练的声音。我们将记录大鼠单个神经元的活动，这些神经元被训练成区分预测蔗糖奖励的音调(CS+)和什么都不预测的音调(CS-)。我们预计会发现，VP神经元对于享乐性的中枢神经系统接收和预测的CS+S都有群体编码和放电率编码。为了找出这些编码是否反映了这些奖励刺激的价值或其他更稳定的特性(感觉特征或先前的关联)，我们将在改变CS或UC奖励值的操作(例如，神经敏化、味觉厌恶条件反射)后测试VP的放电。在前期工作的基础上，我们预计VP神经元的放电频率将独立于其他特征编码CS和UCS奖励值，为整合奖赏喜好和想要提供神经基础。我们的发现可能有助于更好地理解奖赏的病理生理学，并为药物滥用提供新的治疗策略。