Role of the orbitofrontal cortex in learning of goal-directed action

眶额皮层在学习目标导向行动中的作用

• 批准号: 272613643
• 负责人: Professor Dr. Wolfgang Hauber
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Abteilung Neurobiologie
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Grants
• 资助国家: 德国
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/272613643?language=en
• 关键词: Role; orbitofrontal; cortex; learning; goal

Humans and animals select and perform previously learned actions in adaptive ways to obtain specific goals such as food, a capacity that is essential to survive in an ever-changing environment. A fundamental challenge of neuroscience is to understand the neural basis of decision making processes underlying selection and performance of goal-directed action. For instance, to make adaptive decisions, it is not only vital to retrieve information about learned relationships between actions and their consequences. It is also necessary to evaluate whether the expected value or benefits of an action make it worth tolerating the efforts or costs to obtain it and to analyze current situational factors such as motivational states (e.g. hunger). Thus, actual costs and benefits of the available response options must be weighed before deciding which course of action to choose. Our recent data suggest that the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) is a key component of a neural network that critically supports such processes. However, the specific involvement of the mOFC as well as its interactions with other key components of the underlying neural network is, as yet, largely unknown. In this project, we will combine pharmacological, optogenetic and neural circuit analysis methods to examine the role of the mOFC and pathways linking the mOFC with the nucleus accumbens in rats performing complex cognitive tasks that allow for a detailed analysis of behavioral processes underlying action selection. This research will be complemented by an assessment of molecular markers of neuronal activity in involved brain areas. Our goal is to provide a detailed description of how the mOFC contributes to selection and performance of goal-directed action and highlight functional interactions with the nucleus accumbens, a known key component of the underlying neural network, on a molecular, neural and behavioral level. This research possibly allows important new insights into the exact role of the mOFC in decision making which is still elusive. Our findings could also pave the way for a deeper understanding of impaired decision making and action selection in neuropsychiatric disorders with prefrontal dysfunction such as major depression.

人类和动物以适应性方式选择并执行先前学到的行动，以获得特定目标，例如食物，这是在不断变化的环境中生存所必需的能力。神经科学的一个基本挑战是理解决策过程的神经基础，该过程是选择和执行目标导向行动的基础。例如，为了做出适应性决策，检索有关行动及其后果之间习得关系的信息不仅至关重要。还有必要评估某项行动的预期价值或收益是否值得付出努力或成本来获得它，并分析当前的情境因素，例如动机状态（例如饥饿）。因此，在决定选择哪种行动方案之前，必须权衡可用应对方案的实际成本和收益。我们最近的数据表明，内侧眶额皮层（mOFC）是神经网络的关键组成部分，它严格支持此类过程。然而，mOFC 的具体参与以及它与底层神经网络其他关键组件的相互作用目前在很大程度上尚不清楚。在这个项目中，我们将结合药理学、光遗传学和神经回路分析方法来检查 mOFC 的作用以及连接 mOFC 与伏核的通路，这些通路在执行复杂认知任务的大鼠中，从而可以对动作选择背后的行为过程进行详细分析。这项研究将通过对相关大脑区域神经元活动分子标记的评估来补充。我们的目标是详细描述 mOFC 如何有助于目标导向行动的选择和执行，并强调在分子、神经和行为水平上与伏隔核（底层神经网络的已知关键组成部分）的功能相互作用。这项研究可能对 mOFC 在决策中的确切作用提供重要的新见解，而这一作用目前仍难以捉摸。我们的研究结果还可以为更深入地了解伴有前额功能障碍（例如重度抑郁症）的神经精神疾病的决策和行动选择受损铺平道路。