Brain States and Flexible Behavior

摘要 为了在动态环境中生存，神经系统必须能够产生灵活的行为- 将过去的经验与当前的背景无缝地结合起来，以实现未来的目标。我们的团队 研究行为神经回路的专家们将合作揭示一种神经机制， 小鼠基于任务需求参与一种感觉模态与另一种感觉模态的特定处理。我们 假设这些类型的上下文相关行为通过灵活的耦合进行操作， 通过基于增益调制的神经动力学的变化来调节神经网络的解耦， 类似于大脑状态调节的机制。在清醒状态下， 注意力和任务参与不断变化，并与正在进行的和大的变化， 神经调节活性（例如，去甲肾上腺素和乙酰胆碱）系统以及皮质内 反馈通路，其作用是专门调节神经网络的相互作用。通过 这些途径通过可识别和精确的机制，控制由细胞产生的活动模式。 新皮层，灵活地增加或减少特定神经元网络之间的信息流。通过 通过一系列尖端的实验、分析和建模来定义这些精确的机制， 我们将揭示神经系统如何产生依赖于上下文的行为。通过了解 大脑皮层如何灵活地重新配置其功能性相互作用， 行为，以及唤醒和参与如何调节这种灵活性，我们将提供一个广泛的见解 从注意力和感知到社会交往，人类的一系列障碍。

Abstract To survive in dynamic environments, the nervous system must be able to generate flexible behavior — seamlessly weaving together past experience with the present context to achieve future goals. Our team of experts on the neural circuits of behavior will collaborate to reveal the neural mechanisms by which a mouse engages in specific processing of one sensory modality versus another based on task demands. We hypothesize that these types of context-dependent behaviors operate through a flexible coupling and decoupling of neural networks mediated by changes in neural dynamics based on gain modulation, similar to mechanisms that are engaged in brain state regulation. During the waking state, arousal, attention, and task engagement constantly vary and are associated with ongoing and large changes in the activity of neuromodulatory (e.g., norepinephrine and acetylcholine) systems as well as intracortical feedback pathways whose role is to specifically modulate neural network interactions. Through identifiable and precise mechanisms, these pathways control the patterns of activity generated by the neocortex, flexibly increasing or decreasing the information flow between specific neuronal networks. By defining these precise mechanisms through a series of cutting-edge experiments, analysis and modelling, we will shed light onto how the nervous system generates context-dependent behavior. By understanding how the cortex flexibly reconfigures its functional interactions to produce contextually-appropriate behavior, and how arousal and engagement modulate this flexibility, we will provide insight into a broad range of human disorders, from those of attention and perception, to social interactions.