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Vivar-Lazo M, Fetsch CR. Neural basis of concurrent deliberation toward a choice and degree of confidence. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.08.06.606833. [PMID: 39149300 PMCID: PMC11326179 DOI: 10.1101/2024.08.06.606833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/17/2024]
Abstract
Decision confidence plays a key role in flexible behavior, but exactly how and when it arises in the brain remains unclear. Theoretical accounts suggest that confidence can be inferred from the same evidence accumulation process that governs choice and response time (RT), implying that a provisional confidence assessment could be updated in parallel with decision formation. We tested this using a novel RT task in nonhuman primates that measures choice and confidence with a single eye movement on every trial. Monkey behavior was well fit by a 2D bounded accumulator model instantiating parallel processing of evidence, rejecting a serial model in which choice is resolved first followed by post-decision accumulation for confidence. Neural activity in area LIP reflected concurrent accumulation, exhibiting within-trial dynamics consistent with parallel updating at near zero time lag, and significant covariation in choice and confidence signals across the population. The results demonstrate that monkeys concurrently process a single stream of evidence to arrive at a choice and level of confidence, and illuminate a candidate neural mechanism for this ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Vivar-Lazo
- Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Christopher R Fetsch
- Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
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2
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Cushing CA, Lau H, Hofmann SG, LeDoux JE, Taschereau-Dumouchel V. Metacognition as a window into subjective affective experience. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2024; 78:430-437. [PMID: 38884177 DOI: 10.1111/pcn.13683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2024] [Revised: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024]
Abstract
When patients seek professional help for mental disorders, they often do so because of troubling subjective affective experiences. While these subjective states are at the center of the patient's symptomatology, scientific tools for studying them and their cognitive antecedents are limited. Here, we explore the use of concepts and analytic tools from the science of consciousness, a field of research that has faced similar challenges in having to develop robust empirical methods for addressing a phenomenon that has been considered difficult to pin down experimentally. One important strand is the operationalization of some relevant processes in terms of metacognition and confidence ratings, which can be rigorously studied in both humans and animals. By assessing subjective experience with similar approaches, we hope to develop new scientific approaches for studying affective processes and promoting psychological resilience in the face of debilitating emotional experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cody A Cushing
- Department of Psychology, UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Hakwan Lau
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wako, Japan
| | - Stefan G Hofmann
- Department of Psychology, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Joseph E LeDoux
- Center for Neural Science and Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, and Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical School, New York, New York, USA
- Max-Planck-NYU Center for Language, Music, and Emotion (CLaME), New York University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Vincent Taschereau-Dumouchel
- Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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3
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Vázquez D, Peña-Flores N, Maulhardt SR, Solway A, Charpentier CJ, Roesch MR. Anterior cingulate cortex lesions impair multiple facets of task engagement not mediated by dorsomedial striatum neuron firing. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae332. [PMID: 39128939 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae332] [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: 04/22/2024] [Revised: 07/22/2024] [Accepted: 07/25/2024] [Indexed: 08/13/2024] Open
Abstract
The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) has been implicated across multiple highly specialized cognitive functions-including task engagement, motivation, error detection, attention allocation, value processing, and action selection. Here, we ask if ACC lesions disrupt task performance and firing in dorsomedial striatum (DMS) during the performance of a reward-guided decision-making task that engages many of these cognitive functions. We found that ACC lesions impacted several facets of task performance-including decreasing the initiation and completion of trials, slowing reaction times, and resulting in suboptimal and inaccurate action selection. Reductions in movement times towards the end of behavioral sessions further suggested attenuations in motivation, which paralleled reductions in directional action selection signals in the DMS that were observed later in recording sessions. Surprisingly, however, beyond altered action signals late in sessions-neural correlates in the DMS were largely unaffected, even though behavior was disrupted at multiple levels. We conclude that ACC lesions result in overall deficits in task engagement that impact multiple facets of task performance during our reward-guided decision-making task, which-beyond impacting motivated action signals-arise from dysregulated attentional signals in the ACC and are mediated via downstream targets other than DMS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Vázquez
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
- Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
| | - Norma Peña-Flores
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
- Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
| | - Sean R Maulhardt
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
| | - Alec Solway
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
- Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
| | - Caroline J Charpentier
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
- Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
| | - Matthew R Roesch
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
- Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States
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Dou W, Martinez Arango LJ, Castaneda OG, Arellano L, Mcintyre E, Yballa C, Samaha J. Neural Signatures of Evidence Accumulation Encode Subjective Perceptual Confidence Independent of Performance. Psychol Sci 2024; 35:760-779. [PMID: 38722666 DOI: 10.1177/09567976241246561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Confidence is an adaptive computation when environmental feedback is absent, yet there is little consensus regarding how perceptual confidence is computed in the brain. Difficulty arises because confidence correlates with other factors, such as accuracy, response time (RT), or evidence quality. We investigated whether neural signatures of evidence accumulation during a perceptual choice predict subjective confidence independently of these factors. Using motion stimuli, a central-parietal positive-going electroencephalogram component (CPP) behaves as an accumulating decision variable that predicts evidence quality, RT, accuracy, and confidence (Experiment 1, N = 25 adults). When we psychophysically varied confidence while holding accuracy constant (Experiment 2, N = 25 adults), the CPP still predicted confidence. Statistically controlling for RT, accuracy, and evidence quality (Experiment 3, N = 24 adults), the CPP still explained unique variance in confidence. The results indicate that a predecision neural signature of evidence accumulation, the CPP, encodes subjective perceptual confidence in decision-making independent of task performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Dou
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz
| | | | - Olenka Graham Castaneda
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California, Irvine
| | | | - Emily Mcintyre
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz
| | - Claire Yballa
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz
- Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Jason Samaha
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Cruz
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5
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Tyler Boyd-Meredith J, Piet AT, Kopec CD, Brody CD. A cognitive process model captures near-optimal confidence-guided waiting in rats. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.07.597954. [PMID: 38895394 PMCID: PMC11185770 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.07.597954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
Rational decision-makers invest more time pursuing rewards they are more confident they will eventually receive. A series of studies have therefore used willingness to wait for delayed rewards as a proxy for decision confidence. However, interpretation of waiting behavior is limited because it is unclear how environmental statistics influence optimal waiting, and how sources of internal variability influence subjects' behavior. We trained rats to perform a confidence-guided waiting task, and derived expressions for optimal waiting that make relevant environmental statistics explicit, including travel time incurred traveling from one reward opportunity to another. We found that rats waited longer than fully optimal agents, but that their behavior was closely matched by optimal agents with travel times constrained to match their own. We developed a process model describing the decision to stop waiting as an accumulation to bound process, which allowed us to compare the effects of multiple sources of internal variability on waiting. Surprisingly, although mean wait times grew with confidence, variability did not, inconsistent with scalar invariant timing, and best explained by variability in the stopping bound. Our results describe a tractable process model that can capture the influence of environmental statistics and internal sources of variability on subjects' decision process during confidence-guided waiting.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Tyler Boyd-Meredith
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, United States
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, University College London, London, UK
| | - Alex T Piet
- Allen Institute, Seattle, Washington, United States
| | - Chuck D Kopec
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, United States
| | - Carlos D Brody
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, United States
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, United States
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6
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Vázquez D, Maulhardt SR, Stalnaker TA, Solway A, Charpentier CJ, Roesch MR. Optogenetic Inhibition of Rat Anterior Cingulate Cortex Impairs the Ability to Initiate and Stay on Task. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e1850232024. [PMID: 38569923 PMCID: PMC11097287 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1850-23.2024] [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: 09/29/2023] [Revised: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 01/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Our prior research has identified neural correlates of cognitive control in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), leading us to hypothesize that the ACC is necessary for increasing attention as rats flexibly learn new contingencies during a complex reward-guided decision-making task. Here, we tested this hypothesis by using optogenetics to transiently inhibit the ACC, while rats of either sex performed the same two-choice task. ACC inhibition had a profound impact on behavior that extended beyond deficits in attention during learning when expected outcomes were uncertain. We found that ACC inactivation slowed and reduced the number of trials rats initiated and impaired both their accuracy and their ability to complete sessions. Furthermore, drift-diffusion model analysis suggested that free-choice performance and evidence accumulation (i.e., reduced drift rates) were degraded during initial learning-leading to weaker associations that were more easily overridden in later trial blocks (i.e., stronger bias). Together, these results suggest that in addition to attention-related functions, the ACC contributes to the ability to initiate trials and generally stay on task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Vázquez
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742
- Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742
| | - Sean R Maulhardt
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742
| | - Thomas A Stalnaker
- Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, Maryland 21224
| | - Alec Solway
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742
- Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742
| | - Caroline J Charpentier
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742
- Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742
| | - Matthew R Roesch
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742
- Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742
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7
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Yu X, Yamaguchi R, Isa T. How to study subjective experience in an animal model of blindsight? Neurosci Res 2024; 201:39-45. [PMID: 37696449 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2023.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2023] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/13/2023]
Abstract
The nature of subjective conscious experience, which accompanies us throughout our waking lives, and how it is generated, remain elusive. One of the challenges in studying subjective experience is disentangling the brain activity related to the sensory stimulus processing and stimulus-guided behavior from those associated with subjective perception. Blindsight, a phenomenon characterized by the retained visual discrimination performance but impaired visual consciousness due to damage to the primary visual cortex, becomes a special entry point to address this question. However, to fully understand the underlying neural mechanism, relying on studies involving human patients alone is insufficient. In this paper, we tried to address this issue, by first introducing the well-known cases of blindsight, especially the reports on subjective experience in both human and monkey subjects. And then we described how the impaired visual awareness of blindsight monkeys has been discovered and further studied by specifically designed tasks, as verbal reporting is not possible for these animals. Our previous studies also demonstrated that many complex visually guided cognitive processes were still retained despite the impairment of visual awareness. Further investigation needs to be conducted to explore the relationship between visually guided behavior, visual awareness and brain activity in blindsight subjects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiyao Yu
- Department of Neuroscience, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Reona Yamaguchi
- Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (WPI-ASHBi), Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Tadashi Isa
- Department of Neuroscience, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan; Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (WPI-ASHBi), Kyoto University, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan.
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8
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González VV, Zhang Y, Ashikyan SA, Rickard A, Yassine I, Romero-Sosa JL, Blaisdell AP, Izquierdo A. A special role for anterior cingulate cortex, but not orbitofrontal cortex or basolateral amygdala, in choices involving information. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae135. [PMID: 38610085 PMCID: PMC11014886 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae135] [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: 08/09/2023] [Revised: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Subjects are often willing to pay a cost for information. In a procedure that promotes paradoxical choices, animals choose between a richer option followed by a cue that is rewarded 50% of the time (No Info) vs. a leaner option followed by one of two cues that signal certain outcomes: one always rewarded (100%) and the other never rewarded, 0% (Info). Since decisions involve comparing the subjective value of options after integrating all their features, preference for information may rely on cortico-amygdalar circuitry. To test this, male and female rats were prepared with bilateral inhibitory Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADDs) in the anterior cingulate cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, basolateral amygdala, or null virus (control). We inhibited these regions after stable preference was acquired. We found that inhibition of the anterior cingulate cortex destabilized choice preference in female rats without affecting latency to choose or response rate to cues. A logistic regression fit revealed that previous choice predicted current choice in all conditions, however previously rewarded Info trials strongly predicted preference in all conditions except in female rats following anterior cingulate cortex inhibition. The results reveal a causal, sex-dependent role for the anterior cingulate cortex in decisions involving information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valeria V González
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles, 502 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
| | - Yifan Zhang
- Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, Salvatori Computer Science Center, 941 Bloom Walk, Los Angeles, CA 90089, United States
| | - Sonya A Ashikyan
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles, 502 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
| | - Anne Rickard
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles, 502 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
| | - Ibrahim Yassine
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles, 502 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
| | - Juan Luis Romero-Sosa
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles, 502 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
| | - Aaron P Blaisdell
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles, 502 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
- The Brain Research Institute, University of California-Los Angeles, 695 Charles E Young Dr S, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
- Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, University of California-Los Angeles, 695 Charles E Young Dr S, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
| | - Alicia Izquierdo
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles, 502 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
- The Brain Research Institute, University of California-Los Angeles, 695 Charles E Young Dr S, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
- Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, University of California-Los Angeles, 695 Charles E Young Dr S, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
- Integrative Center for Addictions, University of California-Los Angeles, 695 Charles E Young Dr S, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
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9
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Astori S, Sandi C. The brain's go-getter circuit: Anterior cingulate cortex to nucleus accumbens and its disruption by stress. Neuron 2024; 112:333-335. [PMID: 38330898 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2024] [Revised: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
In this issue of Neuron, Fetcho, Parekh, et al.1 show that neurons in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) projecting to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) are essential for integrating reward and effort evaluation in mice, and that this circuit is sensitive to exposure to stress hormones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Astori
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; Synapsy Center for Neuroscience and Mental Health Research, School of Life Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Carmen Sandi
- Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; Synapsy Center for Neuroscience and Mental Health Research, School of Life Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland.
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10
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Aguirre CG, Woo JH, Romero-Sosa JL, Rivera ZM, Tejada AN, Munier JJ, Perez J, Goldfarb M, Das K, Gomez M, Ye T, Pannu J, Evans K, O'Neill PR, Spigelman I, Soltani A, Izquierdo A. Dissociable Contributions of Basolateral Amygdala and Ventrolateral Orbitofrontal Cortex to Flexible Learning Under Uncertainty. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e0622232023. [PMID: 37968116 PMCID: PMC10860573 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0622-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2023] [Revised: 10/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Reversal learning measures the ability to form flexible associations between choice outcomes with stimuli and actions that precede them. This type of learning is thought to rely on several cortical and subcortical areas, including the highly interconnected orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and basolateral amygdala (BLA), and is often impaired in various neuropsychiatric and substance use disorders. However, the unique contributions of these regions to stimulus- and action-based reversal learning have not been systematically compared using a chemogenetic approach particularly before and after the first reversal that introduces new uncertainty. Here, we examined the roles of ventrolateral OFC (vlOFC) and BLA during reversal learning. Male and female rats were prepared with inhibitory designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs targeting projection neurons in these regions and tested on a series of deterministic and probabilistic reversals during which they learned about stimulus identity or side (left or right) associated with different reward probabilities. Using a counterbalanced within-subject design, we inhibited these regions prior to reversal sessions. We assessed initial and pre-/post-reversal changes in performance to measure learning and adjustments to reversals, respectively. We found that inhibition of the ventrolateral orbitofrontal cortex (vlOFC), but not BLA, eliminated adjustments to stimulus-based reversals. Inhibition of BLA, but not vlOFC, selectively impaired action-based probabilistic reversal learning, leaving deterministic reversal learning intact. vlOFC exhibited a sex-dependent role in early adjustment to action-based reversals, but not in overall learning. These results reveal dissociable roles for BLA and vlOFC in flexible learning and highlight a more crucial role for BLA in learning meaningful changes in the reward environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- C G Aguirre
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095
| | - J H Woo
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
| | - J L Romero-Sosa
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095
| | - Z M Rivera
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095
| | - A N Tejada
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095
| | - J J Munier
- Section of Biosystems and Function, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095
| | - J Perez
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095
| | - M Goldfarb
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095
| | - K Das
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095
| | - M Gomez
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095
| | - T Ye
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095
| | - J Pannu
- Section of Biosystems and Function, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095
| | - K Evans
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095
| | - P R O'Neill
- Shirley and Stefan Hatos Center for Neuropharmacology, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095
| | - I Spigelman
- Section of Biosystems and Function, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095
| | - A Soltani
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755
| | - A Izquierdo
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095
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11
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González VV, Ashikyan SA, Zhang Y, Rickard A, Yassine I, Romero-Sosa JL, Blaisdell AP, Izquierdo A. A special role for anterior cingulate cortex, but not orbitofrontal cortex or basolateral amygdala, in choices involving information. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.08.03.551514. [PMID: 37577596 PMCID: PMC10418268 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.03.551514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
Subjects often are willing to pay a cost for information. In a procedure that promotes paradoxical choices, animals choose between a richer option followed by a cue that is rewarded 50% of the time (No-info) vs a leaner option followed by one of two cues that signal certain outcomes: one always rewarded (100%), and the other never rewarded, 0% (Info). Since decisions involve comparing the subjective value of options after integrating all their features, preference for information may rely on cortico-amygdalar circuitry. To test this, male and female rats were prepared with bilateral inhibitory DREADDs in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), basolateral amygdala (BLA), or null virus (control). We inhibited these regions after stable preference was acquired. We found that inhibition of ACC destabilized choice preference in female rats without affecting latency to choose or response rate to cues. A logistic regression fit revealed that the previous choice strongly predicted preference in control animals, but not in female rats following ACC inhibition. The results reveal a causal, sex-dependent role for ACC in decisions involving information.
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12
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Narasimhan S, Schriver BJ, Wang Q. Adaptive decision-making depends on pupil-linked arousal in rats performing tactile discrimination tasks. J Neurophysiol 2023; 130:1541-1551. [PMID: 37964751 PMCID: PMC11068411 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00309.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Perceptual decision-making is a dynamic cognitive process and is shaped by many factors, including behavioral state, reward contingency, and sensory environment. To understand the extent to which adaptive behavior in decision-making is dependent on pupil-linked arousal, we trained head-fixed rats to perform perceptual decision-making tasks and systematically manipulated the probability of Go and No-go stimuli while simultaneously measuring their pupil size in the tasks. Our data demonstrated that the animals adaptively modified their behavior in response to the changes in the sensory environment. The response probability to both Go and No-go stimuli decreased as the probability of the Go stimulus being presented decreased. Analyses within the signal detection theory framework showed that while the animals' perceptual sensitivity was invariant, their decision criterion increased as the probability of the Go stimulus decreased. Simulation results indicated that the adaptive increase in the decision criterion will increase possible water rewards during the task. Moreover, the adaptive decision-making is dependent on pupil-linked arousal as the increase in the decision criterion was the largest during low pupil-linked arousal periods. Taken together, our results demonstrated that the rats were able to adjust their decision-making to maximize rewards in the tasks, and that adaptive behavior in perceptual decision-making is dependent on pupil-linked arousal.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Perceptual decision-making is a dynamic cognitive process and is shaped by many factors. However, the extent to which changes in sensory environment result in adaptive decision-making remains poorly understood. Our data provided new experimental evidence demonstrating that the rats were able to adaptively modify their decision criterion to maximize water reward in response to changes in the statistics of the sensory environment. Furthermore, the adaptive decision-making is dependent on pupil-linked arousal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shreya Narasimhan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York City, New York, United States
| | - Brian J Schriver
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York City, New York, United States
| | - Qi Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York City, New York, United States
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13
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Anbuhl KL, Diez Castro M, Lee NA, Lee VS, Sanes DH. Cingulate cortex facilitates auditory perception under challenging listening conditions. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.11.10.566668. [PMID: 38014324 PMCID: PMC10680599 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.10.566668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
We often exert greater cognitive resources (i.e., listening effort) to understand speech under challenging acoustic conditions. This mechanism can be overwhelmed in those with hearing loss, resulting in cognitive fatigue in adults, and potentially impeding language acquisition in children. However, the neural mechanisms that support listening effort are uncertain. Evidence from human studies suggest that the cingulate cortex is engaged under difficult listening conditions, and may exert top-down modulation of the auditory cortex (AC). Here, we asked whether the gerbil cingulate cortex (Cg) sends anatomical projections to the AC that facilitate perceptual performance. To model challenging listening conditions, we used a sound discrimination task in which stimulus parameters were presented in either 'Easy' or 'Hard' blocks (i.e., long or short stimulus duration, respectively). Gerbils achieved statistically identical psychometric performance in Easy and Hard blocks. Anatomical tracing experiments revealed a strong, descending projection from layer 2/3 of the Cg1 subregion of the cingulate cortex to superficial and deep layers of primary and dorsal AC. To determine whether Cg improves task performance under challenging conditions, we bilaterally infused muscimol to inactivate Cg1, and found that psychometric thresholds were degraded for only Hard blocks. To test whether the Cg-to-AC projection facilitates task performance, we chemogenetically inactivated these inputs and found that performance was only degraded during Hard blocks. Taken together, the results reveal a descending cortical pathway that facilitates perceptual performance during challenging listening conditions. Significance Statement Sensory perception often occurs under challenging conditions, such a noisy background or dim environment, yet stimulus sensitivity can remain unaffected. One hypothesis is that cognitive resources are recruited to the task, thereby facilitating perceptual performance. Here, we identify a top-down cortical circuit, from cingulate to auditory cortex in the gerbils, that supports auditory perceptual performance under challenging listening conditions. This pathway is a plausible circuit that supports effortful listening, and may be degraded by hearing loss.
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14
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Aguirre CG, Woo JH, Romero-Sosa JL, Rivera ZM, Tejada AN, Munier JJ, Perez J, Goldfarb M, Das K, Gomez M, Ye T, Pannu J, Evans K, O'Neill PR, Spigelman I, Soltani A, Izquierdo A. Dissociable contributions of basolateral amygdala and ventrolateral orbitofrontal cortex to flexible learning under uncertainty. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.04.03.535471. [PMID: 37066321 PMCID: PMC10104064 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.03.535471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Reversal learning measures the ability to form flexible associations between choice outcomes with stimuli and actions that precede them. This type of learning is thought to rely on several cortical and subcortical areas, including highly interconnected orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and basolateral amygdala (BLA), and is often impaired in various neuropsychiatric and substance use disorders. However, unique contributions of these regions to stimulus- and action-based reversal learning have not been systematically compared using a chemogenetic approach and particularly before and after the first reversal that introduces new uncertainty. Here, we examined the roles of ventrolateral OFC (vlOFC) and BLA during reversal learning. Male and female rats were prepared with inhibitory DREADDs targeting projection neurons in these regions and tested on a series of deterministic and probabilistic reversals during which they learned about stimulus identity or side (left or right) associated with different reward probabilities. Using a counterbalanced within-subject design, we inhibited these regions prior to reversal sessions. We assessed initial and pre-post reversal changes in performance to measure learning and adjustments to reversals, respectively. We found that inhibition of vlOFC, but not BLA, eliminated adjustments to stimulus-based reversals. Inhibition of BLA, but not vlOFC, selectively impaired action-based probabilistic reversal learning, leaving deterministic reversal learning intact. vlOFC exhibited a sex-dependent role in early adjustment to action-based reversals, but not in overall learning. These results reveal dissociable roles for BLA and vlOFC in flexible learning and highlight a more crucial role for BLA in learning meaningful changes in the reward environment.
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15
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Ye T, Romero-Sosa JL, Rickard A, Aguirre CG, Wikenheiser AM, Blair HT, Izquierdo A. Theta oscillations in anterior cingulate cortex and orbitofrontal cortex differentially modulate accuracy and speed in flexible reward learning. OXFORD OPEN NEUROSCIENCE 2023; 2:kvad005. [PMID: 37456140 PMCID: PMC10348740 DOI: 10.1093/oons/kvad005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2022] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Flexible reward learning relies on frontal cortex, with substantial evidence indicating that anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) subregions play important roles. Recent studies in both rat and macaque suggest theta oscillations (5-10 Hz) may be a spectral signature that coordinates this learning. However, network-level interactions between ACC and OFC in flexible learning remain unclear. We investigated the learning of stimulus-reward associations using a combination of simultaneous in vivo electrophysiology in dorsal ACC and ventral OFC, partnered with bilateral inhibitory DREADDs in ACC. In freely behaving male and female rats and using a within-subject design, we examined accuracy and speed of response across distinct and precisely defined trial epochs during initial visual discrimination learning and subsequent reversal of stimulus-reward contingencies. Following ACC inhibition, there was a propensity for random responding in early reversal learning, with correct vs. incorrect trials distinguished only from OFC, not ACC, theta power differences in the reversal phase. ACC inhibition also hastened incorrect choices during reversal. This same pattern of change in accuracy and speed was not observed in viral control animals. Thus, characteristics of impaired reversal learning following ACC inhibition are poor deliberation and weak theta signaling of accuracy in this region. The present results also point to OFC theta oscillations as a prominent feature of reversal learning, unperturbed by ACC inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tony Ye
- Department of Psychology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | | | - Anne Rickard
- Department of Psychology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | | | - Andrew M Wikenheiser
- Department of Psychology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- The Brain Research Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Integrative Center for Addictions, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Hugh T Blair
- Department of Psychology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- The Brain Research Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Alicia Izquierdo
- Department of Psychology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- The Brain Research Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
- Integrative Center for Addictions, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
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16
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Cohen Y, Engel TA, Langdon C, Lindsay GW, Ott T, Peters MAK, Shine JM, Breton-Provencher V, Ramaswamy S. Recent Advances at the Interface of Neuroscience and Artificial Neural Networks. J Neurosci 2022; 42:8514-8523. [PMID: 36351830 PMCID: PMC9665920 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1503-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Revised: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Biological neural networks adapt and learn in diverse behavioral contexts. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) have exploited biological properties to solve complex problems. However, despite their effectiveness for specific tasks, ANNs are yet to realize the flexibility and adaptability of biological cognition. This review highlights recent advances in computational and experimental research to advance our understanding of biological and artificial intelligence. In particular, we discuss critical mechanisms from the cellular, systems, and cognitive neuroscience fields that have contributed to refining the architecture and training algorithms of ANNs. Additionally, we discuss how recent work used ANNs to understand complex neuronal correlates of cognition and to process high throughput behavioral data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yarden Cohen
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel
| | - Tatiana A Engel
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, NY 11724
| | | | - Grace W Lindsay
- Department of Psychology, Center for Data Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003
| | - Torben Ott
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Institute of Biology, Humboldt University of Berlin, 10117, Berlin, Germany
| | - Megan A K Peters
- Department of Cognitive Sciences, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697
| | - James M Shine
- Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | | | - Srikanth Ramaswamy
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 4HH, United Kingdom
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17
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Peters MA. Towards characterizing the canonical computations generating phenomenal experience. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 142:104903. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2022] [Revised: 09/27/2022] [Accepted: 10/01/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
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18
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Halbout B, Hutson C, Wassum KM, Ostlund SB. Dorsomedial prefrontal cortex activation disrupts Pavlovian incentive motivation. Front Behav Neurosci 2022; 16:999320. [PMID: 36311857 PMCID: PMC9608868 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.999320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) is known to make important contributions to flexible, reward-motivated behavior. However, it remains unclear if the dmPFC is involved in regulating the expression of Pavlovian incentive motivation, the process through which reward-paired cues promote instrumental reward-seeking behavior, which is modeled in rats using the Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT) task. The current study examined this question using a bidirectional chemogenetic strategy in which inhibitory (hM4Di) or excitatory (hM3Dq) designer G-protein coupled receptors were virally expressed in dmPFC neurons, allowing us to later stimulate or inhibit this region by administering CNO prior to PIT testing. We found that dmPFC inhibition did not alter the tendency for a reward-paired cue to instigate instrumental reward-seeking behavior, whereas dmPFC stimulation disrupted the expression of this motivational influence. Neither treatment altered cue-elicited anticipatory activity at the reward-delivery port, indicating that dmPFC stimulation did not lead to more widespread motor suppression. A reporter-only control experiment indicated that our CNO treatment did not have non-specific behavioral effects. Thus, the dmPFC does not mediate the expression of Pavlovian incentive motivation but instead has the capacity to exert pronounced inhibitory control over this process, suggesting that it is involved in adaptively regulating cue-motivated behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Briac Halbout
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Collin Hutson
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Kate M. Wassum
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Sean B. Ostlund
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Care, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
- UC Irvine Center for Addiction Neuroscience, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
- Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
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19
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Wassum KM. Amygdala-cortical collaboration in reward learning and decision making. eLife 2022; 11:e80926. [PMID: 36062909 PMCID: PMC9444241 DOI: 10.7554/elife.80926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Adaptive reward-related decision making requires accurate prospective consideration of the specific outcome of each option and its current desirability. These mental simulations are informed by stored memories of the associative relationships that exist within an environment. In this review, I discuss recent investigations of the function of circuitry between the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and lateral (lOFC) and medial (mOFC) orbitofrontal cortex in the learning and use of associative reward memories. I draw conclusions from data collected using sophisticated behavioral approaches to diagnose the content of appetitive memory in combination with modern circuit dissection tools. I propose that, via their direct bidirectional connections, the BLA and OFC collaborate to help us encode detailed, outcome-specific, state-dependent reward memories and to use those memories to enable the predictions and inferences that support adaptive decision making. Whereas lOFC→BLA projections mediate the encoding of outcome-specific reward memories, mOFC→BLA projections regulate the ability to use these memories to inform reward pursuit decisions. BLA projections to lOFC and mOFC both contribute to using reward memories to guide decision making. The BLA→lOFC pathway mediates the ability to represent the identity of a specific predicted reward and the BLA→mOFC pathway facilitates understanding of the value of predicted events. Thus, I outline a neuronal circuit architecture for reward learning and decision making and provide new testable hypotheses as well as implications for both adaptive and maladaptive decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate M Wassum
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
- Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
- Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
- Integrative Center for Addictive Disorders, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
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20
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Cai Y, Jin Z, Zhai C, Wang H, Wang J, Tang Y, Kwok SC. Time-sensitive prefrontal involvement in associating confidence with task performance illustrates metacognitive introspection in monkeys. Commun Biol 2022; 5:799. [PMID: 35945257 PMCID: PMC9363445 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03762-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Metacognition refers to the ability to be aware of one's own cognition. Ample evidence indicates that metacognition in the human primate is highly dissociable from cognition, specialized across domains, and subserved by distinct neural substrates. However, these aspects remain relatively understudied in macaque monkeys. In the present study, we investigated the functionality of macaque metacognition by combining a confidence proxy, hierarchical Bayesian meta-d' computational modelling, and a single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation technique. We found that Brodmann area 46d (BA46d) played a critical role in supporting metacognition independent of task performance; we also found that the critical role of this region in meta-calculation was time-sensitive. Additionally, we report that macaque metacognition is highly domain-specific with respect to memory and perception decisions. These findings carry implications for our understanding of metacognitive introspection within the primate lineage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yudian Cai
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics Ministry of Education, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China.,Division of Natural and Applied Sciences, Duke Kunshan University, Kunshan, Jiangsu, 215316, China.,State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Zhiyong Jin
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics Ministry of Education, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China.,Division of Natural and Applied Sciences, Duke Kunshan University, Kunshan, Jiangsu, 215316, China.,State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Chenxi Zhai
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics Ministry of Education, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China
| | - Huimin Wang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics Ministry of Education, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China.,NYU-ECNU Institute of Brain and Cognitive Science at NYU Shanghai, Shanghai, 200062, China.,Shanghai Changning Mental Health Center, Shanghai, 200335, China
| | - Jijun Wang
- Brain Science and Technology Research Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200030, China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology (CEBSIT), Chinese Academy of Science, Shanghai, 200031, China.,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200030, China
| | - Yingying Tang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Psychotic Disorders, Shanghai Mental Health Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200030, China.
| | - Sze Chai Kwok
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics, Key Laboratory of Brain Functional Genomics Ministry of Education, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200062, China. .,Division of Natural and Applied Sciences, Duke Kunshan University, Kunshan, Jiangsu, 215316, China. .,State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China. .,Shanghai Changning Mental Health Center, Shanghai, 200335, China.
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21
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Vázquez D, Schneider KN, Roesch MR. Neural signals implicated in the processing of appetitive and aversive events in social and non-social contexts. Front Syst Neurosci 2022; 16:926388. [PMID: 35993086 PMCID: PMC9381696 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2022.926388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In 2014, we participated in a special issue of Frontiers examining the neural processing of appetitive and aversive events. Specifically, we reviewed brain areas that contribute to the encoding of prediction errors and value versus salience, attention and motivation. Further, we described how we disambiguated these cognitive processes and their neural substrates by using paradigms that incorporate both appetitive and aversive stimuli. We described a circuit in which the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) signals expected value and the basolateral amygdala (BLA) encodes the salience and valence of both appetitive and aversive events. This information is integrated by the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and dopaminergic (DA) signaling in order to generate prediction and prediction error signals, which guide decision-making and learning via the dorsal striatum (DS). Lastly, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is monitoring actions and outcomes, and signals the need to engage attentional control in order to optimize behavioral output. Here, we expand upon this framework, and review our recent work in which within-task manipulations of both appetitive and aversive stimuli allow us to uncover the neural processes that contribute to the detection of outcomes delivered to a conspecific and behaviors in social contexts. Specifically, we discuss the involvement of single-unit firing in the ACC and DA signals in the NAc during the processing of appetitive and aversive events in both social and non-social contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Vázquez
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Kevin N. Schneider
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Matthew R. Roesch
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
- *Correspondence: Matthew R. Roesch,
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22
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Redish AD, Kepecs A, Anderson LM, Calvin OL, Grissom NM, Haynos AF, Heilbronner SR, Herman AB, Jacob S, Ma S, Vilares I, Vinogradov S, Walters CJ, Widge AS, Zick JL, Zilverstand A. Computational validity: using computation to translate behaviours across species. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20200525. [PMID: 34957854 PMCID: PMC8710889 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
We propose a new conceptual framework (computational validity) for translation across species and populations based on the computational similarity between the information processing underlying parallel tasks. Translating between species depends not on the superficial similarity of the tasks presented, but rather on the computational similarity of the strategies and mechanisms that underlie those behaviours. Computational validity goes beyond construct validity by directly addressing questions of information processing. Computational validity interacts with circuit validity as computation depends on circuits, but similar computations could be accomplished by different circuits. Because different individuals may use different computations to accomplish a given task, computational validity suggests that behaviour should be understood through the subject's point of view; thus, behaviour should be characterized on an individual level rather than a task level. Tasks can constrain the computational algorithms available to a subject and the observed subtleties of that behaviour can provide information about the computations used by each individual. Computational validity has especially high relevance for the study of psychiatric disorders, given the new views of psychiatry as identifying and mediating information processing dysfunctions that may show high inter-individual variability, as well as for animal models investigating aspects of human psychiatric disorders. This article is part of the theme issue 'Systems neuroscience through the lens of evolutionary theory'.
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Affiliation(s)
- A. David Redish
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Adam Kepecs
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University in St. Louis, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Lisa M. Anderson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Olivia L. Calvin
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Nicola M. Grissom
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Ann F. Haynos
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | | | - Alexander B. Herman
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Suma Jacob
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Sisi Ma
- Department of Medicine - Institute for Health Informatics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Iris Vilares
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Sophia Vinogradov
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Cody J. Walters
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Alik S. Widge
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Jennifer L. Zick
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Anna Zilverstand
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
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23
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Subjective confidence reflects representation of Bayesian probability in cortex. Nat Hum Behav 2022; 6:294-305. [PMID: 35058641 PMCID: PMC7612428 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-021-01247-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
What gives rise to the human sense of confidence? Here, we tested the Bayesian hypothesis that confidence is based on a probability distribution represented in neural population activity. We implemented several computational models of confidence, and tested their predictions using psychophysics and fMRI. Using a generative model-based fMRI decoding approach, we extracted probability distributions from neural population activity in human visual cortex. We found that subjective confidence tracks the shape of the decoded distribution. That is, when sensory evidence was more precise, as indicated by the decoded distribution, observers reported higher levels of confidence. We furthermore found that neural activity in the insula, anterior cingulate, and prefrontal cortex was linked to both the shape of the decoded distribution and reported confidence, in ways consistent with the Bayesian model. Altogether, our findings support recent statistical theories of confidence and suggest that probabilistic information guides the computation of one’s sense of confidence.
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24
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Keogh C, Deli A, Zand APD, Zorman MJ, Boccard-Binet SG, Parrott M, Sigalas C, Weiss AR, Stein JF, FitzGerald JJ, Aziz TZ, Green AL, Gillies MJ. Spatial and Temporal Distribution of Information Processing in the Human Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:780047. [PMID: 35370577 PMCID: PMC8973009 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.780047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) is a key node in the human salience network. It has been ascribed motor, pain-processing and affective functions. However, the dynamics of information flow in this complex region and how it responds to inputs remain unclear and are difficult to study using non-invasive electrophysiology. The area is targeted by neurosurgery to treat neuropathic pain. During deep brain stimulation surgery, we recorded local field potentials from this region in humans during a decision-making task requiring motor output. We investigated the spatial and temporal distribution of information flow within the dACC. We demonstrate the existence of a distributed network within the anterior cingulate cortex where discrete nodes demonstrate directed communication following inputs. We show that this network anticipates and responds to the valence of feedback to actions. We further show that these network dynamics adapt following learning. Our results provide evidence for the integration of learning and the response to feedback in a key cognitive region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Conor Keogh
- Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Alceste Deli
- Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | | | - Mark Jernej Zorman
- Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | | | - Matthew Parrott
- St Hilda’s College, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | | | - Alexander R. Weiss
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - John Frederick Stein
- Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - James J. FitzGerald
- Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Tipu Z. Aziz
- Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Alexander L. Green
- Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Martin John Gillies
- Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
- *Correspondence: Martin John Gillies,
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25
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Kimmey BA, McCall NM, Wooldridge LM, Satterthwaite T, Corder G. Engaging endogenous opioid circuits in pain affective processes. J Neurosci Res 2022; 100:66-98. [PMID: 33314372 PMCID: PMC8197770 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.24762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Revised: 10/29/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
The pervasive use of opioid compounds for pain relief is rooted in their utility as one of the most effective therapeutic strategies for providing analgesia. While the detrimental side effects of these compounds have significantly contributed to the current opioid epidemic, opioids still provide millions of patients with reprieve from the relentless and agonizing experience of pain. The human experience of pain has long recognized the perceived unpleasantness entangled with a unique sensation that is immediate and identifiable from the first-person subjective vantage point as "painful." From this phenomenological perspective, how is it that opioids interfere with pain perception? Evidence from human lesion, neuroimaging, and preclinical functional neuroanatomy approaches is sculpting the view that opioids predominately alleviate the affective or inferential appraisal of nociceptive neural information. Thus, opioids weaken pain-associated unpleasantness rather than modulate perceived sensory qualities. Here, we discuss the historical theories of pain to demonstrate how modern neuroscience is revisiting these ideas to deconstruct the brain mechanisms driving the emergence of aversive pain perceptions. We further detail how targeting opioidergic signaling within affective or emotional brain circuits remains a strong avenue for developing targeted pharmacological and gene-therapy analgesic treatments that might reduce the dependence on current clinical opioid options.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blake A. Kimmey
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Mahoney Institute for Neurosciences, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Equal contributions
| | - Nora M. McCall
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Mahoney Institute for Neurosciences, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Equal contributions
| | - Lisa M. Wooldridge
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Mahoney Institute for Neurosciences, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Theodore Satterthwaite
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Lifespan Informatics and Neuroimaging Center, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Gregory Corder
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Mahoney Institute for Neurosciences, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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26
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Rudebeck PH, Izquierdo A. Foraging with the frontal cortex: A cross-species evaluation of reward-guided behavior. Neuropsychopharmacology 2022; 47:134-146. [PMID: 34408279 PMCID: PMC8617092 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-021-01140-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2021] [Revised: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Efficient foraging is essential to survival and depends on frontal cortex in mammals. Because of its role in psychiatric disorders, frontal cortex and its contributions to reward procurement have been studied extensively in both rodents and non-human primates. How frontal cortex of these animal models compares is a source of intense debate. Here we argue that translating findings from rodents to non-human primates requires an appreciation of both the niche in which each animal forages as well as the similarities in frontal cortex anatomy and function. Consequently, we highlight similarities and differences in behavior and anatomy, before focusing on points of convergence in how parts of frontal cortex contribute to distinct aspects of foraging in rats and macaques, more specifically. In doing so, our aim is to emphasize where translation of frontal cortex function between species is clearer, where there is divergence, and where future work should focus. We finish by highlighting aspects of foraging for which have received less attention but we believe are critical to uncovering how frontal cortex promotes survival in each species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alicia Izquierdo
- Department of Psychology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- The Brain Research Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Integrative Center for Addictions, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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27
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Sherafat Y, Chen E, Lallai V, Bautista M, Fowler JP, Chen YC, Miwa J, Fowler CD. Differential Expression Patterns of Lynx Proteins and Involvement of Lynx1 in Prepulse Inhibition. Front Behav Neurosci 2021; 15:703748. [PMID: 34803621 PMCID: PMC8595198 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2021.703748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 09/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Negative allosteric modulators, such as lynx1 and lynx2, directly interact with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). The nAChRs are integral to cholinergic signaling in the brain and have been shown to mediate different aspects of cognitive function. Given the interaction between lynx proteins and these receptors, we examined whether these endogenous negative allosteric modulators are involved in cognitive behaviors associated with cholinergic function. We found both cell-specific and overlapping expression patterns of lynx1 and lynx2 mRNA in brain regions associated with cognition, learning, memory, and sensorimotor processing, including the prefrontal cortex (PFC), cingulate cortex, septum, hippocampus, amygdala, striatum, and pontine nuclei. Since lynx proteins are thought to play a role in conditioned associations and given the expression patterns across brain regions, we first assessed whether lynx knockout mice would differ in a cognitive flexibility task. We found no deficits in reversal learning in either the lynx1–/– or lynx2–/– knockout mice. Thereafter, sensorimotor gating was examined with the prepulse inhibition (PPI) assessment. Interestingly, we found that both male and female lynx1–/– mice exhibited a deficit in the PPI behavioral response. Given the comparable expression of lynx2 in regions involved in sensorimotor gating, we then examined whether removal of the lynx2 protein would lead to similar behavioral effects. Unexpectedly, we found that while male lynx2–/– mice exhibited a decrease in the baseline startle response, no differences were found in sensorimotor gating for either male or female lynx2–/– mice. Taken together, these studies provide insight into the expression patterns of lynx1 and lynx2 across multiple brain regions and illustrate the modulatory effects of the lynx1 protein in sensorimotor gating.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasmine Sherafat
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Edison Chen
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Valeria Lallai
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Malia Bautista
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - James P Fowler
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Yen-Chu Chen
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Julie Miwa
- Department of Biological Sciences, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA, United States
| | - Christie D Fowler
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
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28
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Trask S, Ferrara NC, Jasnow AM, Kwapis JL. Contributions of the rodent cingulate-retrosplenial cortical axis to associative learning and memory: A proposed circuit for persistent memory maintenance. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 130:178-184. [PMID: 34450181 PMCID: PMC8511298 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.08.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Revised: 08/18/2021] [Accepted: 08/22/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
While the anterior cingulate (ACC) and retrosplenial (RSC) cortices have been extensively studied for their role in spatial navigation, less is known about how they contribute to associative learning and later memory recall. The limited work that has been conducted on this topic suggests that each of these cortical regions makes distinct, but similar contributions to associative learning and memory. Here, we review evidence from the rodent literature demonstrating that while ACC activity seems to be necessary at remote time points associated with imprecise or generalized memories, the role of the RSC seems to be uniform over time. Together, the lines of evidence reviewed here suggest that the ACC and RSC likely function together to support memory formation and maintenance following associative learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sydney Trask
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, United States
| | - Nicole C Ferrara
- Department of Pharmacology, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, IL, 60064, United States
| | - Aaron M Jasnow
- Department of Pharmacology, Physiology & Neuroscience, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC, 29209, United States
| | - Janine L Kwapis
- Department of Biology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, United States.
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29
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Joo HR, Liang H, Chung JE, Geaghan-Breiner C, Fan JL, Nachman BP, Kepecs A, Frank LM. Rats use memory confidence to guide decisions. Curr Biol 2021; 31:4571-4583.e4. [PMID: 34473948 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.08.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2021] [Revised: 05/29/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Memory enables access to past experiences to guide future behavior. Humans can determine which memories to trust (high confidence) and which to doubt (low confidence). How memory retrieval, memory confidence, and memory-guided decisions are related, however, is not understood. In particular, how confidence in memories is used in decision making is unknown. We developed a spatial memory task in which rats were incentivized to gamble their time: betting more following a correct choice yielded greater reward. Rat behavior reflected memory confidence, with higher temporal bets following correct choices. We applied machine learning to identify a memory decision variable and built a generative model of memories evolving over time that accurately predicted both choices and confidence reports. Our results reveal in rats an ability thought to exist exclusively in primates and introduce a unified model of memory dynamics, retrieval, choice, and confidence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah R Joo
- Medical Scientist Training Program, University of California, San Francisco, 513 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA; Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, 675 Nelson Rising Lane, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Physiology, University of California, San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
| | - Hexin Liang
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 725 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Jason E Chung
- Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, 675 Nelson Rising Lane, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Physiology, University of California, San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
| | - Charlotte Geaghan-Breiner
- Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, 675 Nelson Rising Lane, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Physiology, University of California, San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Jiang Lan Fan
- Bioengineering Graduate Program, University of California, Berkeley/University of California, San Francisco, 1675 Owens Street, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Benjamin P Nachman
- Physics Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; Berkeley Institute of Data Science, University of California, Berkeley, 190 Doe Library, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Adam Kepecs
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Loren M Frank
- Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, 675 Nelson Rising Lane, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Physiology, University of California, San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, 401 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 4000 Jones Bridge Road, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA.
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30
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Cortese A. Metacognitive resources for adaptive learning⋆. Neurosci Res 2021; 178:10-19. [PMID: 34534617 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2021.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2021] [Revised: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Biological organisms display remarkably flexible behaviours. This is an area of active investigation, in particular in the fields of artificial intelligence, computational and cognitive neuroscience. While inductive biases and broader cognitive functions are undoubtedly important, the ability to monitor and evaluate one's performance or oneself -- metacognition -- strikes as a powerful resource for efficient learning. Often measured as decision confidence in neuroscience and psychology experiments, metacognition appears to reflect a broad range of abstraction levels and downstream behavioural effects. Within this context, the formal investigation of how metacognition interacts with learning processes is a recent endeavour. Of special interest are the neural and computational underpinnings of confidence and reinforcement learning modules. This review discusses a general hierarchy of confidence functions and their neuro-computational relevance for adaptive behaviours. It then introduces novel ways to study the formation and use of meta-representations and nonconscious mental representations related to learning and confidence, and concludes with a discussion on outstanding questions and wider perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurelio Cortese
- Computational Neuroscience Labs, ATR Institute International, 619-0288 Kyoto, Japan.
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31
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Atiya NAA, Huys QJM, Dolan RJ, Fleming SM. Explaining distortions in metacognition with an attractor network model of decision uncertainty. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1009201. [PMID: 34310613 PMCID: PMC8341696 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2020] [Revised: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Metacognition is the ability to reflect on, and evaluate, our cognition and behaviour. Distortions in metacognition are common in mental health disorders, though the neural underpinnings of such dysfunction are unknown. One reason for this is that models of key components of metacognition, such as decision confidence, are generally specified at an algorithmic or process level. While such models can be used to relate brain function to psychopathology, they are difficult to map to a neurobiological mechanism. Here, we develop a biologically-plausible model of decision uncertainty in an attempt to bridge this gap. We first relate the model's uncertainty in perceptual decisions to standard metrics of metacognition, namely mean confidence level (bias) and the accuracy of metacognitive judgments (sensitivity). We show that dissociable shifts in metacognition are associated with isolated disturbances at higher-order levels of a circuit associated with self-monitoring, akin to neuropsychological findings that highlight the detrimental effect of prefrontal brain lesions on metacognitive performance. Notably, we are able to account for empirical confidence judgements by fitting the parameters of our biophysical model to first-order performance data, specifically choice and response times. Lastly, in a reanalysis of existing data we show that self-reported mental health symptoms relate to disturbances in an uncertainty-monitoring component of the network. By bridging a gap between a biologically-plausible model of confidence formation and observed disturbances of metacognition in mental health disorders we provide a first step towards mapping theoretical constructs of metacognition onto dynamical models of decision uncertainty. In doing so, we provide a computational framework for modelling metacognitive performance in settings where access to explicit confidence reports is not possible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadim A. A. Atiya
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Quentin J. M. Huys
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Raymond J. Dolan
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Stephen M. Fleming
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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32
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Sias AC, Morse AK, Wang S, Greenfield VY, Goodpaster CM, Wrenn TM, Wikenheiser AM, Holley SM, Cepeda C, Levine MS, Wassum KM. A bidirectional corticoamygdala circuit for the encoding and retrieval of detailed reward memories. eLife 2021; 10:e68617. [PMID: 34142660 PMCID: PMC8266390 DOI: 10.7554/elife.68617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Adaptive reward-related decision making often requires accurate and detailed representation of potential available rewards. Environmental reward-predictive stimuli can facilitate these representations, allowing one to infer which specific rewards might be available and choose accordingly. This process relies on encoded relationships between the cues and the sensory-specific details of the rewards they predict. Here, we interrogated the function of the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and its interaction with the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC) in the ability to learn such stimulus-outcome associations and use these memories to guide decision making. Using optical recording and inhibition approaches, Pavlovian cue-reward conditioning, and the outcome-selective Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer (PIT) test in male rats, we found that the BLA is robustly activated at the time of stimulus-outcome learning and that this activity is necessary for sensory-specific stimulus-outcome memories to be encoded, so they can subsequently influence reward choices. Direct input from the lOFC was found to support the BLA in this function. Based on prior work, activity in BLA projections back to the lOFC was known to support the use of stimulus-outcome memories to influence decision making. By multiplexing optogenetic and chemogenetic inhibition we performed a serial circuit disconnection and found that the lOFC→BLA and BLA→lOFC pathways form a functional circuit regulating the encoding (lOFC→BLA) and subsequent use (BLA→lOFC) of the stimulus-dependent, sensory-specific reward memories that are critical for adaptive, appetitive decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana C Sias
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Ashleigh K Morse
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Sherry Wang
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Venuz Y Greenfield
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Caitlin M Goodpaster
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Tyler M Wrenn
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Andrew M Wikenheiser
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
- Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
- Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Sandra M Holley
- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Carlos Cepeda
- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Michael S Levine
- Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Kate M Wassum
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
- Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
- Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
- Integrative Center for Addictive Disorders, University of California, Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
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Sosa JLR, Buonomano D, Izquierdo A. The orbitofrontal cortex in temporal cognition. Behav Neurosci 2021; 135:154-164. [PMID: 34060872 DOI: 10.1037/bne0000430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
One of the most important factors in decision-making is estimating the value of available options. Subregions of the prefrontal cortex, including the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), have been deemed essential for this process. Value computations require a complex integration across numerous dimensions, including, reward magnitude, effort, internal state, and time. The importance of the temporal dimension is well illustrated by temporal discounting tasks, in which subjects select between smaller-sooner versus larger-later rewards. The specific role of OFC in telling time and integrating temporal information into decision-making remains unclear. Based on the current literature, in this review we reevaluate current theories of OFC function, accounting for the influence of time. Incorporating temporal information into value estimation and decision-making requires distinct, yet interrelated, forms of temporal information including the ability to tell time, represent time, create temporal expectations, and the ability to use this information for optimal decision-making in a wide range of tasks, including temporal discounting and wagering. We use the term "temporal cognition" to refer to the integrated use of these different aspects of temporal information. We suggest that the OFC may be a critical site for the integration of reward magnitude and delay, and thus important for temporal cognition. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Dean Buonomano
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles
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34
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Brockett AT, Vázquez D, Roesch MR. Prediction errors and valence: From single units to multidimensional encoding in the amygdala. Behav Brain Res 2021; 404:113176. [PMID: 33596433 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Revised: 02/02/2021] [Accepted: 02/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The amygdala-one of the primary structures of the limbic system-is comprised of interconnected nuclei situated within the temporal lobe. It has a well-established role in the modulation of negative affective states, as well as in fear processing. However, its vast projections with diverse brain regions-ranging from the cortex to the brainstem-are suggestive of its more complex involvement in affective or motivational aspects of cognitive processing. The amygdala can play an invaluable role in context-dependent associative learning, unsigned prediction error learning, influencing outcome selection, and multidimensional encoding. In this review, we delve into the amygdala's role in associative learning and outcome selection, emphasizing its intrinsic involvement in the appropriate context-dependent modulation of motivated behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam T Brockett
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, United States; Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, United States.
| | - Daniela Vázquez
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, United States; Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, United States
| | - Matthew R Roesch
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, United States; Program in Neuroscience and Cognitive Science, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, United States
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35
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Ghetti S, Fandakova Y. Neural Development of Memory and Metamemory in Childhood and Adolescence: Toward an Integrative Model of the Development of Episodic Recollection. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020. [DOI: 10.1146/annurev-devpsych-060320-085634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Memory and metamemory processes are essential to retrieve detailed memories and appreciate the phenomenological experience of recollection. Developmental cognitive neuroscience has made strides in revealing the neural changes associated with improvements in memory and metamemory during childhood and adolescence. We argue that hippocampal changes, in concert with surrounding cortical regions, support developmental improvements in the precision, complexity, and flexibility of memory representations. In contrast, changes in frontoparietal regions promote efficient encoding and retrieval strategies. A smaller body of literature on the neural substrates of metamemory development suggests that error monitoring processes implemented in the anterior insula and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex trigger, and perhaps support the development of, metacognitive evaluationsin the prefrontal cortex, while developmental changes in the parietal cortex support changes in the phenomenological experience of episodic retrieval. Our conclusions highlight the necessity of integrating these lines of research into a comprehensive model on the neurocognitive development of episodic recollection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simona Ghetti
- Department of Psychology and Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, California 95618, USA
| | - Yana Fandakova
- Center for Lifespan Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, 14195 Berlin, Germany
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36
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Monosov IE, Haber SN, Leuthardt EC, Jezzini A. Anterior Cingulate Cortex and the Control of Dynamic Behavior in Primates. Curr Biol 2020; 30:R1442-R1454. [PMID: 33290716 PMCID: PMC8197026 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The brain mechanism for controlling continuous behavior in dynamic contexts must mediate action selection and learning across many timescales, responding differentially to the level of environmental uncertainty and volatility. In this review, we argue that a part of the frontal cortex known as the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is particularly well suited for this function. First, the ACC is interconnected with prefrontal, parietal, and subcortical regions involved in valuation and action selection. Second, the ACC integrates diverse, behaviorally relevant information across multiple timescales, producing output signals that temporally encapsulate decision and learning processes and encode high-dimensional information about the value and uncertainty of future outcomes and subsequent behaviors. Third, the ACC signals behaviorally relevant information flexibly, displaying the capacity to represent information about current and future states in a valence-, context-, task- and action-specific manner. Fourth, the ACC dynamically controls instrumental- and non-instrumental information seeking behaviors to resolve uncertainty about future outcomes. We review electrophysiological and circuit disruption studies in primates to develop this point, discuss its relationship to novel therapeutics for neuropsychiatric disorders in humans, and conclude by relating ongoing research in primates to studies of medial frontal cortical regions in rodents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilya E Monosov
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; Department of Electrical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; Department of Neurosurgery School of Medicine, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Pain Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
| | - Suzanne N Haber
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA; Basic Neuroscience, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, MA 02478, USA
| | - Eric C Leuthardt
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA; Department of Neurosurgery School of Medicine, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Ahmad Jezzini
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
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Soltani A. Learning from Others, but with What Confidence? Trends Cogn Sci 2020; 24:963-964. [PMID: 33071160 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2020.09.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Accepted: 09/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
A recent study by Zhang and Gläscher (2020) in humans examines learning from one's own versus others' actions under reward uncertainty. Comparing findings from this and non-human studies on learning under perceptual uncertainty suggests a unified role for confidence in learning under different types of uncertainty across mammalian brains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alireza Soltani
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA.
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38
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Rausch M, Zehetleitner M, Steinhauser M, Maier ME. Cognitive modelling reveals distinct electrophysiological markers of decision confidence and error monitoring. Neuroimage 2020; 218:116963. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2020] [Revised: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 05/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
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Cortese A, Lau H, Kawato M. Unconscious reinforcement learning of hidden brain states supported by confidence. Nat Commun 2020; 11:4429. [PMID: 32868772 PMCID: PMC7459278 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17828-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2019] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Can humans be trained to make strategic use of latent representations in their own brains? We investigate how human subjects can derive reward-maximizing choices from intrinsic high-dimensional information represented stochastically in neural activity. Reward contingencies are defined in real-time by fMRI multivoxel patterns; optimal action policies thereby depend on multidimensional brain activity taking place below the threshold of consciousness, by design. We find that subjects can solve the task within two hundred trials and errors, as their reinforcement learning processes interact with metacognitive functions (quantified as the meaningfulness of their decision confidence). Computational modelling and multivariate analyses identify a frontostriatal neural mechanism by which the brain may untangle the 'curse of dimensionality': synchronization of confidence representations in prefrontal cortex with reward prediction errors in basal ganglia support exploration of latent task representations. These results may provide an alternative starting point for future investigations into unconscious learning and functions of metacognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurelio Cortese
- Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, ATR Institute International, 2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto, 619-0288, Japan.
| | - Hakwan Lau
- Department of Psychology, UCLA, 1285 Franz Hall, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- Brain Research Institute, UCLA, 695 Charles E Young Dr S, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Hong Kong, 627, The Jockey Club Tower, Pok Fu Lam Rd, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
- State Key Laboratory for Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Hong Kong, 5 Sassoon Rd, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong
| | - Mitsuo Kawato
- Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, ATR Institute International, 2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-gun, Kyoto, 619-0288, Japan.
- RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project, ATR Institute International, 2-2-2 Hikaridai, Seika-cho, Soraku-Gun, Kyoto, 619-0288, Japan.
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40
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Yu JC, Fiore VG, Briggs RW, Braud J, Rubia K, Adinoff B, Gu X. An insula-driven network computes decision uncertainty and promotes abstinence in chronic cocaine users. Eur J Neurosci 2020; 52:4923-4936. [PMID: 33439518 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Revised: 06/26/2020] [Accepted: 07/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The anterior insular cortex (AIC) and its interconnected brain regions have been associated with both addiction and decision-making under uncertainty. However, the causal interactions in this uncertainty-encoding neurocircuitry and how these neural dynamics impact relapse remain elusive. Here, we used model-based fMRI to measure choice uncertainty in a motor decision task in 61 individuals with cocaine use disorder (CUD) and 25 healthy controls. CUD participants were assessed before discharge from a residential treatment program and followed for up to 24 weeks. We found that choice uncertainty was tracked by the AIC, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and ventral striatum (VS), across participants. Stronger activations in these regions measured pre-discharge predicted longer abstinence after discharge in individuals with CUD. Dynamic causal modeling revealed an AIC-to-dACC-directed connectivity modulated by uncertainty in controls, but a dACC-to-AIC connectivity in CUD participants. This reversal was mostly driven by early relapsers (<30 days). Furthermore, CUD individuals who displayed a stronger AIC-to-dACC excitatory connection during uncertainty encoding remained abstinent for longer periods. These findings reveal a critical role of an AIC-driven, uncertainty-encoding neurocircuitry in protecting against relapse and promoting abstinence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ju-Chi Yu
- School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
| | - Vincenzo G Fiore
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Richard W Briggs
- Department of Aging and Geriatric Research, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Jacquelyn Braud
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Katya Rubia
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Bryon Adinoff
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.,VA North Texas Health Care System, Dallas, TX, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Colorado, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Xiaosi Gu
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.,Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
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Aguirre CG, Stolyarova A, Das K, Kolli S, Marty V, Ray L, Spigelman I, Izquierdo A. Sex-dependent effects of chronic intermittent voluntary alcohol consumption on attentional, not motivational, measures during probabilistic learning and reversal. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0234729. [PMID: 32555668 PMCID: PMC7302450 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0234729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2019] [Accepted: 06/01/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Forced alcohol (ethanol, EtOH) exposure has been shown to cause significant impairments on reversal learning, a widely-used assay of cognitive flexibility, specifically on fully-predictive, deterministic versions of this task. However, previous studies have not adequately considered voluntary EtOH consumption and sex effects on probabilistic reversal learning. The present study aimed to fill this gap in the literature. Methods Male and female Long-Evans rats underwent either 10 weeks of voluntary intermittent 20% EtOH access or water only (H2O) access. Rats were then pretrained to initiate trials and learn stimulus-reward associations via touchscreen response, and subsequently required to select between two visual stimuli, rewarded with probability 0.70 or 0.30. In the final phase, reinforcement contingencies were reversed. Results We found significant sex differences on several EtOH-drinking variables, with females reaching a higher maximum EtOH consumption, exhibiting more high-drinking days, and escalating their EtOH at a quicker rate compared to males. During early abstinence, EtOH drinkers (and particularly EtOH-drinking females) made more initiation omissions and were slower to initiate trials than H2O drinking controls, especially during pretraining. A similar pattern in trial initiations was also observed in discrimination, but not in reversal learning. EtOH drinking rats were unaffected in their reward collection and stimulus response times, indicating intact motivation and motor responding. Although there were sex differences in discrimination and reversal phases, performance improved over time. We also observed sex-independent drinking group differences in win-stay and lose-shift strategies specific to the reversal phase. Conclusions Females exhibit increased vulnerability to EtOH effects in early learning: there were sex-dependent EtOH effects on attentional measures during pretraining and discrimination phases. We also found sex-independent EtOH effects on exploration strategies during reversal. Future studies should aim to uncover the neural mechanisms for changes in attention and exploration in both acute and prolonged EtOH withdrawal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia G. Aguirre
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- * E-mail: (AI); (CGA)
| | - Alexandra Stolyarova
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Kanak Das
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Saisriya Kolli
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Vincent Marty
- The Brain Research Institute, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- School of Dentistry, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States America
| | - Lara Ray
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- The Brain Research Institute, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- Integrative Center for Addictions, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Igor Spigelman
- The Brain Research Institute, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- School of Dentistry, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States America
| | - Alicia Izquierdo
- Department of Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- The Brain Research Institute, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- Integrative Center for Addictions, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
- * E-mail: (AI); (CGA)
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Chemogenetic Modulation and Single-Photon Calcium Imaging in Anterior Cingulate Cortex Reveal a Mechanism for Effort-Based Decisions. J Neurosci 2020; 40:5628-5643. [PMID: 32527984 PMCID: PMC7363467 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2548-19.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2019] [Revised: 05/23/2020] [Accepted: 05/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The ACC is implicated in effort exertion and choices based on effort cost, but it is still unclear how it mediates this cost-benefit evaluation. Here, male rats were trained to exert effort for a high-value reward (sucrose pellets) in a progressive ratio lever-pressing task. Trained rats were then tested in two conditions: a no-choice condition where lever-pressing for sucrose was the only available food option, and a choice condition where a low-value reward (lab chow) was freely available as an alternative to pressing for sucrose. Disruption of ACC, via either chemogenetic inhibition or excitation, reduced lever-pressing in the choice, but not in the no-choice, condition. We next looked for value coding cells in ACC during effortful behavior and reward consumption phases during choice and no-choice conditions. For this, we used in vivo miniaturized fluorescence microscopy to reliably track responses of the same cells and compare how ACC neurons respond during the same effortful behavior where there was a choice versus when there was no-choice. We found that lever-press and sucrose-evoked responses were significantly weaker during choice compared with no-choice sessions, which may have rendered them more susceptible to chemogenetic disruption. Together, findings from our interference experiments and neural recordings suggest that a mechanism by which ACC mediates effortful decisions is in the discrimination of the utility of available options. ACC regulates these choices by providing a stable population code for the relative value of different options. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The ACC is implicated in effort-based decision-making. Here, we used chemogenetics and in vivo calcium imaging to explore its mechanism. Rats were trained to lever press for a high-value reward and tested in two conditions: a no-choice condition where lever-pressing for the high-value reward was the only option, and a choice condition where a low-value reward was also available. Inhibition or excitation of ACC reduced effort toward the high-value option, but only in the choice condition. Neural responses in ACC were weaker in the choice compared with the no-choice condition. A mechanism by which ACC regulates effortful decisions is in providing a stable population code for the discrimination of the utility of available options.
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Response-Related Signals Increase Confidence But Not Metacognitive Performance. eNeuro 2020; 7:ENEURO.0326-19.2020. [PMID: 32327471 PMCID: PMC7240286 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0326-19.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2019] [Revised: 02/26/2020] [Accepted: 02/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Confidence judgments are a central tool in metacognition research. In a typical task, participants first perform perceptual (first-order) decisions and then rate their confidence in these decisions. The relationship between confidence and first-order accuracy is taken as a measure of metacognitive performance. Confidence is often assumed to stem from decision-monitoring processes alone, but processes that co-occur with the first-order decision may also play a role in confidence formation. Confidence judgments are a central tool in metacognition research. In a typical task, participants first perform perceptual (first-order) decisions and then rate their confidence in these decisions. The relationship between confidence and first-order accuracy is taken as a measure of metacognitive performance. Confidence is often assumed to stem from decision-monitoring processes alone, but processes that co-occur with the first-order decision may also play a role in confidence formation. In fact, some recent studies have revealed that directly manipulating motor regions in the brain, or the time of first-order decisions relative to second-order decisions, affects confidence judgments. This finding suggests that confidence could be informed by a readout of reaction times in addition to decision-monitoring processes. To test this possibility, we assessed the contribution of response-related signals to confidence and, in particular, to metacognitive performance (i.e., a measure of the adequacy of these confidence judgments). In human volunteers, we measured the effect of making an overt (vs covert) decision, as well as the effect of pairing an action to the stimulus about which the first-order decision is made. Against our expectations, we found no differences in overall confidence or metacognitive performance when first-order responses were covert as opposed to overt. Further, actions paired to visual stimuli presented led to higher confidence ratings, but did not affect metacognitive performance. These results suggest that confidence ratings do not always incorporate motor information.
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van Heukelum S, Mars RB, Guthrie M, Buitelaar JK, Beckmann CF, Tiesinga PHE, Vogt BA, Glennon JC, Havenith MN. Where is Cingulate Cortex? A Cross-Species View. Trends Neurosci 2020; 43:285-299. [PMID: 32353333 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2020.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 126] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Revised: 02/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/10/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
Abstract
To compare findings across species, neuroscience relies on cross-species homologies, particularly in terms of brain areas. For cingulate cortex, a structure implicated in behavioural adaptation and control, a homologous definition across mammals is available - but currently not employed by most rodent researchers. The standard partitioning of rodent cingulate cortex is inconsistent with that in any other model species, including humans. Reviewing the existing literature, we show that the homologous definition better aligns results of rodent studies with those of other species, and reveals a clearer structural and functional organisation within rodent cingulate cortex itself. Based on these insights, we call for widespread adoption of the homologous nomenclature, and reinterpretation of previous studies originally based on the nonhomologous partitioning of rodent cingulate cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina van Heukelum
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
| | - Rogier B Mars
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK
| | - Martin Guthrie
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Jan K Buitelaar
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Christian F Beckmann
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Paul H E Tiesinga
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Brent A Vogt
- Cingulum Neurosciences Institute, 4435 Stephanie Drive, Manlius, NY 13104, USA; Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
| | - Jeffrey C Glennon
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Conway Institute of Biomolecular and Biomedical Research, School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland
| | - Martha N Havenith
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Zero-Noise Lab, Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience, 60528 Frankfurt a.M., Germany
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Stolyarova A, Wikenheiser AM. Can the VTA Come Out to Play? Only When the mPFC's Predictions Go Astray! Neuron 2020; 105:593-595. [PMID: 32078792 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.01.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Confidence in perceptual decisions scales neural responses to violations in reward expectation. In this issue of Neuron, Lak et al. (2020) show that the medial prefrontal cortex in mice computes a confidence-dependent expectation signal that influences how dopamine neurons convey reward prediction errors to guide learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra Stolyarova
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Andrew M Wikenheiser
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; The Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
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Abstract
Previous research has focused on the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) as a key brain region in the mitigation of the competition that arises from two simultaneously active signals. However, to date, no study has demonstrated that ACC is necessary for this form of behavioral flexibility, nor have any studies shown that ACC acts by modulating downstream brain regions such as the dorsal medial striatum (DMS) that encode action plans necessary for task completion. Here, we performed unilateral excitotoxic lesions of ACC while recording downstream from the ipsilateral hemisphere of DMS in rats, performing a variant of the STOP-signal task. We show that on STOP trials lesioned rats perform worse, in part due to the failure of timely directional action plans to emerge in the DMS, as well as the overrepresentation of the to-be-inhibited behavior. Collectively, our findings suggest that ACC is necessary for the mitigation of competing inputs and validates many of the existing theoretical predictions for the role of ACC in cognitive control.
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