Neural circuitry for observational learning of maternal behavior - Administrative Supplement

项目摘要/摘要 生存所必需的行为，包括育儿行为，是由神经回路驱动的，这些神经回路产生于 基因和经验学习的结合。父母的行为在多大程度上是后天习得的， 是由神经回路与生俱来的专业性决定的？处女母鼠可以学到一些母体 与有经验的母亲和她的幼崽在一起时的行为，特别是将孤立的幼崽带到 鸟巢。初步数据表明，处女可以通过听觉和视觉观察来学习这种行为。在这两个地方 母亲和幼崽经历过处女，取回行为与大脑感觉区域的可塑性有关， 包括听觉皮质对幼崽发声的高度敏感度。这种学识渊博，善于社交的- 传递行为是测量与自然主义学习相关的突触可塑性的理想模型 背景。在这个方案中，我将使用头部固定的虚拟现实范例和全细胞 电生理学和功能成像，实时测量观察诱导的可塑性。这就做 解构视觉和听觉线索的特定组合对幼犬听皮层调谐的影响 发声，使小鼠能够将这些声音归类为行为显著。我将使用功能成像和 光遗传学操作，以测量诱导和治疗所需的神经调节活动的动力学 保持这种可塑性。

Project Summary/Abstract Behaviors essential for survival, including parenting behaviors, are driven by neural circuits that arise from combinations of genetics and experience-dependent learning. To what extent is parental behavior learned, vs. predetermined by innate specializations of neural circuits? Virgin female mice can learn some maternal behaviors when housed with an experienced mother and her pups, in particular retrieving isolated pups to the nest. Preliminary data indicates that virgins can learn this behavior via auditory and visual observation. In both mothers and pup-experienced virgins, retrieval behavior is correlated with plasticity in sensory areas of the brain, including heightened sensitivity for pup vocalizations in auditory cortex. This robustly-learned, socially- transmitted behavior is an ideal model for measuring synaptic plasticity correlated with learning in a naturalistic context. In this proposal I will use a head-fixed virtual reality paradigm combined with whole-cell electrophysiology and functional imaging to measure plasticity induced by observation in real time. I will deconstruct what specific combinations of visual and auditory cues refine auditory cortex tuning for pup vocalizations, enabling mice to categorize these sounds as behaviorally salient. I will use functional imaging and optogenetic manipulations to measure the dynamics of neuromodulatory activity required for induction and maintenance of this plasticity.