Comparison of Frontal Cortex and Striatum during Visual Categorization

描述(申请人提供)：正常认知取决于前额叶皮质(RFC)和基底节(BG)之间的相互作用。在包括精神分裂症、帕金森病、亨廷顿病和ADHD在内的一系列神经精神疾病中观察到的认知障碍与他们的功能障碍有关。因此，了解PFC和BG之间各自的贡献和合作对于开辟治疗这些疾病的途径至关重要。然而，我们对这些区域的正常功能知之甚少，因为它们的神经活动在很大程度上是由不同实验室在不同猴子身上执行不同任务单独研究的。这一提议的目的是通过从同时植入每个区域的多个电极进行记录来推进我们的理解，同时猴子执行一项认知要求高的任务，这将检验这样一种假设，即基底节负责简单联想的获得和实现，而PFC将这些信息碎片到整个任务结构的更高级别表示中。这个项目将通过将研究扩展到一种新型的目标导向行为来检验这一假设。以前的研究使用的是带有强烈运动成分的规则；相比之下，我将使用分类学习。它是认知的基础，可以从运动反应中分离出来。猴子的神经生理学研究和人类的功能磁共振研究表明，PFC和BG都参与了分类，但它们从未被直接比较过。这项建议的目标1是直接比较PFC和BG中的视觉类别信息。这将使我们能够比较神经类别信息的流行度、强度和潜伏期，并检查大脑区域内和大脑区域之间的精确时间关系，从而深入了解它们各自的角色以及信息在它们之间的传递方式。先前的研究还表明，熟悉的、高阶的、与运动相关的规则在运动前皮质(PMC)中的表现甚至比PFC更强，潜伏期也更短。因此，PMC可以用于合并与频繁使用的任务有关的信息。但我们不知道这是否仅限于包含运动部件的规则；PMC从未审查过视觉类别等非运动规则。这是第二个目标的目标，直接比较运动前皮质、前额叶皮质和BG的视觉类别信息。通过直接比较这三种结构中的神经活动，我希望对它们在基本认知功能-范畴化中的作用提供洞察。通过了解这些大脑区域的正常功能及其在认知中的各自作用，我们可能更好地理解如何对涉及这些区域的患者进行治疗。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Normal cognition depends on interactions between the prefrontal cortex (RFC) and basal ganglia (BG). The cognitive impairments observed in a host of neuropsychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, and ADHD have been linked to their dysfunction. Thus, understanding the respective contributions and collaborations between the PFC and BG will be critical to opening paths to treatment of these disorders. However, we understand little about the normal functioning of these areas because their neural activity has largely been studied separately, by different laboratories in different monkeys performing different tasks. The aim of this proposal is to advance our understanding by recording from multiple electrodes simultaneously implanted in each region while monkeys perform a cognitively demanding task that will test the hypothesis that the basal ganglia is responsible for the acquisition and implementation of simple associations while the PFC pieces such information into a higher-level representation of the entire task structure. This project will test this hypothesis by extending investigations to a novel type of goal-directed behavior. Previous studies have employed rules with a strong motor component; in contrast, I will use categorical learning. It is fundamental to cognition and can be dissociated from motor responses. Neurophysiological studies in monkeys and fMRI studies in humans indicate involvement of both the PFC and BG in categorization, but they have never been directly compared. Aim 1 of this proposal is to directly compare visual category information in PFC versus BG. This will allow us to compare the prevalence, strength, and latency of neural category information and to examine precise timing relationships within and between brain areas that can provide insight into their respective roles and how information is transferred between them. Prior studies also indicate that familiar, higher-order, motor-related rules are even more strongly represented and have a shorter latency in the premotor cortex (PMC) than the PFC. Thus, the PMC may function to consolidate information pertaining to frequently utilized tasks. But we do not know if this is only limited to rules with a motor component; non-motor rules such as visual categories have never been examined in the PMC. This is the goal of the second aim, to directly compare visual category information in premotor cortex, prefrontal cortex, and the BG. By directly comparing neural activity in these three structures, I hope to provide insight into their roles in a fundamental cognitive function - categorization. By understanding the normal functioning of these brain regions and their respective roles in cognition, we may better understand how to approach treatments for patients whose afflictions involve them.