Neurobiology of Motivational Modulation of Sustained Attention by Signaled Reward

描述（由申请人提供）：这项培训和研究奖励将为候选人作为分子和行为神经科学家的独立职业做好准备，使用严格的行为和基因操作来分析动机和认知之间相互作用的大脑回路。该候选人是一名实验心理学家，在动物学习和行为领域具有重要的专业知识。该奖项将在哥伦比亚大学精神病学和神经科学系提供培训，使候选人能够1)发展分子神经科学的实验室技能；2)拓展分子遗传学和转化神经科学的知识，独立发展新的科学思想，将研究成果与现有知识相结合，并将其与临床实践相结合；3)接受专业发展指导；4)培养对科学实践中固有的伦理问题的深刻理解。培训目标将通过实践培训、正式指导、与有经验的独立调查人员协商、课程作业、研讨会出席和专业科学会议相结合的项目来实现。该奖项支持的研究将阐明动机和认知之间相互作用的功能性神经回路。动机和认知缺陷存在于许多精神疾病中，大量文献记录了动机变量对认知表现的影响，但这些影响的神经基础尚未得到很好的理解。该候选人为小鼠开发了一种新的行为范式，在这种范式中，评估持续注意力的区分程序的表现可以通过明确地指示正确选择的奖励概率来在逐个试验的基础上进行调节。使用这个范例

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This training and research award will prepare the candidate for an independent career as a molecular and behavioral neuroscientist using rigorous behavioral and genetic manipulations to analyze the brain circuits underlying the interaction between motivation and cognition. The candidate is an experimental psychologist with significant expertise in the area of animal learning and behavior. Training provided under this award will take place at Columbia University's Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience and will enable the candidate to 1) develop laboratory skills in molecular neuroscience; 2) expand his knowledge of molecular genetics and translational neuroscience so that he can independently develop novel scientific ideas, integrate his research findings with current knowledge, and relate them to clinical practice; 3) receive mentorship in professional development; and 4) develop a strong understanding of the ethical issues inherent in the practice of science. The training goals will be accomplished through a program combining practical training, formal mentorship, consultations with experienced independent investigators, coursework, seminar attendance, and professional scientific meetings. The research supported under this award will elucidate the functional neurocircuitry underlying the interaction between motivation and cognition. Deficits in motivation and cognition are present in a number of psychiatric diseases, and a large literature has documented effects of motivational variables on cognitive performance, but the neural basis of these effects is not well understood. The candidate has developed a novel behavioral paradigm for mice in which performance of a discrimination procedure which assesses sustained attention can be modulated on a trial by trial basis by explicitly signaling the probability of reward for correct choices. Using this paradigm as a methodological foundation, the proposed research will use a genetic technique to silence specific neural populations in the basal forebrain, PFC, and striatum to determine the functional neural circuitry which is necessary and sufficient for motivational modulation of sustained attention performance by signaled reward probability. The proposed research will elucidate the functional neural circuitry by which motivation modulates cognition, which will further our understanding of the biology of motivation and cognition, and may give insight into the neural underpinnings of the functional impairments in clinical populations.