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，我们将研究奖励喜欢和想要的可能神经编码机制，这对药物成瘾以及自然奖励的动机都很重要。我们将重点关注腹侧苍白球（VP）的神经放电，这是大脑中边缘回路的主要目标，涉及想要和喜欢奖励。我们将测试的想法，腹侧苍白球的神经活动编码的刺激，是享乐的奖励，如蔗糖的味道，也编码条件激励刺激，预测奖励，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，这些大鼠被训练区分预测蔗糖奖励（UCS）的音调（CS+）和没有预测的音调（CS-）。我们预计会发现，VP神经元的人口代码和发射率代码都为享乐UCS接收和预测CS+。为了找出这些代码是否反映了这些奖励刺激的价值或更稳定的属性（感官特征或先前的关联），我们将在改变CS或UCS奖励值的操作后测试VP放电（例如，神经敏化、味觉厌恶条件反射）。基于初步的工作，我们预计VP神经元放电率将编码CS和UCS奖励值独立于其他功能，提供神经基础的奖励喜欢和想要。我们的研究结果可能会导致更好地了解奖励的病理生理学和药物滥用的新治疗策略。