The aim of this project is to measure neural activity in the somatosensory, motor, and limbic brain areas of rat during performance of a behavioral task. Two specific issues that will be investigated are the temporal dynamics of activity in each of these areas at each stage of the behavior and the extent to which they interact. Single unit and field potential data will be acquired by recording from chronically implanted multichannel microelectrodes as the rats rely on the sense of touch, mediated by their whiskers, to choose between cookies whose shapes have either positive or negative associations (i.e., certain shapes will be embittered with an odorless additive). Recordings will be made from the time when the animals are first learning these associations through the time when they are skilled at making discriminations, including occasional reversals of reward contingency and subsequent relearning. Using a variety of analytical methods to related neural and behavioral data should provide insight into the cooperative function of these disparate brain systems as the rat learns how to get a reward and produces goal directed behavior. The broad goal of this research is to engender a deeper understanding of basic cortical function, especially in relation to behavior. Examining the interactions of sensory, motor, and limbic brain areas is a necessary step in the development of an explanatory theory of brain function. With the framework of knowledge provided by studies like this, clinicians may be able to diagnose and develop treatments for ailments involving impaired cortico-cortical signaling. Two areas of application are envisioned: 1) the identification of specific behavioral deficits involving interactions between sensory, motor, and/or limbic areas; and 2) the theoretically driven identification and treatment of """"""""dynamical diseases"""""""" (i.e. diseases whose underlying dynamics are best described by nonlinear mathematics).
