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Niedringhaus M, West EA. Prelimbic cortex neural encoding dynamically tracks expected outcome value. Physiol Behav 2022; 256:113938. [PMID: 35944659 PMCID: PMC11247951 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2022.113938] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Revised: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Animals must modify their behavior based on updated expected outcomes in a changing environment. Prelimbic cortex (PrL) neural encoding during learning predicts, and is necessary for, appropriately altering behavior based on a new expected outcome value following devaluation. We aimed to determine how PrL neural activity encodes reward predictive cues after the expected outcome value of those cues is decreased following conditioned taste aversion. In one post-devaluation session, rats were tested under extinction to determine their ability to alter their behavior to the expected outcome values (i.e., extinction test). In a second post-devaluation session, rats were tested with the newly devalued outcome delivered so that the rats experienced the updated outcome value within the session (i.e., re-exposure test). We found that PrL neural encoding of the cue associated with the devalued reward predicted the ability of rats to suppress behavior in the extinction test session, but not in the re-exposure test session. While all rats were able to successfully devalue the outcome during conditioned taste aversion, a subset of rats continued to consume the devalued outcome in the re-exposure test session. We found differential patterns of PrL neural encoding in the population of rats that did not avoid the devalued outcome during the re-exposure test compared to the rats that successfully avoided the devalued outcome. Our findings suggest that PrL neural encoding dynamically tracks expected outcome values, and differential neural encoding in the PrL to reward predictive cues following expected outcome value changes may contribute to distinct behavioral phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Niedringhaus
- Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Stratford, NJ, 08084
| | - Elizabeth A West
- Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Stratford, NJ, 08084; Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Stratford, NJ, 08084.
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Jessen K, Slaker Bennett ML, Liu S, Olsen CM. Comparison of prefrontal cortex sucrose seeking ensembles engaged in multiple seeking sessions: Context is key. J Neurosci Res 2022; 100:1008-1029. [PMID: 35137974 PMCID: PMC8940716 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.25025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Revised: 12/31/2021] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Encoding of memories, including those associated with prior drug or reward, is thought to take place within distinct populations of neurons, termed ensembles. Neuronal ensembles for drug- and reward-seeking have been identified in regions of the medial prefrontal cortex, but much of our understanding of these ensembles is based on experiments that take place in a single reward-associated environment and measure ensemble encoding over short durations of time. In contrast, reward seeking behavior is evident across different reward-associated environments and persists over time. Using TetTag mice and Fos immunohistochemistry, we examined the relationship between persistent sucrose-seeking and ensemble encoding in mice that undergo seeking sessions in the same or different sucrose self-administration contexts 2 weeks apart. We found that prelimbic (PrL) and anterior cingulate cortex ensembles tagged in the first seeking session were highly sensitive to the context in which a second seeking session took place: reactivation of these ensembles was reduced in the same context but elevated in a distinct sucrose self-administration context. Correlational analyses revealed that ensemble reactivation in the PrL was proportional to the persistence of sucrose seeking behavior across sessions in differing ways in female mice. In the same context, reactivation was proportional to the persistence of non-reinforced operant responses, whereas in a distinct context, reactivation was proportional to the persistence of non-reinforced head entries into the sucrose receptacle. This study underlines the importance of the medial prefrontal cortex importance in maintaining a reward-seeking ensemble over time and identifies context-dependent changes in behavioral correlates of ensemble reactivation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristen Jessen
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.,Neuroscience Research Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Megan L Slaker Bennett
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.,Neuroscience Research Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, Wisconsin Lutheran College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Shuai Liu
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.,Neuroscience Research Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Christopher M Olsen
- Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.,Neuroscience Research Center, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.,Department of Neurosurgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
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