Late-Spiking Neurons, Dopamine, and Perirhinal Cortex

描述（改编自申请人？摘要：行为研究 暗示D2多巴胺受体在秒范围间隔的定时。 单独的行为研究表明， (PR)在需要时间信息处理的任务中很重要， 相似的间隔。最近对PR的细胞研究进一步激发了这样的想法， 公关涉及信息处理的时间方面，这些想法 已被纳入电路级计算模型。一个相关 关于PR的事实是晚期发放（LS）神经元的大比例。这些细胞 延迟他们的尖峰的开始几秒钟相对于一个 电流箝位步骤或一系列突触输入。这种延迟特性是一种 PR中定时计算模型的重要部分。LS神经元是 尤其常见于皮质层， D2多巴胺受体。前面的，加在一起，是基础的一部分， 我的兴趣是探索多巴胺（DA）生理学在公关中的作用， 特别是LS神经元。总体思路是DA改变了 通过修改延迟，PR中信息处理的时间方面 LS神经元通过D2受体的特性。具体的假设， 我计划测试评估多巴胺可以调节 缓慢失活钾电流，这是造成后期尖峰的原因。的 结果将提供一个电导机制LS在PR，并希望 阐明DA改变这种电导的机制，从而 调节LS神经元的放电潜伏期。结果应该提供洞察力 D2受体在PR中的作用，正如里面解释的，与以下因素高度相关： 公共卫生

DESCRIPTION (Adapted from applicant?s abstract): Behavioral studies have implicated the D2 dopamine receptor in the timing of seconds-range intervals. Separate behavioral investigations have demonstrated that the perirhinal cortex (PR) is important in tasks that require temporal information processing of similar intervals. Recent cellular studies of PR further motivate the idea that PR is involved in temporal aspects of information processing and these ideas have been incorporated into circuit-level computational models. One relevant fact about PR is the large proportion of late-spiking (LS) neurons. These cells delay the onset of their spiking for several seconds relative to the onset of a current clamp step or a train of synaptic inputs. This delay feature is an essential part of the computational model of timing in PR. LS neurons are particularly common in the cortical layers that contain substantial numbers of D2 dopamine receptors. The preceding, taken together, is part of the basis of my interest in exploring the roll of dopamine (DA) physiology in PR, particularly with regard to LS neurons. The overarching idea is that DA alters temporal aspects of information processing in PR by modifying the delay properties of LS neurons through the D2 receptor. The specific hypotheses that I plan to test evaluates the proposition that dopamine can modulate a slowly-inactivating potassium current that is responsible for late-spiking. The results will furnish a conductance mechanism for LS in PR and hopefully elucidate the mechanism by which DA alters this conductance and thereby modulates firing latency in LS neurons. The results should furnish insight into the role of D2 receptors in PR, and as explained inside, are highly relevant to public health.