CATEGORICAL DECISION-MAKING IN FRONTO-STRIATAL CIRCUITS

描述（由申请人提供）：本项目研究奖励和认知之间的相互作用。有证据表明，前额叶皮层和基底神经节共同作用，以支持基于认知的决策，而精神病可能是由于这一回路的失调。然而，我们对脑干奖励系统可能有助于抽象思维的生理机制知之甚少。我们计划通过记录在一项分类决策任务中前额叶皮层和纹状体的活动来解决这个问题。这个提议的核心问题是：“关于奖赏的知识如何影响大脑中感官证据和决策标准的表征？“一个有助于灵活决策的过程是刺激分类。分类在感觉刺激和运动反应之间提供了一种灵活的联系。分类提高了决策的效率，因为适合一类成员的反应通常会推广到同一类别的其他刺激。分类要求注意力被引导到关键的刺激特征，这些特征将刺激识别为相同或不同的类别。有些类别是天生的或过度学习的。但在许多情况下，类别边界必须“动态”地改变，以适应环境的变化。我们将提出初步证据表明，额纹状体网络参与分类决策。在这个项目中，我们将研究在分类决策和分类学习过程中，强化如何调节这个网络中的活动。这项工作与许多精神和神经疾病高度相关，包括精神分裂症，抑郁症，自闭症，药物成瘾，强迫症和注意力缺陷障碍（ADD和ADHD）。 公共卫生相关性：为了适应真实的世界，动物和人类必须不断地做出影响生存、繁殖以及生物体整体健康和福祉的选择。在这个项目中，我们将研究在类别决策和类别学习过程中，决策结果如何调节额纹状体网络的活动。这项工作与许多精神和神经疾病高度相关，包括精神分裂症，抑郁症，自闭症，药物成瘾，强迫症和注意力缺陷障碍（ADD和ADHD）。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This project investigates the interaction between reward and cognition. There is evidence that the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia work together to support reinforcement-based decision-making, and that psychoses may result from dysregulation of this circuitry. However, we know little about the physiological mechanisms through which brainstem reward systems might contribute to abstract thought. We plan to address this by recording activity in prefrontal cortex and striatum during a categorical decision-making task. The central question addressed by this proposal is "How does knowledge about reward affect the representation of sensory evidence and decision criteria in the brain?" One process that contributes to flexible decision-making is stimulus categorization. Categorization affords a flexible linkage between sensory stimuli and motor responses. Categorization improves the efficiency of decision-making because responses that are appropriate for one member of a class often generalize to other stimuli in the same category. Categorization requires that attention be directed to critical stimulus features that identify stimuli as being in the same or different classes. Some categories are innate or overlearned. But in many cases category boundaries must shift "on the fly" to adapt to changes in the environment. We will present preliminary evidence that a fronto-striatal network is involved in categorical decision-making. In this project, we will investigate how reinforcement modulates activity in this network during categorical decision-making and category learning. This work is highly relevant to many Psychiatric and Neurological disorders including Schizophrenia, Depression, Autism, Drug Addiction, Obsessive-Compulsive disorders, and Attention-deficit disorders (ADD and ADHD). PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: To function adaptively in the real world, animals and humans must constantly make choices that affect survival, reproduction, and the overall health and well-being of the organism. In this project, we will investigate how decision-outcomes modulate activity in fronto-striatal networks during categorical decision-making and category learning. This work is highly relevant to many Psychiatric and Neurological disorders including Schizophrenia, Depression, Autism, Drug Addiction, Obsessive-Compulsive disorders, and Attention-deficit disorders (ADD and ADHD).