The ability to time underlies adaptive behavior. Precise motor behavior is carefully timed. Decisions about whether or not to take an action depend on knowledge of when they are appropriate. Memories for how long actions usually take underlies most ordinary activity such as planning a day or knowing how long it takes to cross a street. This learning of time is automatic and a foundation of behavioral organization. Disordered timing and deficits in the capacity to anticipate predictable events are associated with a number of psychiatric disorders including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia and depression. The diminished capacity to anticipate future consequences also play a role in substance abuse disorders. Distortions in timing and anticipation are both a symptom of the disorders as well as a source of additional problems. The purpose of this research is to understand how times are learned, remembered and used to guide behavior. We explore the psychological and biological mechanisms that govern both when we make a response at the right time and those that govern our ability to withhold a response when it is the wrong time. These processes are studied in animal models that allow us to observe and alter the functioning of the cortico-striatal-thalamo-cortical brain circuits that underlie these capacities. In particular, we are interested in how dopamine signaling in these circuits conveys information about time. For the first time we will study how dopamine signals to the cortex convey information about whether and when an event will occur. We will also test the hypothesis that the dopamine also conveys information about the reliability of that information. Understanding these basic mechanisms will lead to new treatment strategies and targets for a wide range of psychiatric disorders and human problems.

Public Health Relevance

A distorted sense of time and diminished capacity to anticipate the future are associated with a number of psychiatric disorders including substance abuse disorder, schizophrenia and depression. Distortions in timing and anticipation are both a symptom of the disorders as well as a source of additional problems. The purpose of this grant is to understand the basic brain mechanisms that underlie these capacities in order to discover new treatments.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
2R01MH068073-16
Application #
9887705
Study Section
Biobehavioral Regulation, Learning and Ethology Study Section (BRLE)
Program Officer
Rossi, Andrew
Project Start
2003-03-05
Project End
2024-12-31
Budget Start
2020-03-01
Budget End
2020-12-31
Support Year
16
Fiscal Year
2020
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Barnard College
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
068119601
City
New York
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
10027
Bailey, Matthew R; Goldman, Olivia; Bello, Estefanía P et al. (2018) An Interaction between Serotonin Receptor Signaling and Dopamine Enhances Goal-Directed Vigor and Persistence in Mice. J Neurosci 38:2149-2162
Cassidy, Clifford M; Balsam, Peter D; Weinstein, Jodi J et al. (2018) A Perceptual Inference Mechanism for Hallucinations Linked to Striatal Dopamine. Curr Biol 28:503-514.e4
Demireva, Elena Y; Suri, Deepika; Morelli, Emanuela et al. (2018) 5-HT2C receptor blockade reverses SSRI-associated basal ganglia dysfunction and potentiates therapeutic efficacy. Mol Psychiatry :
Nautiyal, Katherine M; Wall, Melanie M; Wang, Shuai et al. (2017) Genetic and Modeling Approaches Reveal Distinct Components of Impulsive Behavior. Neuropsychopharmacology 42:1182-1191
Drew, Michael R; Walsh, Carolyn; Balsam, Peter D (2017) Rescaling of temporal expectations during extinction. J Exp Psychol Anim Learn Cogn 43:1-14
Matamales, Miriam; Skrbis, Zala; Bailey, Matthew R et al. (2017) A corticostriatal deficit promotes temporal distortion of automatic action in ageing. Elife 6:
Simpson, Eleanor H; Balsam, Peter D (2016) The Behavioral Neuroscience of Motivation: An Overview of Concepts, Measures, and Translational Applications. Curr Top Behav Neurosci 27:1-12
Bailey, Matthew R; Simpson, Eleanor H; Balsam, Peter D (2016) Neural substrates underlying effort, time, and risk-based decision making in motivated behavior. Neurobiol Learn Mem 133:233-256
Tarullo, Amanda R; Isler, Joseph R; Condon, Carmen et al. (2016) Neonatal eyelid conditioning during sleep. Dev Psychobiol 58:875-882
Kirkpatrick, Kimberly; Balsam, Peter D (2016) Associative learning and timing. Curr Opin Behav Sci 8:181-185

Showing the most recent 10 out of 54 publications