NMDA and D1 receptor involvement in operant learning

描述（由申请人提供）： 吸毒成瘾和学习至少在两个层面上交织在一起。行为偶然性的影响（例如，巴甫洛夫）对戒断、渴望和吸毒动机的研究将学习领域扩展到了吸毒领域。当代理论将药物视为成瘾者，从而将药物滥用归类为由其后果强化的行为，或者换句话说，操作性行为，也将药物滥用和学习理论联系起来。因此，从学习理论的角度对吸毒、寻毒、滥用和成瘾进行概念化，是药物滥用和实验心理学领域最重要的进展之一。随着学习理论的发展，神经科学家发现伴随学习的神经生理学变化似乎是由中皮质边缘通路介导的，这一通路也以调节药物的作用而闻名。然而，我们对这个系统的基本进化功能的理解仍然不为人所知。因此，我建议探索网络的一部分，实例化操作性学习，特别是电路在丘脑核和杏仁复合体通过NMDA和D1受体激活。拟议的研究整合了插管映射技术，药理学操作和先进的行为分析。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Drug addiction and learning are intertwined on at least two levels. The effects of behavioral contingencies (e.g., Pavlovian) on withdrawal, cravings, and motivations for drugs extended the field of learning into that of drug abuse. Contemporary theories that treat drugs as reinforcers, thereby classifying drug abuse as behavior reinforced by its consequences, or in other words, operant behavior, has also bridged drug abuse and learning theory. Thus, the conceptualization of drug-taking, -seeking, abuse, and addiction in the terms of learning theory has been one of the most significant advances in the fields of drug abuse and experimental psychology. Concurrent with the developments in learning theory, neuroscientists were discovering that the neurophysiological changes that accompany learning appear to be mediated by the mesocorticolimbic pathway, a pathway known for its modulation of the effects of drugs as well. Our understanding of this system's basic evolutionary function, however, is still not well-known. Thus, I propose to explore part of the network that instantiates operant learning, especially circuitry in the nucleus accumbens and amygdaloid complex through NMDA and D 1 receptor activation. The proposed research integrates cannula mapping techniques, pharmacological manipulations and advanced behavioral analysis.