scholarly journals Pavlovian influences on goal-directed behavior in mice: The role of cue-reinforcer relations

2008 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 299-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. S. Crombag ◽  
E. M. Galarce ◽  
P. C. Holland
2021 ◽  
pp. 216770262095934
Author(s):  
Julia M. Sheffield ◽  
Holger Mohr ◽  
Hannes Ruge ◽  
Deanna M. Barch

Rapid instructed task learning (RITL) is the uniquely human ability to transform task information into goal-directed behavior without relying on trial-and-error learning. RITL is a core cognitive process supported by functional brain networks. In patients with schizophrenia, RITL ability is impaired, but the role of functional network connectivity in these RITL deficits is unknown. We investigated task-based connectivity of eight a priori network pairs in participants with schizophrenia ( n = 29) and control participants ( n = 31) during the performance of an RITL task. Multivariate pattern analysis was used to determine which network connectivity patterns predicted diagnostic group. Of all network pairs, only the connectivity between the cingulo-opercular network (CON) and salience network (SAN) during learning classified patients and control participants with significant accuracy (80%). CON-SAN connectivity during learning was significantly associated with task performance in participants with schizophrenia. These findings suggest that impaired interactions between identification of salient stimuli and maintenance of task goals contributes to RITL deficits in participants with schizophrenia.


2017 ◽  
Vol 326 ◽  
pp. 112-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinyu Liu ◽  
Hong Wan ◽  
Shan Li ◽  
Zhigang Shang ◽  
Li Shi

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (8) ◽  
pp. 1130-1144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Nougaret ◽  
Sabrina Ravel

Humans and animals must evaluate the costs and expected benefits of their actions to make adaptive choices. Prior studies have demonstrated the involvement of the basal ganglia in this evaluation. However, little is known about the role of the external part of the globus pallidus (GPe), which is well positioned to integrate motor and reward-related information, in this process. To investigate this role, the activity of 126 neurons was recorded in the associative and limbic parts of the GPe of two monkeys performing a behavioral task in which different levels of force were required to obtain different amounts of liquid reward. The results first revealed that the activity of associative and limbic GPe neurons could be modulated not only by cognitive and limbic but also motor information at the same time, both during a single period or during different periods throughout the trial, mainly in an independent way. Moreover, as a population, GPe neurons encoded these types of information dynamically throughout the trial, when each piece of information was the most relevant for the achievement of the action. Taken together, these results suggest that GPe neurons could be dedicated to the parallel monitoring of task parameters essential to adjusting and maintaining goal-directed behavior.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Jane Speed ◽  
Esther K. Papies ◽  
Asifa Majid

Concepts are grounded in sensorimotor simulations, but what role these simulations play in everyday cognition is unknown. We investigate one domain where the senses are especially important: food. Unhealthy food is typically considered tastier than healthy food, and is therefore more attractive. We explored to what extent sensory associations differ between healthy and unhealthy foods, and whether these differences affect food attractiveness. In Study 1, using existing sensorimotor norms (Lynott, Connell, Brysbaert, Brand, & Carney, 2020) we found that unhealthy food is more strongly associated with taste, smell, and interoception than healthy food. Furthermore, these enhanced sensory associations mediated the relationship between healthiness and attractiveness. In Study 2, when participants were presented only with food words, unhealthy foods were more strongly associated with all perceptual modalities than healthy food. Again, this association mediated the relationship between healthiness and attractiveness: unhealthy food is more attractive because it is more strongly associated with sensory experience. We also found that the role of sensory associations in food attractiveness is affected by context. When participants were instructed to imagine eating the food, mediation by perceptual strength was weaker compared to receiving no instruction. Our results suggest that sensory simulation explains why unhealthy food is more attractive than healthy food, implying sensory simulation has a role in goal-directed behavior.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 617
Author(s):  
Mengmeng Li ◽  
Zhigang Shang ◽  
Kun Zhao ◽  
Shuguan Cheng ◽  
Hong Wan

Goal-directed navigation is a crucial behavior for the survival of animals, especially for the birds having extraordinary spatial navigation ability. In the studies of the neural mechanism of the goal-directed behavior, especially involving the information encoding mechanism of the route, the hippocampus (Hp) and nidopallium caudalle (NCL) of the avian brain are the famous regions that play important roles. Therefore, they have been widely concerned and a series of studies surrounding them have increased our understandings of the navigation mechanism of birds in recent years. In this paper, we focus on the studies of the information encoding mechanism of the route in the avian goal-directed behavior. We first summarize and introduce the related studies on the role of the Hp and NCL for goal-directed behavior comprehensively. Furthermore, we review the related cooperative interaction studies about the Hp-NCL local network and other relevant brain regions supporting the goal-directed routing information encoding. Finally, we summarize the current situation and prospect the existing important questions in this field. We hope this paper can spark fresh thinking for the following research on routing information encoding mechanism of birds.


eLife ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J Galtieri ◽  
Chad M Estep ◽  
David L Wokosin ◽  
Stephen Traynelis ◽  
D James Surmeier

Burst spiking in substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) dopaminergic neurons is a key signaling event in the circuitry controlling goal-directed behavior. It is widely believed that this spiking mode depends upon an interaction between synaptic activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) and intrinsic oscillatory mechanisms. However, the role of specific neural networks in burst generation has not been defined. To begin filling this gap, SNc glutamatergic synapses arising from pedunculopotine nucleus (PPN) neurons were characterized using optical and electrophysiological approaches. These synapses were localized exclusively on the soma and proximal dendrites, placing them in a good location to influence spike generation. Indeed, optogenetic stimulation of PPN axons reliably evoked spiking in SNc dopaminergic neurons. Moreover, burst stimulation of PPN axons was faithfully followed, even in the presence of NMDAR antagonists. Thus, PPN-evoked burst spiking of SNc dopaminergic neurons in vivo may not only be extrinsically triggered, but extrinsically patterned as well.


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