New Title Risky decision-making: revealing the neural mechanisms of behaviour selection that maximize survival

新标题 风险决策：揭示最大化生存的行为选择的神经机制

• 批准号: 2753122
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Sussex
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2753122
• 关键词: New; Title; Risky; decision; making

Understanding how animals make critical decisions to maximize their survival chances is a major topic in neuroscience. By exploiting new imaging, electrophysiological and cutting-edge behavioural analysis techniques it is now possible to examine this question at the level of the key control circuits in the CNS that actually compute these decisions.This project will use the remarkably well-understood invertebrate system, Lymnaea, whose six principal behaviours (feeding, locomotion, reproduction, withdrawal, respiration, heart control) have been extensively characterized down to the level of the individual identified neurons that control them. This provides the opportunity to monitor the key survival-linked decision-making events 'online' as the system processes information about both its internal and external state.The planned work program will focus on the open question of how animals compute responses when faced with conflicting threats e.g. predation and starvation. With increased hunger, a reprioritization of behaviours towards food-finding must be balanced against other elevated risks. The behavioural and neural mechanisms that underlie this are fascinating but completely uncharacterized. We now have preliminary evidence to indicate that a small circuit of neurons in the central nervous system represents the 'master-controller' - assessing the impacts and computing the risk. The project will test the idea that the same circuit also connects to the networks that control the animal's principal behaviours and thus acts to set the priorities of action selection.The research will be engaging, challenging and highly varied and the student will develop cutting-edge skills in targeted and high-density multi-electrode recording, and machine-learning based behavioural quantification. A key objective will be to establish new optical imaging methods based on voltage-sensitive dyes allowing remote readout of circuits across the brain. This expertise is highly-translatable and will set the PhD student up extremely well for a career in a broad range of neuroscience research disciplines. Support will be available from an experienced postdoctoral researcher funded on a parallel BBSRC grant who will work alongside the student. There is also wider expertise available from other postdoctoral researchers, and other PhD students in the lab, who use similar techniques in a variety of systems, including vertebrates. We fully expect the outputs from this project to be ground-breaking and high-impact, consistent with our recent work in related topic areas (Nat Commun 2016, 7:11793; Sci Adv 2018 eaau9180; Sci Adv 2018 eaat1357; Cell Reports 2020 30:2006-2017; Sci Adv 2023 eadd3403).

了解动物如何做出关键决策以最大化其生存机会是神经科学的一个主要课题。通过利用新的成像、电生理和尖端行为分析技术，现在有可能在中枢神经系统中实际计算这些决定的关键控制回路的水平上研究这个问题。这些神经元（进食、运动、生殖、退缩、呼吸、心脏控制）已经被广泛地表征到控制它们的单个识别的神经元的水平。这提供了一个机会，以监测关键的生存相关的决策事件'在线'作为系统处理有关其内部和外部状态的信息。计划的工作计划将集中在动物如何计算的反应时，面临着相互冲突的威胁，如捕食和饥饿的开放问题。随着饥饿的加剧，重新调整寻找食物的行为的优先次序必须与其他高风险相平衡。这背后的行为和神经机制是迷人的，但完全没有特征。我们现在有初步证据表明，中枢神经系统中的一个小神经元回路代表了“主控制器”-评估影响并计算风险。该项目将测试这样一个想法，即同一个电路也连接到控制动物主要行为的网络，从而设定行动选择的优先级。该研究将是引人入胜的，具有挑战性和高度多样性的，学生将在有针对性的和高密度的多电极记录和基于机器学习的行为量化方面发展尖端技能。一个关键的目标将是建立新的光学成像方法的基础上，电压敏感染料允许远程读出整个大脑的电路。这种专业知识是高度可翻译的，将为博士生在广泛的神经科学研究学科中的职业生涯做好准备。支持将可从一个经验丰富的博士后研究人员资助的平行BBSRC赠款谁将与学生一起工作。其他博士后研究人员和实验室的其他博士生也有更广泛的专业知识，他们在各种系统中使用类似的技术，包括脊椎动物。我们完全期待该项目的成果具有突破性和高影响力，与我们最近在相关主题领域的工作一致（Nat Commun 2016，7：11793; Sci Adv 2018 eaau 9180; Sci Adv 2018 eaat 1357; Cell Reports 2020 30：2006-2017; Sci Adv 2023 eadd 3403）。