The Role of Striatal Neurovascular Coupling in Learning

许多感官引导的行为是通过学习获得的。以前的研究表明， 尾纹状体是背侧纹状体的尾部，位于连接感觉输入的重要界面 纹状体可塑性在各种类型的强化中起着至关重要的作用 学习尽管对神经元活动的理解已经积累，但对神经元活动的机制知之甚少。 学习重塑纹状体局部网络，包括神经胶质、淋巴和微血管系统， 以支持感官输入和运动输出之间的联系。 神经血管偶联，即神经元活动和微血管动力学的偶联，已经被 涉及各种生理和病理条件。但在很大程度上， 不知道行为，如学习过程，将如何调节动力学， 神经血管耦合，反过来影响学习过程。此外，由于有限的 方法、皮质下区域中的神经血管耦合（例如，纹状体）仍然很难预测。 本研究将利用新近建立的活体成像方法，探讨纹状体的作用 感觉知觉学习中的神经血管耦合。 目的1将确定纹状体功能性神经血管耦联在感知 学习神经血管耦合将在尾纹状体被暂时可逆地阻断 在学习过程中，通过操纵一氧化氮，一种重要的血管活性物质， 神经元和血管之间的相互作用。血流动力学和神经元 将监测活动，以验证通过一氧化氮操纵的解耦效应，以及 评估其对任务学习的影响。 目的2将确定在脑缺血时尾纹状体功能性神经血管耦合的动力学 知觉学习首先是学习过程中纹状体神经血管耦合的动力学 过程将被检查，然后介导这种变化的神经元群体将被检查。 测定

Many sensory-guided behaviors are acquired through learning. Previous works indicated that the tail striatum, a caudal portion of the dorsal striatum, sits at the vital interface linking sensory inputs to motor outputs, and striatal plasticity plays an essential role in various types of reinforcement learning. Despite the accumulated understanding in neuronal activities, little is known how learning reshapes the striatal local network, including glial, lymphatic, and microvascular system, to support the establishment of associations between sensory inputs and motor outputs. Neurovascular coupling, the coupling of neuronal activity and microvascular dynamics, has been implicated in various physiological and pathological conditions. However, it remains largely unknown how behaviors such as a learning process, would modulate the dynamics of neurovascular coupling and in turn impact the learning process. Furthermore, due to limited methods, neurovascular coupling in subcortical regions (e.g., striatum) remains largely elusive. This study will use the newly established in vivo imaging methods, to explore the role of striatal neurovascular coupling in sensory perceptual learning. Aim 1 will determine the role of striatal functional neurovascular coupling in the perceptual learning. Neurovascular coupling will be temporally and reversibly blocked in the tail striatum during learning via manipulating nitric oxide, an essential vasoactive substance that mediates interactions between neurons and blood vessels. The dynamics of blood flow and neuronal activity will be monitored to validate the decoupling effects by nitric oxide manipulation, and assess its impact on task learning. Aim 2 will determine the dynamics of functional neurovascular coupling in the tail striatum during perceptual learning. First the dynamics of striatal neurovascular coupling during the learning process will be examined, and then the neuronal population(s) that mediates this change will be determined.