CATEGORICAL DECISION-MAKING IN FRONTO-STRIATAL CIRCUITS

描述(由申请者提供)：这个项目调查奖励和认知之间的相互作用。有证据表明，前额叶皮质和基底节共同支持基于强化的决策，而精神病可能是由于这一回路的失调造成的。然而，我们对脑干奖励系统促进抽象思维的生理机制知之甚少。我们计划通过在分类决策任务中记录前额叶皮质和纹状体的活动来解决这个问题。这项提议的中心问题是“关于奖励的知识如何影响大脑中感官证据和决策标准的呈现？”有助于灵活决策的一个过程是刺激分类。分类在感觉刺激和运动反应之间提供了一种灵活的联系。分类提高了决策的效率，因为适合某一类成员的反应通常会推广到同一类中的其他刺激。分类要求将注意力引导到关键的刺激特征，这些特征将刺激识别为相同或不同的类别。有些类别是与生俱来的，或者是过度学习的。但在许多情况下，类别边界必须“在运行中”改变，以适应环境的变化。我们将提出额纹状体网络参与分类决策的初步证据。在这个项目中，我们将研究强化如何在分类决策和类别学习中调节这个网络中的活动。这项工作与许多精神和神经疾病高度相关，包括精神分裂症、抑郁症、自闭症、毒瘾、强迫症和注意力缺陷障碍(ADHD和ADHD)。 公共卫生相关性：为了在现实世界中自适应地发挥作用，动物和人类必须不断地做出影响生存、繁殖以及有机体整体健康和福祉的选择。在这个项目中，我们将研究在分类决策和类别学习过程中，决策结果如何调节额纹状体网络的活动。这项工作与许多精神和神经疾病高度相关，包括精神分裂症、抑郁症、自闭症、毒瘾、强迫症和注意力缺陷障碍(ADHD和ADHD)。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This project investigates the interaction between reward and cognition. There is evidence that the prefrontal cortex and basal ganglia work together to support reinforcement-based decision-making, and that psychoses may result from dysregulation of this circuitry. However, we know little about the physiological mechanisms through which brainstem reward systems might contribute to abstract thought. We plan to address this by recording activity in prefrontal cortex and striatum during a categorical decision-making task. The central question addressed by this proposal is "How does knowledge about reward affect the representation of sensory evidence and decision criteria in the brain?" One process that contributes to flexible decision-making is stimulus categorization. Categorization affords a flexible linkage between sensory stimuli and motor responses. Categorization improves the efficiency of decision-making because responses that are appropriate for one member of a class often generalize to other stimuli in the same category. Categorization requires that attention be directed to critical stimulus features that identify stimuli as being in the same or different classes. Some categories are innate or overlearned. But in many cases category boundaries must shift "on the fly" to adapt to changes in the environment. We will present preliminary evidence that a fronto-striatal network is involved in categorical decision-making. In this project, we will investigate how reinforcement modulates activity in this network during categorical decision-making and category learning. This work is highly relevant to many Psychiatric and Neurological disorders including Schizophrenia, Depression, Autism, Drug Addiction, Obsessive-Compulsive disorders, and Attention-deficit disorders (ADD and ADHD). PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: To function adaptively in the real world, animals and humans must constantly make choices that affect survival, reproduction, and the overall health and well-being of the organism. In this project, we will investigate how decision-outcomes modulate activity in fronto-striatal networks during categorical decision-making and category learning. This work is highly relevant to many Psychiatric and Neurological disorders including Schizophrenia, Depression, Autism, Drug Addiction, Obsessive-Compulsive disorders, and Attention-deficit disorders (ADD and ADHD).