A Probabilistic Strategy for Understanding Movement Selection and Choice

描述(由申请者提供)：我的研究项目的总体目标是了解基底节(BG)和上丘(SC)在眼球跳动选择和决策中的作用。在这一应用中，我们专注于将我们最近的结果从SC的多个神经元记录扩展到同时的SC的多个神经元记录和具有SC的输入的BG结构，即黑质网状部(SNR)。我们有一个明确的目标：揭示SNR-SC通路中神经元在眼跳选择和决策过程中的协调活动。为了达到我们的目标，我们提出了以下建议：我们将实施一个决策任务，其中眼跳选择的难度水平是明确操纵的，并且在感觉确定性和不确定性的条件下，眼跳选择的概率是不同的。在这项任务的执行过程中，我们将同时记录SNR和SC中的多个神经元。我们将检验这一假设，SC和SNR神经元的活动受到选择、难度和性能的调节。我们预测，更艰难的选择和更差的表现将与更高水平的SNR活动和更低水平的SC活动相关。我们将实施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通路在眼跳选择中的作用。我们预计，我们的结果将建立在越来越多的证据基础上，这些证据表明，感觉运动脑区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的关系以及这一通路如何影响眼跳选择的关键和详细信息。它们还将为SNR在感性决策中的作用提供第一个证据。最后，由于眼球运动异常是许多BG和皮质BG疾病的显著症状，如帕金森氏病、抽动症和强迫症，我们的结果应该为许多疾病的症状学机制提供重要的见解。 与公共健康相关：本提案中概述的实验旨在揭示基底节和上丘在眼动选择和知觉决策中的作用。由于眼球运动异常是许多基底节和皮质-基底节疾病的显著症状，如帕金森氏病、抽动症和强迫症，我们的结果应该为许多疾病的症状学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.