Longitudinal assessment of prefrontal neural dynamics underlying learning and decision-making.

动物表现出非凡的学习和有效决策能力。前额叶皮层是一个与这些认知能力密切相关的大脑区域。在这个项目中，我们正在研究（1）这个大脑区域的神经元如何发展与行为特定方面相关的活动模式，以及（2）大脑发育期间的神经元如何为成年后的高阶认知奠定基础。我们正在使用先进的光学成像方法来观察整个早期大脑发育和复杂决策任务期间相同前额叶神经元的活动。这将揭示随着时间的推移大脑中发生的动态变化，以及这些变化如何与引发复杂行为的能力相关联-首次将大脑发育和高阶认知联系起来-所有这些都在同一动物中进行了研究。相关BBSRC优先领域：数据驱动的生物学。生物科学的系统方法。体内策略和3R。

Animals show a remarkable ability to learn and make efficient decisions. The prefrontal cortex is a brain region critically involved in these cognitive abilities. In this project, we are examining (1) how neurons in this brain region develop activity patterns associated with specific aspects of behaviour and (2) how the neurons during brain development set the foundation for supporting higher-order cognition in adulthood. We are using advanced optical imaging methods to observe the activity of the same prefrontal neurons throughout early brain development and during a complex decision-making task. This will reveal the dynamic changes that occur in the brain over time and how these changes are linked to the capacity to elicit complex behaviour - linking for the first-time, brain development and higher-order cognition - all investigated in the same animal. Relevant BBSRC priority areas: Data driven biology. Systems approaches to the biosciences. In vivo strategies and the 3Rs.