DIFFERENTIAL FACIAL ENCODING IN MONKEY AMYGDALOID NUCLEI

这个应用程序是为了支持一段多学科方法的高级训练，以研究猴子社会认知的神经基础。候选人将获得新的动物行为学理论知识，计算方法和灵长类神经生理学的实践技能。行为学、神经生理学和计算技术的结合对猴子社会认知的研究具有很大的潜力。候选人需要额外的培训来实现这一潜力，因为研究的物种，解决的问题，以及将使用的分析方法对她来说是新的。这项训练将补充她早期在自由行为的大鼠身上进行电生理记录的经验。候选人将与一小群有才华的共同导师/顾问一起工作，他们将提供灵长类动物社会行为，电生理学和计算方法方面的良好背景。候选人还将参加高级课程和国家研讨会，学习适用于分析多电极阵列获得的神经元集合数据的统计和计算方法。加州大学戴维斯分校和加州区域灵长类动物研究中心（CRPRC）非常适合候选人的培训和研究目标。CRPRC在大型室外围栏中容纳60-120只恒河猴的社会部队，在那里动物在社会自然环境中成长。计算机科学系、动物行为研究中心、神经科学研究中心以及医学院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。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中的神经系统对猴子面部和面部表情图像的反应。该项目将补充并受益于由发起人David Amaral博士指导的CRPRC正在进行的研究项目。本应用程序中提出的研究的具体目的是确定1)从猴子杏仁核的不同核中记录的神经元集合是否区分猴子的面部和面部表情，以及2)对面部表情的集合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该奖项提供的经验，开发一个独立的研究项目，结合行为学，神经生理学和计算方法，研究杏仁核和眼窝额叶皮层等结构在灵长类动物情感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.