This project will investigate the systems-level mechanisms of reinforcement learning as applied towards attention and visual-motor associative learning. We will use cross-areal neuronal recordings as well as combined cortical and subcortical stimulation in awake, behaving macaques to study prefrontal-striatal interactions during learning, and to drive attention and learning. We will record simultaneously in the lateral prefrontal cortex and striatum while animals perform an online learning task, to characterize learning-related changes in their correlated activity. We predict that learning will modify the magnitude or nature of these interactions. Furthermore, we will attempt to drive visual-spatial attention and visual-motor associative learning through the application of microstimulation to the frontal eye fields and to the dopamine-neuron containing regions of the midbrain. We predict that such combined stimulation will synergistically potentiate neural responses in the striatum, and will produce learned (""""""""programmed"""""""") biases in attention and visualmotor behavior.

Public Health Relevance

The frontal cortex-basal ganglia system is centrally implicated in diseases ranging from movement disorders (e.g., Parkinson's Disease), to psychiatric diseases, (e.g., depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder). Also, many motor and cognitive deficits resulting from stroke or trauma are attributable to damage within this system. A better understanding of how learning occurs through neural interactions across these structures will allow us to better characterize the underlying derangements of neural processing in disease states and to develop ways to augment functional recovery.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
Type
Exploratory Grants (P20)
Project #
5P20GM103645-02
Application #
8721449
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZGM1-TWD-B)
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2014-08-01
Budget End
2015-07-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
$277,600
Indirect Cost
$58,134
Name
Brown University
Department
Type
DUNS #
001785542
City
Providence
State
RI
Country
United States
Zip Code
02912
Shenhav, Amitai; Straccia, Mark A; Musslick, Sebastian et al. (2018) Dissociable neural mechanisms track evidence accumulation for selection of attention versus action. Nat Commun 9:2485
Lieder, Falk; Shenhav, Amitai; Musslick, Sebastian et al. (2018) Rational metareasoning and the plasticity of cognitive control. PLoS Comput Biol 14:e1006043
Inzlicht, Michael; Shenhav, Amitai; Olivola, Christopher Y (2018) The Effort Paradox: Effort Is Both Costly and Valued. Trends Cogn Sci 22:337-349
Shenhav, Amitai; Dean Wolf, Carolyn K; Karmarkar, Uma R (2018) The evil of banality: When choosing between the mundane feels like choosing between the worst. J Exp Psychol Gen 147:1892-1904
White, Tara L; Monnig, Mollie A; Walsh, Edward G et al. (2018) Psychostimulant drug effects on glutamate, Glx, and creatine in the anterior cingulate cortex and subjective response in healthy humans. Neuropsychopharmacology 43:1498-1509
Petruccelli, Emily; Feyder, Michael; Ledru, Nicolas et al. (2018) Alcohol Activates Scabrous-Notch to Influence Associated Memories. Neuron 100:1209-1223.e4
Schwede, Matthew; Nagpal, Shailender; Gandal, Michael J et al. (2018) Strong correlation of downregulated genes related to synaptic transmission and mitochondria in post-mortem autism cerebral cortex. J Neurodev Disord 10:18
Petruccelli, Emily; Kaun, Karla R (2018) Insights from intoxicated Drosophila. Alcohol :
Erb, Christopher D; Moher, Jeff; Song, Joo-Hyun et al. (2018) Reach tracking reveals dissociable processes underlying inhibitory control in 5- to 10-year-olds and adults. Dev Sci 21:
Goodwill, Haley L; Manzano-Nieves, Gabriela; LaChance, Patrick et al. (2018) Early Life Stress Drives Sex-Selective Impairment in Reversal Learning by Affecting Parvalbumin Interneurons in Orbitofrontal Cortex of Mice. Cell Rep 25:2299-2307.e4

Showing the most recent 10 out of 60 publications