A Probabilistic Strategy for Understanding Movement Selection and Choice

描述（由申请人提供）：我的研究项目的总体目标是了解基底神经节（BG）和上丘（SC）在跳眼运动选择和决策中的作用。在这个应用中，我们专注于将我们最近的研究结果从SC中的多个神经元记录扩展到同时，SC的多个神经元记录和一个BG结构，该结构输入到SC，即网状黑质（SNr）。我们有一个明确的目标；揭示SNr-SC通路内神经元在扫视选择和决策过程中的协调活动。为了实现我们的目标，我们提出了以下建议：我们将实施一个决策任务，其中扫视选择的难度等级被明确地操纵，并且在感官确定性和不确定性条件下，扫视选择的概率是可变的。我们将在执行此任务期间同时记录来自信噪比和SC的多个神经元。我们将验证SC和SNr神经元的活动是由选择难度和表现调节的假设。我们预测，更难的选择和较差的表现将与较高的信噪比活动水平和较低的SC活动水平相关。我们将实现我们的贝叶斯推理模型，并结合测量的噪声相关性来阐明SNr-SC通路在扫视选择中的作用。我们期望我们的研究结果将建立在越来越多的证据的基础上，这些证据表明感觉运动脑区域参与了与选择和决策相关的神经元处理。研究结果还将提供有关SNr与SC之间关系的关键和详细信息，以及这一途径如何影响扫视选择。他们还将为信噪比在感知决策中的作用提供第一个证据。最后，由于眼动异常是许多BG和皮质BG疾病（如帕金森病、图雷特综合征和强迫症）的一个突出症状，我们的研究结果应该为许多疾病状态的症状机制提供重要的见解。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The overall goal of my research program is to understand the role of the basal ganglia (BG) and superior colliculus (SC) in saccadic eye movement choice and decision-making. In this application we are focused on extending our recent results from multiple neuron recordings in SC to simultaneous, multiple neuronal recordings of SC and a BG structure that has inputs to the SC, the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr). We have one Specific Aim; to reveal the coordinated activity of neurons within the SNr-SC pathway during saccade choice and decision-making. To achieve our aim we propose the following: We will implement a decision task in which the difficulty level of the saccade choice is manipulated explicitly and the probability of the saccade choice in conditions of sensory certainty and uncertainty is varied. We will record simultaneously from multiple neurons in the SNr and the SC during performance of this task. We will test the hypothesis the activity of SC and SNr neurons is modulated by choice difficulty and performance. We predict that harder choices and poorer performance will be associated with higher levels of SNr activity and lower levels of SC activity. We will implement our Bayesian inference model and incorporates measured noised correlations to elucidate the role of the SNr-SC pathway in saccade choice. We expect our results will build on the growing body of evidence implicating sensorimotor brain regions in neuronal processing related to choice and decision- making. The results will also provide critical and detailed information about the relationship of the SNr to the SC and how this pathway contributes to saccade choices. They will also provide the first evidence for a role of the SNr in perceptual decision-making. Finally, since eye movement abnormalities are a prominent symptom in a number of BG and cortico-BG diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Tourette Syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder our results should provide important insights into the mechanisms of symptomology in many disease states. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The experiments outlined in this proposal are designed to reveal insights into the role of the basal ganglia and superior colliculus in eye movement choice and perceptual decision-making. Because eye movement abnormalities are a prominent symptom in a number of basal ganglia and cortico-basal ganglia diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Tourette Syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder, our results should provide important insights into the mechanisms of symptomology in many disease states.