The purpose of this grant is to contribute to our understanding, at a neural level, of how animals make decisions to act and choose between actions, with a particular emphasis on factors such as learning and neuromodulation that control the likelihood of behavioral responses. Utilizing both behavioral and electrophysiological methods, we study these processes in a relatively simple system, the lateral giant escape reaction circuit of crayfish, which is subject to a variety of forms of modulation and of simple learning. For the requested funding period we propose experiments on serotonergic modulation of tendency to escape and on habitation of escape behavior. Serotonin can either facilitate or inhibit escape, depending on an animals previous experience or on the exact way in which serotonin titer changes over time; proposed experiments are aimed at understanding the mechanisms of these dependencies, as well as the natural function of the serotonergic modulation. Both intrinsic changes in synaptic efficacy and modulation by GABA-ergic inhibition contribute to habituation; proposed experiments are concerned to understand interactions that appear to exist between these two factors, which may be related by a long term depression-like mechanism.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
2R01NS008108-31A1
Application #
6328258
Study Section
Integrative, Functional and Cognitive Neuroscience 8 (IFCN)
Program Officer
Edwards, Emmeline
Project Start
1978-07-01
Project End
2006-03-31
Budget Start
2001-04-15
Budget End
2002-03-31
Support Year
31
Fiscal Year
2001
Total Cost
$265,881
Indirect Cost
Name
University of California Los Angeles
Department
Psychology
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
119132785
City
Los Angeles
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
90095
Lee, Sun Hee Cho; Taylor, Karen; Krasne, Franklin B (2008) Reciprocal stimulation of decay between serotonergic facilitation and depression of synaptic transmission. J Neurophysiol 100:1113-26
Vu, E T; Lee, S C; Krasne, F B (1993) The mechanism of tonic inhibition of crayfish escape behavior: distal inhibition and its functional significance. J Neurosci 13:4379-93
Lee, S C; Krasne, F B (1993) Ultrastructure of the circuit providing input to the crayfish lateral giant neurons. J Comp Neurol 327:271-88
Vu, E T; Krasne, F B (1993) Crayfish tonic inhibition: prolonged modulation of behavioral excitability by classical GABAergic inhibition. J Neurosci 13:4394-402
Miller, M W; Vu, E T; Krasne, F B (1992) Cholinergic transmission at the first synapse of the circuit mediating the crayfish lateral giant escape reaction. J Neurophysiol 68:2174-84
Krasne, F B; Lee, S C (1988) Response-dedicated trigger neurons as control points for behavioral actions: selective inhibition of lateral giant command neurons during feeding in crayfish. J Neurosci 8:3703-12
Krasne, F B (1987) Silencing normal input permits regenerating foreign afferents to innervate an identified crayfish sensory interneuron. J Neurobiol 18:61-73
Miller, M W; Lee, S C; Krasne, F B (1987) Cooperativity-dependent long-lasting potentiation in the crayfish lateral giant escape reaction circuit. J Neurosci 7:1081-92
Glanzman, D L; Krasne, F B (1986) 5,7-Dihydroxytryptamine lesions of crayfish serotonin-containing neurons: effect on the lateral giant escape reaction. J Neurosci 6:1560-9
Krasne, F B; Glanzman, D L (1986) Sensitization of the crayfish lateral giant escape reaction. J Neurosci 6:1013-20

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