Neural Coding of Reward in Ventral Forebrain

腹侧前脑奖励的神经编码

• 批准号: 7169919
• 负责人: J Wayne Aldridge
• 金额: $ 28.34万
• 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/7169919
• 关键词: Amphetamines; Auditory; Behavior; Brain; Code; Condition; Conditioned Stimulus; Cues; Dose; Drug Addiction; Drug Sensitization; Drug abuse; Fire - disasters; Flavoring; Functional disorder; Globus Pallidus; Habits; Incentives; Lead; Learning; Limbic System; Lithium Chloride; Measures; Motivation; Neurons; Output; Pharmaceutical Preparations; Population; Principal Investigator; Process; Property; Prosencephalon; Psychological reinforcement; Publishing; Rate; Rattus; Relapse; Rewards; Sensory; Stimulus; Structure; Sucrose; System; Taste Perception; Testing; Training; Week; Work; addiction; base; classical conditioning; conditioning; hedonic; mesolimbic system; motivated behavior; neural circuit; novel therapeutics; programs; psychologic; relating to nervous system; response; sound; sweet taste perception

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）：在本研究中，我们将探讨对药物成瘾和自然奖励动机很重要的奖赏喜欢和渴望的可能的神经编码机制。我们将重点关注腹侧苍白球（VP）的神经放电，这是涉及想要和喜欢奖励的大脑中边缘回路的主要目标。我们将测试这样一种观点，即腹侧白质的神经活动会编码快乐奖励刺激，比如蔗糖的味道，也会编码预测奖励的条件激励刺激，比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，训练它们区分预测蔗糖奖励（UCS）的音调（CS+）和不预测糖奖励（CS-）的音调（CS-）。我们预期会发现VP神经元具有享乐性UCS接收和预测性CS+s的总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（感官特征或先验关联），我们将在改变CS或UCS奖励值的操作（例如，神经敏化，味觉厌恶条件反射）后测试VP放电。基于初步的工作，我们预计VP神经元的放电率将独立于其他特征编码CS和UCS奖励值，为整合奖励喜欢和想要提供神经基础。我们的研究结果可能有助于更好地理解奖励的病理生理机制，并为药物滥用提供新的治疗策略。