DIFFERENTIAL FACIAL ENCODING IN MONKEY AMYGDALOID NUCLEI

这项应用是为了支持一段时间的多学科方法的高级培训，以研究猴子的社会认知的神经基础。候选人将在动物行为、计算方法和灵长类神经生理学的实践技能方面获得新的理论知识。行为学、神经生理学和计算技术的结合为研究猴子的社会认知提供了巨大的潜力。候选人需要额外的培训来实现这一潜力，因为所研究的物种、所解决的问题以及将要使用的分析方法对她来说都是新的。这项训练将补充她早期在自由行为大鼠的电生理记录方面的经验。候选人将与一小群有才华的合作导师/顾问合作，他们将提供灵长类社会行为、电生理学和计算方法方面的可靠背景知识。候选人还将参加适合于分析通过多电极阵列获得的神经元集合数据的统计和计算方法的高级课程和国家研讨会。加州大学戴维斯分校和加州地区灵长类研究中心(CRPRC)非常适合候选人的培训和研究目标。中国人民共和国将60-120只恒河猴组成的社会部队安置在大型户外围栏中，这些动物在一个社会自然主义的环境中发育。计算机科学系、动物行为中心、神经科学中心以及医学和兽医学院提供神经科学、动物行为和计算科学领域的高级课程。这位候选人的直接目标是使用现代神经生理学技术来确定猴子杏仁核不同核团中的神经丛对猴子面部和面部表情图像的反应。该项目将补充和受益于由发起人David Amaral博士指导的CRPRC正在进行的研究计划。在这项申请中提出的研究的具体目的是确定1)从猴子杏仁核不同核团记录的神经元集合是否区分猴子的脸和面部表情，以及2)对面部表情的整体反应是否受到社会背景的调节。候选人的长期职业目标是利用这个奖项提供的经验来开发一个独立的研究计划，将行为、神经生理学和计算方法结合起来，研究杏仁核和眶前皮质等结构在灵长类动物情绪和社会行为中的作用。

This application is to support a period of advanced training in multidisciplinary approaches to the study of the neural substrate of social cognition in monkeys. The candidate will acquire new theoretical knowledge in animal behavior, computational methods and practical skills in primate neurophysiology. The combination of behavioral, neurophysiological and computational techniques has great potential for the study of social cognition in monkeys. Additional training is needed by the candidate to achieve this potential since the species studied, the questions addressed, and the analytical methods that will be used are new to her. This training will complement her earlier experience in electrophysiological recordings in freely behaving rats. The candidate will work with a small group of talented co-mentors/consultants who will provide a sound background in primate social behavior, electrophysiology and computational methods. The candidate will also attend advanced classes and national workshops on statistical and computational methods suitable for analyzing neuronal ensemble data obtained with multielectrode arrays. UC Davis and the California Regional Primate Research Center (CRPRC) are uniquely suited for the training and research goals of the candidate. The CRPRC houses social troops of 60-120 rhesus monkeys in large outdoor enclosures where the animals develop in a socially naturalistic environment. The departments of Computer Science, Center for Animal Behavior, Center for Neuroscience and the Medical and Veterinary Schools offer advanced courses in the areas of neuroscience, animal behavior and computational science. The candidate's immediate goal is to use modern neurophysiological techniques to determine the responses of neural ensembles in different nuclei of the monkey amygdala to images of monkey faces and facial expressions. This project will complement and benefit from an ongoing research program at the CRPRC directed by the sponsor, Dr. David Amaral. The specific aims of the research proposed in this application are to determine 1) whether neuronal ensembles recorded from different nuclei of the monkey amygdala differentiate between monkey faces and facial expressions, and 2) whether ensemble responses to facial expressions are modulated by social context. The candidate's long-term career goal is to use the experience afforded by this award to develop an independent research program that combines behavioral, neurophysiological and computational methods to study the role of structures such as the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex in emotional and social behavior in primates.