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Shan Q, Yu X, Lin X, Tian Y. Reduced inhibitory synaptic transmission onto striatopallidal neurons may underlie aging-related motor skill deficits. Neurobiol Dis 2024; 199:106582. [PMID: 38942325 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2024.106582] [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: 01/12/2024] [Revised: 06/03/2024] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 06/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Human beings are living longer than ever before and aging is accompanied by an increased incidence of motor deficits, including those associated with the neurodegenerative conditions, Parkinson's disease (PD) and Huntington's disease (HD). However, the biological correlates underlying this epidemiological finding, especially the functional basis at the synapse level, have been elusive. This study reveals that motor skill performance examined via rotarod, beam walking and pole tests is impaired in aged mice. This study, via electrophysiology recordings, further identifies an aging-related reduction in the efficacy of inhibitory synaptic transmission onto dorsolateral striatum (DLS) indirect-pathway medium spiny neurons (iMSNs), i.e., a disinhibition effect on DLS iMSNs. In addition, pharmacologically enhancing the activity of DLS iMSNs by infusing an adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR) agonist, which presumably mimics the disinhibition effect, impairs motor skill performance in young mice, simulating the behavior in aged naïve mice. Conversely, pharmacologically suppressing the activity of DLS iMSNs by infusing an A2AR antagonist, in order to offset the disinhibition effect, restores motor skill performance in aged mice, mimicking the behavior in young naïve mice. In conclusion, this study identifies a functional inhibitory synaptic plasticity in DLS iMSNs that likely contributes to the aging-related motor skill deficits, which would potentially serve as a striatal synaptic basis underlying age being a prominent risk factor for neurodegenerative motor deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Shan
- Laboratory for Synaptic Plasticity, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong 515041, China.
| | - Xiaoxuan Yu
- Laboratory for Synaptic Plasticity, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong 515041, China
| | - Xiaoli Lin
- Laboratory for Synaptic Plasticity, Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, Guangdong 515041, China
| | - Yao Tian
- Chern Institute of Mathematics, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
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2
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Kramer TS, Wan FK, Pugliese SM, Atanas AA, Hiser AW, Luo J, Bueno E, Flavell SW. Neural Sequences Underlying Directed Turning in C. elegans. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.08.11.607076. [PMID: 39149398 PMCID: PMC11326294 DOI: 10.1101/2024.08.11.607076] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/17/2024]
Abstract
Complex behaviors like navigation rely on sequenced motor outputs that combine to generate effective movement. The brain-wide organization of the circuits that integrate sensory signals to select and execute appropriate motor sequences is not well understood. Here, we characterize the architecture of neural circuits that control C. elegans olfactory navigation. We identify error-correcting turns during navigation and use whole-brain calcium imaging and cell-specific perturbations to determine their neural underpinnings. These turns occur as motor sequences accompanied by neural sequences, in which defined neurons activate in a stereotyped order during each turn. Distinct neurons in this sequence respond to sensory cues, anticipate upcoming turn directions, and drive movement, linking key features of this sensorimotor behavior across time. The neuromodulator tyramine coordinates these sequential brain dynamics. Our results illustrate how neuromodulation can act on a defined neural architecture to generate sequential patterns of activity that link sensory cues to motor actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Talya S. Kramer
- Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- MIT Biology Graduate Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Flossie K. Wan
- Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Sarah M. Pugliese
- Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Adam A. Atanas
- Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Alex W. Hiser
- Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Jinyue Luo
- Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Eric Bueno
- Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Steven W. Flavell
- Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
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3
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Farrell M, Pehlevan C. Recall tempo of Hebbian sequences depends on the interplay of Hebbian kernel with tutor signal timing. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2309876121. [PMID: 39078676 PMCID: PMC11317560 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2309876121] [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: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 07/31/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding how neural circuits generate sequential activity is a longstanding challenge. While foundational theoretical models have shown how sequences can be stored as memories in neural networks with Hebbian plasticity rules, these models considered only a narrow range of Hebbian rules. Here, we introduce a model for arbitrary Hebbian plasticity rules, capturing the diversity of spike-timing-dependent synaptic plasticity seen in experiments, and show how the choice of these rules and of neural activity patterns influences sequence memory formation and retrieval. In particular, we derive a general theory that predicts the tempo of sequence replay. This theory lays a foundation for explaining how cortical tutor signals might give rise to motor actions that eventually become "automatic." Our theory also captures the impact of changing the tempo of the tutor signal. Beyond shedding light on biological circuits, this theory has relevance in artificial intelligence by laying a foundation for frameworks whereby slow and computationally expensive deliberation can be stored as memories and eventually replaced by inexpensive recall.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Farrell
- John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA02138
- Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA02138
| | - Cengiz Pehlevan
- John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA02138
- Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA02138
- Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural and Artificial Intelligence, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA02138
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4
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Luo S, Zhou X, Zhou H, Li T, He Y, Chen JF, Zhang L. Volitional modulation of neuronal activity in the external globus pallidus by engagement of the cortical-basal ganglia circuit. J Physiol 2024; 602:3755-3768. [PMID: 38979883 DOI: 10.1113/jp286046] [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: 12/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Volitional modulation of neural activity is not confined to the cortex but extends to various brain regions. Yet, it remains unclear whether neurons in the basal ganglia structure, the external globus pallidus (GPe), can be volitionally controlled. Here, we employed a volitional conditioning task to compare the volitional modulation of GPe and primary motor cortex (M1) neurons as well as the underlying circuits and control mechanisms. The results revealed that the volitional modulation of GPe neuronal activity engaged both M1 and substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) neurons, indicating the involvement of the cortex-GPe-SNr loop. In contrast, the volitional modulation of M1 neurons primarily occurred through the engagement of M1 local circuitry. Furthermore, lesioning M1 neurons did not affect the volitional learning or volitional control signal in GPe, whereas lesioning of GPe neurons impaired the learning process for the volitional modulation of M1 neuronal activity at the intermediate stage. Additionally, lesion of GPe neurons enhanced M1 neuronal activity when performing the volitional control task without reward delivery and a random reward test. Taken together, our findings demonstrated that GPe neurons could be volitionally controlled by engagement of the cortical-basal ganglia circuit and inhibit learning process for the volitional modulation of M1 neuronal activity by regulating M1 neuronal activity. Thus, GPe neurons can be effectively harnessed for independent volitional modulation for neurorehabilitation in patients with cortical damage. KEY POINTS: The cortical-basal ganglia circuit contributes to the volitional modulation of GPe neurons. Volitional modulation of M1 neuronal activity mainly engages M1 local circuitry. Bilateral GPe lesioning impedes volitional learning at the intermediate stages. Lesioning of GPe neurons inhibits volitional learning process by regulating M1 neuronal activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shengtao Luo
- The Molecular Neuropharmacology Laboratory and the Eye-Brain Research Center, The State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Optometry and Vision Science, School of Ophthalmology & Optometry and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Oujiang Laboratory (Zhejiang Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health), School of Ophthalmology & Optometry and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Xiaopeng Zhou
- The Molecular Neuropharmacology Laboratory and the Eye-Brain Research Center, The State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Optometry and Vision Science, School of Ophthalmology & Optometry and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Oujiang Laboratory (Zhejiang Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health), School of Ophthalmology & Optometry and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Hui Zhou
- The Molecular Neuropharmacology Laboratory and the Eye-Brain Research Center, The State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Optometry and Vision Science, School of Ophthalmology & Optometry and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Oujiang Laboratory (Zhejiang Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health), School of Ophthalmology & Optometry and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Tao Li
- The Molecular Neuropharmacology Laboratory and the Eye-Brain Research Center, The State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Optometry and Vision Science, School of Ophthalmology & Optometry and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Oujiang Laboratory (Zhejiang Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health), School of Ophthalmology & Optometry and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Yutong He
- The Molecular Neuropharmacology Laboratory and the Eye-Brain Research Center, The State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Optometry and Vision Science, School of Ophthalmology & Optometry and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Oujiang Laboratory (Zhejiang Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health), School of Ophthalmology & Optometry and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Jiang-Fan Chen
- The Molecular Neuropharmacology Laboratory and the Eye-Brain Research Center, The State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Optometry and Vision Science, School of Ophthalmology & Optometry and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Oujiang Laboratory (Zhejiang Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health), School of Ophthalmology & Optometry and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Liping Zhang
- The Molecular Neuropharmacology Laboratory and the Eye-Brain Research Center, The State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Optometry and Vision Science, School of Ophthalmology & Optometry and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
- Oujiang Laboratory (Zhejiang Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health), School of Ophthalmology & Optometry and Eye Hospital, Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
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5
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Sibener LJ, Mosberger AC, Chen TX, Athalye VR, Murray JM, Costa RM. Dissociable roles of thalamic nuclei in the refinement of reaches to spatial targets. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.09.20.558560. [PMID: 37790555 PMCID: PMC10542479 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.20.558560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
Reaches are complex movements that are critical for survival, and encompass the control of different aspects such as direction, speed, and endpoint precision. Complex movements have been postulated to be learned and controlled through distributed motor networks, of which the thalamus is a highly connected node. Still, the role of different thalamic circuits in learning and controlling specific aspects of reaches has not been investigated. We report dissociable roles of two distinct thalamic nuclei - the parafascicular (Pf) and ventroanterior/ventrolateral (VAL) nuclei - in the refinement of spatial target reaches in mice. Using 2-photon calcium imaging in a head-fixed joystick task where mice learned to reach to a target in space, we found that glutamatergic neurons in both areas were most active during reaches early in learning. Reach-related activity in both areas decreased late in learning, as movement direction was refined and reaches increased in accuracy. Furthermore, the population dynamics of Pf, but not VAL, covaried in different subspaces in early and late learning, but eventually stabilized in late learning. The neural activity in Pf, but not VAL, encoded the direction of reaches in early but not late learning. Accordingly, bilateral lesions of Pf before, but not after learning, strongly and specifically impaired the refinement of reach direction. VAL lesions did not impact direction refinement, but instead resulted in increased speed and target overshoot. Our findings provide new evidence that the thalamus is a critical motor node in the learning and control of reaching movements, with specific subnuclei controlling distinct aspects of the reach early in learning.
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6
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Aldarondo D, Merel J, Marshall JD, Hasenclever L, Klibaite U, Gellis A, Tassa Y, Wayne G, Botvinick M, Ölveczky BP. A virtual rodent predicts the structure of neural activity across behaviours. Nature 2024; 632:594-602. [PMID: 38862024 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07633-4] [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: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024]
Abstract
Animals have exquisite control of their bodies, allowing them to perform a diverse range of behaviours. How such control is implemented by the brain, however, remains unclear. Advancing our understanding requires models that can relate principles of control to the structure of neural activity in behaving animals. Here, to facilitate this, we built a 'virtual rodent', in which an artificial neural network actuates a biomechanically realistic model of the rat1 in a physics simulator2. We used deep reinforcement learning3-5 to train the virtual agent to imitate the behaviour of freely moving rats, thus allowing us to compare neural activity recorded in real rats to the network activity of a virtual rodent mimicking their behaviour. We found that neural activity in the sensorimotor striatum and motor cortex was better predicted by the virtual rodent's network activity than by any features of the real rat's movements, consistent with both regions implementing inverse dynamics6. Furthermore, the network's latent variability predicted the structure of neural variability across behaviours and afforded robustness in a way consistent with the minimal intervention principle of optimal feedback control7. These results demonstrate how physical simulation of biomechanically realistic virtual animals can help interpret the structure of neural activity across behaviour and relate it to theoretical principles of motor control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Aldarondo
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Fauna Robotics, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Josh Merel
- DeepMind, Google, London, UK
- Fauna Robotics, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jesse D Marshall
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Reality Labs, Meta, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Ugne Klibaite
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Amanda Gellis
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | | | - Matthew Botvinick
- DeepMind, Google, London, UK
- Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London, London, UK
| | - Bence P Ölveczky
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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7
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Lazaridis I, Crittenden JR, Ahn G, Hirokane K, Yoshida T, Wickersham IR, Mahar A, Skara V, Loftus JH, Parvataneni K, Meletis K, Ting JT, Hueske E, Matsushima A, Graybiel AM. Striosomes Target Nigral Dopamine-Containing Neurons via Direct-D1 and Indirect-D2 Pathways Paralleling Classic Direct-Indirect Basal Ganglia Systems. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.01.596922. [PMID: 38915684 PMCID: PMC11195572 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.01.596922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/26/2024]
Abstract
Balanced activity of canonical direct D1 and indirect D2 basal ganglia pathways is considered a core requirement for normal movement, and their imbalance is an etiologic factor in movement and neuropsychiatric disorders. We present evidence for a conceptually equivalent pair of direct-D1 and indirect-D2 pathways that arise from striatal projection neurons (SPNs) of the striosome compartment rather than from SPNs of the matrix, as do the canonical pathways. These S-D1 and S-D2 striosomal pathways target substantia nigra dopamine-containing neurons instead of basal ganglia motor output nuclei. They modulate movement oppositely to the modulation by the canonical pathways: S-D1 is inhibitory and S-D2 is excitatory. The S-D1 and S-D2 circuits likely influence motivation for learning and action, complementing and reorienting canonical pathway modulation. A major conceptual reformulation of the classic direct-indirect pathway model of basal ganglia function is needed, as well as reconsideration of the effects of D2-targeting therapeutic drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iakovos Lazaridis
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
| | - Jill R. Crittenden
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
| | - Gun Ahn
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
| | - Kojiro Hirokane
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
| | - Tomoko Yoshida
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
| | - Ian R. Wickersham
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
| | - Ara Mahar
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
| | | | - Johnny H. Loftus
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
| | - Krishna Parvataneni
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
| | | | - Jonathan T. Ting
- Human Cell Types Dept, Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle WA 98109, USA
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle WA 98195, USA
| | - Emily Hueske
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
| | - Ayano Matsushima
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
| | - Ann M. Graybiel
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
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8
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Lindsey JW, Litwin-Kumar A. Selective consolidation of learning and memory via recall-gated plasticity. eLife 2024; 12:RP90793. [PMID: 39023518 PMCID: PMC11257680 DOI: 10.7554/elife.90793] [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] [Indexed: 07/20/2024] Open
Abstract
In a variety of species and behavioral contexts, learning and memory formation recruits two neural systems, with initial plasticity in one system being consolidated into the other over time. Moreover, consolidation is known to be selective; that is, some experiences are more likely to be consolidated into long-term memory than others. Here, we propose and analyze a model that captures common computational principles underlying such phenomena. The key component of this model is a mechanism by which a long-term learning and memory system prioritizes the storage of synaptic changes that are consistent with prior updates to the short-term system. This mechanism, which we refer to as recall-gated consolidation, has the effect of shielding long-term memory from spurious synaptic changes, enabling it to focus on reliable signals in the environment. We describe neural circuit implementations of this model for different types of learning problems, including supervised learning, reinforcement learning, and autoassociative memory storage. These implementations involve synaptic plasticity rules modulated by factors such as prediction accuracy, decision confidence, or familiarity. We then develop an analytical theory of the learning and memory performance of the model, in comparison to alternatives relying only on synapse-local consolidation mechanisms. We find that recall-gated consolidation provides significant advantages, substantially amplifying the signal-to-noise ratio with which memories can be stored in noisy environments. We show that recall-gated consolidation gives rise to a number of phenomena that are present in behavioral learning paradigms, including spaced learning effects, task-dependent rates of consolidation, and differing neural representations in short- and long-term pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack W Lindsey
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia UniversityNew YorkUnited States
| | - Ashok Litwin-Kumar
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia UniversityNew YorkUnited States
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9
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Song MR, Lee SW. Rethinking dopamine-guided action sequence learning. Eur J Neurosci 2024; 60:3447-3465. [PMID: 38798086 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.16426] [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: 08/17/2023] [Revised: 04/21/2024] [Accepted: 05/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
As opposed to those requiring a single action for reward acquisition, tasks necessitating action sequences demand that animals learn action elements and their sequential order and sustain the behaviour until the sequence is completed. With repeated learning, animals not only exhibit precise execution of these sequences but also demonstrate enhanced smoothness and efficiency. Previous research has demonstrated that midbrain dopamine and its major projection target, the striatum, play crucial roles in these processes. Recent studies have shown that dopamine from the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA) serve distinct functions in action sequence learning. The distinct contributions of dopamine also depend on the striatal subregions, namely the ventral, dorsomedial and dorsolateral striatum. Here, we have reviewed recent findings on the role of striatal dopamine in action sequence learning, with a focus on recent rodent studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minryung R Song
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, KAIST, Daejeon, South Korea
| | - Sang Wan Lee
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, KAIST, Daejeon, South Korea
- Kim Jaechul Graduate School of AI, KAIST, Daejeon, South Korea
- KI for Health Science and Technology, KAIST, Daejeon, South Korea
- Center for Neuroscience-inspired AI, KAIST, Daejeon, South Korea
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10
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Locantore J, Liu Y, White J, Wallace JB, Beron CC, Sabatini BL, Wallace ML. Mixed representations of choice and outcome by GABA/glutamate cotransmitting neurons in the entopeduncular nucleus. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.07.597980. [PMID: 38895480 PMCID: PMC11185773 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.07.597980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
The basal ganglia (BG) are an evolutionarily conserved and phylogenetically old set of sub-cortical nuclei that guide action selection, evaluation, and reinforcement. The entopeduncular nucleus (EP) is a major BG output nucleus that contains a population of GABA/glutamate cotransmitting neurons (EP Sst+ ) that specifically target the lateral habenula (LHb) and whose function in behavior remains mysterious. Here we use a probabilistic switching task that requires an animal to maintain flexible relationships between action selection and evaluation to examine when and how GABA/glutamate cotransmitting neurons contribute to behavior. We find that EP Sst+ neurons are strongly engaged during this task and show bidirectional changes in activity during the choice and outcome periods of a trial. We then tested the effects of either permanently blocking cotransmission or modifying the GABA/glutamate ratio on behavior in well-trained animals. Neither manipulation produced detectable changes in behavior despite significant changes in synaptic transmission in the LHb, demonstrating that the outputs of these neurons are not required for on-going action-outcome updating in a probabilistic switching task.
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11
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Jáidar O, Albarran E, Albarran EN, Wu YW, Ding JB. Refinement of efficient encodings of movement in the dorsolateral striatum throughout learning. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.06.596654. [PMID: 38895486 PMCID: PMC11185645 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.06.596654] [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
The striatum is required for normal action selection, movement, and sensorimotor learning. Although action-specific striatal ensembles have been well documented, it is not well understood how these ensembles are formed and how their dynamics may evolve throughout motor learning. Here we used longitudinal 2-photon Ca2+ imaging of dorsal striatal neurons in head-fixed mice as they learned to self-generate locomotion. We observed a significant activation of both direct- and indirect-pathway spiny projection neurons (dSPNs and iSPNs, respectively) during early locomotion bouts and sessions that gradually decreased over time. For dSPNs, onset- and offset-ensembles were gradually refined from active motion-nonspecific cells. iSPN ensembles emerged from neurons initially active during opponent actions before becoming onset- or offset-specific. Our results show that as striatal ensembles are progressively refined, the number of active nonspecific striatal neurons decrease and the overall efficiency of the striatum information encoding for learned actions increases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omar Jáidar
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Eddy Albarran
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA
- Current address: Columbia University
| | | | - Yu-Wei Wu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Current address: Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica
| | - Jun B. Ding
- Department of Neurosurgery, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA
- Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
- The Phil & Penny Knight Initiative for Brain Resilience at the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University
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12
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Vitale C, Rosa R, Agosti V, Siciliano M, Barra G, Maggi G, Santangelo G. Effects of Biodanza ® SRT on Motor, Cognitive, and Behavioral Symptoms in Patients with Parkinson's Disease: A Randomized Controlled Study. J Pers Med 2024; 14:588. [PMID: 38929809 PMCID: PMC11204495 DOI: 10.3390/jpm14060588] [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: 05/14/2024] [Revised: 05/27/2024] [Accepted: 05/28/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Rolando Toro's Biodanza (SRT) is a therapeutic strategy that uses movement, music, and emotions to induce integrative living experiences. The present study aims to explore the efficacy of a three-month SRT intervention on motor, cognitive, and behavioral symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). This study employed a randomized between-group design. Twenty-eight non-demented PD patients were enrolled in this study. Out of these, fourteen patients were assigned to the active treatment group using the Biodanza SRT system and fourteen to the untreated control group. The study group attended 2 h SRT classes once a week, completing twelve lessons in twelve weeks. All patients underwent: (i) a neurological examination to measure the severity of motor symptoms, balance, mobility, and risk of falls, and (ii) a neuropsychological battery to assess cognitive status, apathy, depressive symptomatology, and perceived quality of life (QoL), at study entry (T0) and at twelve weeks (T1, end of dance training). At T1, we observed a significant improvement in motor (i.e., severity of motor symptoms and balance) and cognitive parameters (i.e., working memory and delayed verbal memory) in all treated patients compared with the controls. Furthermore, a significant improvement in the social support dimension was found in all treated patients compared to the controls. A trend toward increased apathy was found in untreated patients at T1. The three-month Biodanza intervention significantly ameliorated the motor parameters of PD patients, with a parallel improvement in cognitive and QoL status. Hence, Biodanza intervention can, in the short term, represent a useful personalized medical intervention for the management of Parkinson's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmine Vitale
- Department of Medical, Motor and Wellbeing Sciences, University of Naples “Parthenope”, 80133 Naples, Italy
- ICS Maugeri Hermitage Napoli, 80145 Naples, Italy;
| | - Roberta Rosa
- Department of Primary Education Sciences, European University of Rome, 00163 Roma, Italy;
| | - Valeria Agosti
- Department of Human, Philosophical and Educational Sciences, University of Salerno, 84084 Fisciano, Italy;
| | - Mattia Siciliano
- Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy;
- Department of Psychology, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy;
| | | | - Gianpaolo Maggi
- Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy;
- Department of Psychology, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy;
| | - Gabriella Santangelo
- Department of Psychology, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 81100 Caserta, Italy;
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13
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Banta Lavenex P, Blandin ML, Gaborieau C, Lavenex P. Well-designed manufacturing work improves some cognitive abilities in individuals with cognitive impairments. FRONTIERS IN REHABILITATION SCIENCES 2024; 5:1377133. [PMID: 38813372 PMCID: PMC11135131 DOI: 10.3389/fresc.2024.1377133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024]
Abstract
Introduction Employment is recognized as a fundamental human right, which correlates with better physical and mental health. Importantly, well-designed work, which considers the physical, social, and psychological impacts of work, can serve to enhance the cognitive abilities of workers. Although often overlooked, work for individuals with disabilities, including cognitive impairments, is equally important for their physical and mental well-being. What has not been established, however, is whether well-designed work can also enhance the cognitive abilities of individuals with cognitive impairments. Methods Using a longitudinal study design, we investigated the impact of well-designed work on the cognitive abilities of 60 participants (operators) at the AMIPI Foundation factories, which employ individuals with cognitive impairments to produce electrical cables and harnesses for the automobile industry. The same operators were assessed at three different time points: upon hiring (n = 60), and after working in the factory for 1 year (n = 41, since 19 left the factory) and 2 years (n = 28, since 13 more left the factory). We used five cognitive tests evaluating: (1) finger and manual dexterity, bimanual dexterity, and procedural memory using the Purdue Pegboard; (2) sustained and selective attention using the Symbol Cancellation Task; (3) short- and long-term declarative verbal memory and long-term verbal recognition memory using Rey's Audio-Verbal Learning Test; (4) short- and long-term visual recognition memory using the Continuous Visual Memory Test; and (5) abstract reasoning using Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices. Results We observed improvements in procedural memory, sustained and selective attention, and short- and long-term visual recognition memory after working in the factory for 1 or 2 years. We did not observe improvements in finger or manual dexterity or bimanual dexterity, nor short- or long-term declarative verbal memory or verbal recognition memory, nor abstract reasoning. Discussion We conclude that, in addition to improving physical and mental well-being, well-designed manufacturing work can serve as a training intervention improving some types of cognitive functioning in individuals with cognitive impairments.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Pierre Lavenex
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Development, Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
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14
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Xiang Y, Zhao Y, Cheng T, Sun S, Wang J, Pei R. Implantable Neural Microelectrodes: How to Reduce Immune Response. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2024; 10:2762-2783. [PMID: 38591141 DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.4c00238] [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: 04/10/2024]
Abstract
Implantable neural microelectrodes exhibit the great ability to accurately capture the electrophysiological signals from individual neurons with exceptional submillisecond precision, holding tremendous potential for advancing brain science research, as well as offering promising avenues for neurological disease therapy. Although significant advancements have been made in the channel and density of implantable neural microelectrodes, challenges persist in extending the stable recording duration of these microelectrodes. The enduring stability of implanted electrode signals is primarily influenced by the chronic immune response triggered by the slight movement of the electrode within the neural tissue. The intensity of this immune response increases with a higher bending stiffness of the electrode. This Review thoroughly analyzes the sequential reactions evoked by implanted electrodes in the brain and highlights strategies aimed at mitigating chronic immune responses. Minimizing immune response mainly includes designing the microelectrode structure, selecting flexible materials, surface modification, and controlling drug release. The purpose of this paper is to provide valuable references and ideas for reducing the immune response of implantable neural microelectrodes and stimulate their further exploration in the field of brain science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Xiang
- School of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), Hefei 230026, PR China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Yuewu Zhao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Tingting Cheng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Shengkai Sun
- CAS Key Laboratory of Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
| | - Jine Wang
- Jiangxi Institute of Nanotechnology, Nanchang 330200, China
- College of Medicine and Nursing, Shandong Provincial Engineering Laboratory of Novel Pharmaceutical Excipients, Sustained and Controlled Release Preparations, Dezhou University, Dezhou 253023, China
| | - Renjun Pei
- School of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), Hefei 230026, PR China
- CAS Key Laboratory of Nano-Bio Interface, Suzhou Institute of Nano-Tech and Nano-Bionics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215123, China
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15
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Lemke SM, Celotto M, Maffulli R, Ganguly K, Panzeri S. Information flow between motor cortex and striatum reverses during skill learning. Curr Biol 2024; 34:1831-1843.e7. [PMID: 38604168 PMCID: PMC11078609 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.023] [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: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
The coordination of neural activity across brain areas during a specific behavior is often interpreted as neural communication involved in controlling the behavior. However, whether information relevant to the behavior is actually transferred between areas is often untested. Here, we used information-theoretic tools to quantify how motor cortex and striatum encode and exchange behaviorally relevant information about specific reach-to-grasp movement features during skill learning in rats. We found a temporal shift in the encoding of behaviorally relevant information during skill learning, as well as a reversal in the primary direction of behaviorally relevant information flow, from cortex-to-striatum during naive movements to striatum-to-cortex during skilled movements. Standard analytical methods that quantify the evolution of overall neural activity during learning-such as changes in neural signal amplitude or the overall exchange of information between areas-failed to capture these behaviorally relevant information dynamics. Using these standard methods, we instead found a consistent coactivation of overall neural signals during movement production and a bidirectional increase in overall information propagation between areas during learning. Our results show that skill learning is achieved through a transformation in how behaviorally relevant information is routed across cortical and subcortical brain areas and that isolating the components of neural activity relevant to and informative about behavior is critical to uncover directional interactions within a coactive and coordinated network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan M Lemke
- Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Corso Bettini 31, 38068 Rovereto, Italy; Neurology Service, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 4150 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA; Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, 1700 Owens Street, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA; Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 116 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
| | - Marco Celotto
- Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Corso Bettini 31, 38068 Rovereto, Italy; Department of Pharmacy and Biotechnology, University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 48, 40126 Bologna, Italy; Institute of Neural Information Processing, Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Falkenried 94, 20251 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Roberto Maffulli
- Center for Neuroscience and Cognitive Systems, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Corso Bettini 31, 38068 Rovereto, Italy
| | - Karunesh Ganguly
- Neurology Service, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 4150 Clement Street, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA; Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, 1700 Owens Street, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Stefano Panzeri
- Institute of Neural Information Processing, Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Falkenried 94, 20251 Hamburg, Germany.
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16
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Li H, Feng J, Chen M, Xin M, Chen X, Liu W, Wang L, Wang KH, He J. Cholecystokinin facilitates motor skill learning by modulating neuroplasticity in the motor cortex. eLife 2024; 13:e83897. [PMID: 38700136 PMCID: PMC11068356 DOI: 10.7554/elife.83897] [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: 10/02/2022] [Accepted: 04/01/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Cholecystokinin (CCK) is an essential modulator for neuroplasticity in sensory and emotional domains. Here, we investigated the role of CCK in motor learning using a single pellet reaching task in mice. Mice with a knockout of Cck gene (Cck-/-) or blockade of CCK-B receptor (CCKBR) showed defective motor learning ability; the success rate of retrieving reward remained at the baseline level compared to the wildtype mice with significantly increased success rate. We observed no long-term potentiation upon high-frequency stimulation in the motor cortex of Cck-/- mice, indicating a possible association between motor learning deficiency and neuroplasticity in the motor cortex. In vivo calcium imaging demonstrated that the deficiency of CCK signaling disrupted the refinement of population neuronal activity in the motor cortex during motor skill training. Anatomical tracing revealed direct projections from CCK-expressing neurons in the rhinal cortex to the motor cortex. Inactivation of the CCK neurons in the rhinal cortex that project to the motor cortex bilaterally using chemogenetic methods significantly suppressed motor learning, and intraperitoneal application of CCK4, a tetrapeptide CCK agonist, rescued the motor learning deficits of Cck-/- mice. In summary, our results suggest that CCK, which could be provided from the rhinal cortex, may surpport motor skill learning by modulating neuroplasticity in the motor cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Li
- Departments of Neuroscience and Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong KongHong KongChina
- Centre for Regenerative Medicine and Health, Hong Kong Institute of Science & Innovation, Chinese Academy of SciencesHong KongChina
| | - Jingyu Feng
- Departments of Neuroscience and Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong KongHong KongChina
| | - Mengying Chen
- Departments of Neuroscience and Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong KongHong KongChina
| | - Min Xin
- Departments of Neuroscience and Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong KongHong KongChina
- Centre for Regenerative Medicine and Health, Hong Kong Institute of Science & Innovation, Chinese Academy of SciencesHong KongChina
| | - Xi Chen
- Departments of Neuroscience and Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong KongHong KongChina
| | - Wenhao Liu
- Departments of Neuroscience and Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong KongHong KongChina
| | - Liping Wang
- The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of SciencesShenzhenChina
| | - Kuan Hong Wang
- Department of Neuroscience, Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical CenterRochesterUnited States
| | - Jufang He
- Departments of Neuroscience and Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong KongHong KongChina
- Centre for Regenerative Medicine and Health, Hong Kong Institute of Science & Innovation, Chinese Academy of SciencesHong KongChina
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17
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Li G, Lan L, He T, Tang Z, Liu S, Li Y, Huang Z, Guan Y, Li X, Zhang Y, Lai HY. Comprehensive Assessment of Ischemic Stroke in Nonhuman Primates: Neuroimaging, Behavioral, and Serum Proteomic Analysis. ACS Chem Neurosci 2024; 15:1548-1559. [PMID: 38527459 PMCID: PMC10996879 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.3c00826] [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: 12/28/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Ischemic strokes, prevalence and impactful, underscore the necessity of advanced research models closely resembling human physiology. Our study utilizes nonhuman primates (NHPs) to provide a detailed exploration of ischemic stroke, integrating neuroimaging data, behavioral outcomes, and serum proteomics to elucidate the complex interplay of factors involved in stroke pathophysiology. We observed a consistent pattern in infarct volume, peaking at 1-month postmiddle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and then stabilized. This pattern was strongly correlated to notable changes in motor function and working memory performance. Using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), we detected significant alterations in fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) values, signaling microstructural changes in the brain. These alterations closely correlated with the neurological and cognitive deficits that we observed, highlighting the sensitivity of DTI metrics in stroke assessment. Behaviorally, the monkeys exhibited a reliance on their unaffected limb for compensatory movements, a common response to stroke impairment. This adaptation, along with consistent DTI findings, suggests a significant impact of stroke on motor function and spatial perception. Proteomic analysis through MS/MS functional enrichment identified two distinct groups of proteins with significant changes post-MCAO. Notably, MMP9, THBS1, MB, PFN1, and YWHAZ were identified as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for ischemic stroke. Our results underscore the complex nature of stroke and advocate for an integrated approach, combining neuroimaging, behavioral studies, and proteomics, for advancing our understanding and treatment of this condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ge Li
- Guangdong
Provincial Key Laboratory of Laboratory Animals, Guangdong Laboratory Animals Monitoring Institute, Guangzhou 510663, China
| | - Lan Lan
- Department
of Neurology of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang
University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310029, China
- Department
of Psychology and Behavior Science, Zhejiang
University, Hangzhou 310029, China
| | - Tingting He
- Department
of Neurology of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang
University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310029, China
- College
of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029, China
| | - Zheng Tang
- Department
of Neurology of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang
University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310029, China
| | - Shuhua Liu
- Guangdong
Provincial Key Laboratory of Laboratory Animals, Guangdong Laboratory Animals Monitoring Institute, Guangzhou 510663, China
| | - Yunfeng Li
- Guangdong
Provincial Key Laboratory of Laboratory Animals, Guangdong Laboratory Animals Monitoring Institute, Guangzhou 510663, China
| | - Zhongqiang Huang
- Guangdong
Provincial Key Laboratory of Laboratory Animals, Guangdong Laboratory Animals Monitoring Institute, Guangzhou 510663, China
| | - Yalun Guan
- Guangdong
Provincial Key Laboratory of Laboratory Animals, Guangdong Laboratory Animals Monitoring Institute, Guangzhou 510663, China
| | - Xuejiao Li
- Guangdong
Provincial Key Laboratory of Laboratory Animals, Guangdong Laboratory Animals Monitoring Institute, Guangzhou 510663, China
| | - Yu Zhang
- Guangdong
Provincial Key Laboratory of Laboratory Animals, Guangdong Laboratory Animals Monitoring Institute, Guangzhou 510663, China
| | - Hsin-Yi Lai
- Department
of Neurology of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang
University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310029, China
- College
of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029, China
- Liangzhu
Laboratory, MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-Machine
Integration, State Key Laboratory of Brain-machine Intelligence, School
of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang
University, Hangzhou 310029, China
- Affiliated
Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People’s Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029, China
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18
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Mohebi A, Wei W, Pelattini L, Kim K, Berke JD. Dopamine transients follow a striatal gradient of reward time horizons. Nat Neurosci 2024; 27:737-746. [PMID: 38321294 PMCID: PMC11001583 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01566-3] [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: 05/12/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
Animals make predictions to guide their behavior and update those predictions through experience. Transient increases in dopamine (DA) are thought to be critical signals for updating predictions. However, it is unclear how this mechanism handles a wide range of behavioral timescales-from seconds or less (for example, if singing a song) to potentially hours or more (for example, if hunting for food). Here we report that DA transients in distinct rat striatal subregions convey prediction errors based on distinct time horizons. DA dynamics systematically accelerated from ventral to dorsomedial to dorsolateral striatum, in the tempo of spontaneous fluctuations, the temporal integration of prior rewards and the discounting of future rewards. This spectrum of timescales for evaluative computations can help achieve efficient learning and adaptive motivation for a broad range of behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ali Mohebi
- Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Wei Wei
- Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Lilian Pelattini
- Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Kyoungjun Kim
- Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Joshua D Berke
- Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
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19
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Gmaz JM, Keller JA, Dudman JT, Gallego JA. Integrating across behaviors and timescales to understand the neural control of movement. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2024; 85:102843. [PMID: 38354477 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2024.102843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Revised: 12/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/13/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
The nervous system evolved to enable navigation throughout the environment in the pursuit of resources. Evolutionarily newer structures allowed increasingly complex adaptations but necessarily added redundancy. A dominant view of movement neuroscientists is that there is a one-to-one mapping between brain region and function. However, recent experimental data is hard to reconcile with the most conservative interpretation of this framework, suggesting a degree of functional redundancy during the performance of well-learned, constrained behaviors. This apparent redundancy likely stems from the bidirectional interactions between the various cortical and subcortical structures involved in motor control. We posit that these bidirectional connections enable flexible interactions across structures that change depending upon behavioral demands, such as during acquisition, execution or adaptation of a skill. Observing the system across both multiple actions and behavioral timescales can help isolate the functional contributions of individual structures, leading to an integrated understanding of the neural control of movement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jimmie M Gmaz
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, UK. https://twitter.com/j_gmaz
| | - Jason A Keller
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn VA, USA. https://twitter.com/jakNeurd
| | - Joshua T Dudman
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn VA, USA.
| | - Juan A Gallego
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, UK.
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20
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Yang L, Singla D, Wu AK, Cross KA, Masmanidis SC. Dopamine lesions alter the striatal encoding of single-limb gait. eLife 2024; 12:RP92821. [PMID: 38526916 PMCID: PMC10963031 DOI: 10.7554/elife.92821] [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] [Indexed: 03/27/2024] Open
Abstract
The striatum serves an important role in motor control, and neurons in this area encode the body's initiation, cessation, and speed of locomotion. However, it remains unclear whether the same neurons also encode the step-by-step rhythmic motor patterns of individual limbs that characterize gait. By combining high-speed video tracking, electrophysiology, and optogenetic tagging, we found that a sizable population of both D1 and D2 receptor expressing medium spiny projection neurons (MSNs) were phase-locked to the gait cycle of individual limbs in mice. Healthy animals showed balanced limb phase-locking between D1 and D2 MSNs, while dopamine depletion led to stronger phase-locking in D2 MSNs. These findings indicate that striatal neurons represent gait on a single-limb and step basis, and suggest that elevated limb phase-locking of D2 MSNs may underlie some of the gait impairments associated with dopamine loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Long Yang
- Department of Neurobiology, University of California Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Deepak Singla
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Alexander K Wu
- Department of Neurobiology, University of California Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Katy A Cross
- Department of Neurology, University of California Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
| | - Sotiris C Masmanidis
- Department of Neurobiology, University of California Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
- California Nanosystems Institute, University of California Los AngelesLos AngelesUnited States
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21
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Ferguson LA, Matamales M, Nolan C, Balleine BW, Bertran-Gonzalez J. Adaptation of sequential action benefits from timing variability related to lateral basal ganglia circuitry. iScience 2024; 27:109274. [PMID: 38496293 PMCID: PMC10943431 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Streamlined action sequences must remain flexible should stable contingencies in the environment change. By combining analyses of behavioral structure with a circuit-specific manipulation in mice, we report on a relationship between action timing variability and successful adaptation that relates to post-synaptic targets of primary motor cortical (M1) projections to dorsolateral striatum (DLS). In a two-lever instrumental task, mice formed successful action sequences by, first, establishing action scaffolds and, second, smoothly extending action duration to adapt to increased task requirements. Interruption of DLS neurons in M1 projection territories altered this process, evoking higher-rate actions that were more stereotyped in their timing, reducing opportunities for success. Based on evidence from neuronal tracing experiments, we propose that DLS neurons in M1 projection territories supply action timing variability to facilitate adaptation, a function that may involve additional downstream subcortical processing relating to collateralization of descending motor pathways to multiple basal ganglia centers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lachlan A. Ferguson
- Decision Neuroscience Laboratory, School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Miriam Matamales
- Decision Neuroscience Laboratory, School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Christopher Nolan
- Decision Neuroscience Laboratory, School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Bernard W. Balleine
- Decision Neuroscience Laboratory, School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Jesus Bertran-Gonzalez
- Decision Neuroscience Laboratory, School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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22
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Favila N, Gurney K, Overton PG. Role of the basal ganglia in innate and learned behavioural sequences. Rev Neurosci 2024; 35:35-55. [PMID: 37437141 DOI: 10.1515/revneuro-2023-0038] [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: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 06/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/14/2023]
Abstract
Integrating individual actions into coherent, organised behavioural units, a process called chunking, is a fundamental, evolutionarily conserved process that renders actions automatic. In vertebrates, evidence points to the basal ganglia - a complex network believed to be involved in action selection - as a key component of action sequence encoding, although the underlying mechanisms are only just beginning to be understood. Central pattern generators control many innate automatic behavioural sequences that form some of the most basic behaviours in an animal's repertoire, and in vertebrates, brainstem and spinal pattern generators are under the control of higher order structures such as the basal ganglia. Evidence suggests that the basal ganglia play a crucial role in the concatenation of simpler behaviours into more complex chunks, in the context of innate behavioural sequences such as chain grooming in rats, as well as sequences in which innate capabilities and learning interact such as birdsong, and sequences that are learned from scratch, such as lever press sequences in operant behaviour. It has been proposed that the role of the striatum, the largest input structure of the basal ganglia, might lie in selecting and allowing the relevant central pattern generators to gain access to the motor system in the correct order, while inhibiting other behaviours. As behaviours become more complex and flexible, the pattern generators seem to become more dependent on descending signals. Indeed, during learning, the striatum itself may adopt the functional characteristics of a higher order pattern generator, facilitated at the microcircuit level by striatal neuropeptides.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Favila
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, 53127 Bonn, Germany
| | - Kevin Gurney
- Department of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 2LT, UK
| | - Paul G Overton
- Department of Psychology, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 2LT, UK
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23
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Yang L, Singla D, Wu AK, Cross KA, Masmanidis SC. Dopamine lesions alter the striatal encoding of single-limb gait. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.10.06.561216. [PMID: 37873374 PMCID: PMC10592622 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.06.561216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
The striatum serves an important role in motor control, and neurons in this area encode the body's initiation, cessation, and speed of locomotion. However, it remains unclear whether the same neurons also encode the step-by-step rhythmic motor patterns of individual limbs that characterize gait. By combining high-speed video tracking, electrophysiology, and optogenetic tagging, we found that a sizable population of both D1 and D2 receptor expressing medium spiny projection neurons (MSNs) were phase-locked to the gait cycle of individual limbs in mice. Healthy animals showed balanced limb phase-locking between D1 and D2 MSNs, while dopamine depletion led to stronger phase-locking in D2 MSNs. These findings indicate that striatal neurons represent gait on a single-limb and step basis, and suggest that elevated limb phase-locking of D2 MSNs may underlie some of the gait impairments associated with dopamine loss.
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Affiliation(s)
- Long Yang
- Department of Neurobiology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Deepak Singla
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Alexander K. Wu
- Department of Neurobiology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Katy A. Cross
- Department of Neurology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
| | - Sotiris C. Masmanidis
- Department of Neurobiology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
- California Nanosystems Institute, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA
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24
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Fraser KM, Chen BJ, Janak PH. Nucleus accumbens and dorsal medial striatal dopamine and neural activity are essential for action sequence performance. Eur J Neurosci 2024; 59:220-237. [PMID: 38093522 PMCID: PMC10841748 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.16210] [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: 04/17/2023] [Revised: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/23/2024]
Abstract
Separable striatal circuits have unique functions in Pavlovian and instrumental behaviors but how these roles relate to performance of sequences of actions with and without associated cues are less clear. Here, we tested whether dopamine transmission and neural activity more generally in three striatal subdomains are necessary for performance of an action chain leading to reward delivery. Male and female Long-Evans rats were trained to press a series of three spatially distinct levers to receive reward. We assessed the contribution of neural activity or dopamine transmission within each striatal subdomain when progression through the action sequence was explicitly cued and in the absence of cues. Behavior in both task variations was substantially impacted following microinfusion of the dopamine antagonist, flupenthixol, into nucleus accumbens core (NAc) or dorsomedial striatum (DMS), with impairments in sequence timing and numbers of rewards earned after NAc flupenthixol. In contrast, after pharmacological inactivation to suppress overall activity, there was minimal impact on total rewards earned. Instead, inactivation of both NAc and DMS impaired sequence timing and led to sequence errors in the uncued, but not cued task. There was no impact of dopamine antagonism or reversible inactivation of dorsolateral striatum on either cued or uncued action sequence completion. These results highlight an essential contribution of NAc and DMS dopamine systems in motivational and performance aspects of chains of actions, whether cued or internally generated, as well as the impact of intact NAc and DMS function for correct sequence performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kurt M. Fraser
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Krieger School of Arts & Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218
| | - Bridget J. Chen
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Krieger School of Arts & Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218
| | - Patricia H. Janak
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Krieger School of Arts & Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21205
- Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218
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Bufacchi RJ, Battaglia-Mayer A, Iannetti GD, Caminiti R. Cortico-spinal modularity in the parieto-frontal system: A new perspective on action control. Prog Neurobiol 2023; 231:102537. [PMID: 37832714 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2023.102537] [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: 04/02/2023] [Revised: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023]
Abstract
Classical neurophysiology suggests that the motor cortex (MI) has a unique role in action control. In contrast, this review presents evidence for multiple parieto-frontal spinal command modules that can bypass MI. Five observations support this modular perspective: (i) the statistics of cortical connectivity demonstrate functionally-related clusters of cortical areas, defining functional modules in the premotor, cingulate, and parietal cortices; (ii) different corticospinal pathways originate from the above areas, each with a distinct range of conduction velocities; (iii) the activation time of each module varies depending on task, and different modules can be activated simultaneously; (iv) a modular architecture with direct motor output is faster and less metabolically expensive than an architecture that relies on MI, given the slow connections between MI and other cortical areas; (v) lesions of the areas composing parieto-frontal modules have different effects from lesions of MI. Here we provide examples of six cortico-spinal modules and functions they subserve: module 1) arm reaching, tool use and object construction; module 2) spatial navigation and locomotion; module 3) grasping and observation of hand and mouth actions; module 4) action initiation, motor sequences, time encoding; module 5) conditional motor association and learning, action plan switching and action inhibition; module 6) planning defensive actions. These modules can serve as a library of tools to be recombined when faced with novel tasks, and MI might serve as a recombinatory hub. In conclusion, the availability of locally-stored information and multiple outflow paths supports the physiological plausibility of the proposed modular perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- R J Bufacchi
- Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy; International Center for Primate Brain Research (ICPBR), Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology (CEBSIT), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, China
| | - A Battaglia-Mayer
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Rome, Sapienza, Italy
| | - G D Iannetti
- Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy; Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London (UCL), London, UK
| | - R Caminiti
- Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rome, Italy.
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Kiani MM, Heidari Beni MH, Aghajan H. Aberrations in temporal dynamics of cognitive processing induced by Parkinson's disease and Levodopa. Sci Rep 2023; 13:20195. [PMID: 37980451 PMCID: PMC10657430 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47410-3] [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: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) have been shown to significantly improve by Levodopa. However, despite the widespread adoption of Levodopa as a standard pharmaceutical drug for the treatment of PD, cognitive impairments linked to PD do not show visible improvement with Levodopa treatment. Furthermore, the neuronal and network mechanisms behind the PD-induced cognitive impairments are not clearly understood. In this work, we aim to explain these cognitive impairments, as well as the ones exacerbated by Levodopa, through examining the differential dynamic patterns of the phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) during cognitive functions. EEG data recorded in an auditory oddball task performed by a cohort consisting of controls and a group of PD patients during both on and off periods of Levodopa treatment were analyzed to derive the temporal dynamics of the PAC across the brain. We observed distinguishing patterns in the PAC dynamics, as an indicator of information binding, which can explain the slower cognitive processing associated with PD in the form of a latency in the PAC peak time. Thus, considering the high-level connections between the hippocampus, the posterior and prefrontal cortices established through the dorsal and ventral striatum acting as a modulatory system, we posit that the primary issue with cognitive impairments of PD, as well as Levodopa's cognitive deficit side effects, can be attributed to the changes in temporal dynamics of dopamine release influencing the modulatory function of the striatum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Mahdi Kiani
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Hamid Aghajan
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
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27
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Frost Nylén J, Hjorth JJJ, Kozlov A, Carannante I, Hellgren Kotaleski J, Grillner S. The roles of surround inhibition for the intrinsic function of the striatum, analyzed in silico. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2313058120. [PMID: 37922329 PMCID: PMC10636308 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2313058120] [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: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The basal ganglia are important for action initiation, selection, and motor learning. The input level, the striatum, receives input preferentially from the cortex and thalamus and is to 95% composed of striatal projection neurons (SPNs) with sparse GABAergic collaterals targeting distal dendrites of neighboring SPNs, in a distance-dependent manner. The remaining 5% are GABAergic and cholinergic interneurons. Our aim here is to investigate the role of surround inhibition for the intrinsic function of the striatum. Large-scale striatal networks of 20 to 40 thousand neurons were simulated with detailed multicompartmental models of different cell types, corresponding to the size of a module of the dorsolateral striatum, like the forelimb area (mouse). The effect of surround inhibition on dendritic computation and network activity was investigated, while groups of SPNs were activated. The SPN-induced surround inhibition in distal dendrites shunted effectively the corticostriatal EPSPs. The size of dendritic plateau-like potentials within the specific dendritic segment was both reduced and enhanced by inhibition, due to the hyperpolarized membrane potential of SPNs and the reversal-potential of GABA. On a population level, the competition between two subpopulations of SPNs was found to depend on the distance between the two units, the size of each unit, the activity level in each subgroup and the dopaminergic modulation of the dSPNs and iSPNs. The SPNs provided the dominating source of inhibition within the striatum, while the fast-spiking interneuron mainly had an initial effect due to short-term synaptic plasticity as shown in with ablation of the synaptic interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - J. J. Johannes Hjorth
- Department of Computer Science, Science for Life Laboratory, KTH, Royal Institute of Technology, StockholmSE17177, Sweden
| | - Alexander Kozlov
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, StockholmSE17177, Sweden
- Department of Computer Science, Science for Life Laboratory, KTH, Royal Institute of Technology, StockholmSE17177, Sweden
| | - Ilaria Carannante
- Department of Computer Science, Science for Life Laboratory, KTH, Royal Institute of Technology, StockholmSE17177, Sweden
| | - Jeanette Hellgren Kotaleski
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, StockholmSE17177, Sweden
- Department of Computer Science, Science for Life Laboratory, KTH, Royal Institute of Technology, StockholmSE17177, Sweden
| | - Sten Grillner
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, StockholmSE17177, Sweden
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Pimentel JM, Moioli RC, De Araujo MFP, Vargas PA. An Integrated Neurorobotics Model of the Cerebellar-Basal Ganglia Circuitry. Int J Neural Syst 2023; 33:2350059. [PMID: 37791495 DOI: 10.1142/s0129065723500594] [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: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
This work presents a neurorobotics model of the brain that integrates the cerebellum and the basal ganglia regions to coordinate movements in a humanoid robot. This cerebellar-basal ganglia circuitry is well known for its relevance to the motor control used by most mammals. Other computational models have been designed for similar applications in the robotics field. However, most of them completely ignore the interplay between neurons from the basal ganglia and cerebellum. Recently, neuroscientists indicated that neurons from both regions communicate not only at the level of the cerebral cortex but also at the subcortical level. In this work, we built an integrated neurorobotics model to assess the capacity of the network to predict and adjust the motion of the hands of a robot in real time. Our model was capable of performing different movements in a humanoid robot by respecting the sensorimotor loop of the robot and the biophysical features of the neuronal circuitry. The experiments were executed in simulation and the real world. We believe that our proposed neurorobotics model can be an important tool for new studies on the brain and a reference toward new robot motor controllers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jhielson M Pimentel
- Edinburgh Centre for Robotics, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK
| | - Renan C Moioli
- Bioinformatics Multidisciplinary Environment, Digital Metropolis Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil
| | | | - Patricia A Vargas
- Edinburgh Centre for Robotics, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, UK
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29
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Urushadze A, Janicek M, Abbondanza A, Janickova H. Timed Sequence Task: A New Paradigm to Study Motor Learning and Flexibility in Mice. eNeuro 2023; 10:ENEURO.0145-23.2023. [PMID: 37793806 PMCID: PMC10552695 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0145-23.2023] [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: 05/01/2023] [Revised: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Motor learning and flexibility allow animals to perform routine actions efficiently while keeping them flexible. A number of paradigms are used to test cognitive flexibility, but not many of them focus specifically on the learning of complex motor sequences and their flexibility. While many tests use operant or touchscreen boxes that offer high throughput and reproducibility, the motor actions themselves are mostly simple presses of a designated lever. To focus more on motor actions during the operant task and to probe the flexibility of these well trained actions, we developed a new operant paradigm for mice, the "timed sequence task." The task requires mice to learn a sequence of lever presses that have to be emitted in precisely defined time limits. After training, the required pressing sequence and/or timing of individual presses is modified to test the ability of mice to alter their previously trained motor actions. We provide a code for the new protocol that can be used and adapted to common types of operant boxes. In addition, we provide a set of scripts that allow automatic extraction and analysis of numerous parameters recorded during each session. We demonstrate that the analysis of multiple performance parameters is necessary for detailed insight into the behavior of animals during the task. We validate our paradigm in an experiment using the valproate model of autism as a model of cognitive inflexibility. We show that the valproate mice show superior performance at specific stages of the task, paradoxically because of their propensity to more stereotypic behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Urushadze
- Laboratory of Neurochemistry, Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 14200 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Milan Janicek
- Central Library, Charles University, 11636 Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Alice Abbondanza
- Laboratory of Neurochemistry, Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 14200 Prague, Czech Republic
- CNRS UMR 8246, INSERM U1130, Neuroscience Paris Seine-Institut de Biologie Paris Seine (NPS-IBPS), Sorbonne Université, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Helena Janickova
- Laboratory of Neurochemistry, Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, 14200 Prague, Czech Republic
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Mizes KGC, Lindsey J, Escola GS, Ölveczky BP. Dissociating the contributions of sensorimotor striatum to automatic and visually guided motor sequences. Nat Neurosci 2023; 26:1791-1804. [PMID: 37667040 PMCID: PMC11187818 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01431-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
The ability to sequence movements in response to new task demands enables rich and adaptive behavior. However, such flexibility is computationally costly and can result in halting performances. Practicing the same motor sequence repeatedly can render its execution precise, fast and effortless, that is, 'automatic'. The basal ganglia are thought to underlie both types of sequence execution, yet whether and how their contributions differ is unclear. We parse this in rats trained to perform the same motor sequence instructed by cues and in a self-initiated overtrained, or 'automatic,' condition. Neural recordings in the sensorimotor striatum revealed a kinematic code independent of the execution mode. Although lesions reduced the movement speed and affected detailed kinematics similarly, they disrupted high-level sequence structure for automatic, but not visually guided, behaviors. These results suggest that the basal ganglia are essential for 'automatic' motor skills that are defined in terms of continuous kinematics, but can be dispensable for discrete motor sequences guided by sensory cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin G C Mizes
- Program in Biophysics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Jack Lindsey
- Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York City, NY, USA
| | - G Sean Escola
- Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York City, NY, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York City, NY, USA
| | - Bence P Ölveczky
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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31
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Robbe D. Lost in time: Relocating the perception of duration outside the brain. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 153:105312. [PMID: 37467906 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105312] [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: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 07/08/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023]
Abstract
It is well-accepted in neuroscience that animals process time internally to estimate the duration of intervals lasting between one and several seconds. More than 100 years ago, Henri Bergson nevertheless remarked that, because animals have memory, their inner experience of time is ever-changing, making duration impossible to measure internally and time a source of change. Bergson proposed that quantifying the inner experience of time requires its externalization in movements (observed or self-generated), as their unfolding leaves measurable traces in space. Here, studies across species are reviewed and collectively suggest that, in line with Bergson's ideas, animals spontaneously solve time estimation tasks through a movement-based spatialization of time. Moreover, the well-known scalable anticipatory responses of animals to regularly spaced rewards can be explained by the variable pressure of time on reward-oriented actions. Finally, the brain regions linked with time perception overlap with those implicated in motor control, spatial navigation and motivation. Thus, instead of considering time as static information processed by the brain, it might be fruitful to conceptualize it as a kind of force to which animals are more or less sensitive depending on their internal state and environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Robbe
- Institut de Neurobiologie de la Méditerranée (INMED), INSERM, Marseille, France; Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France.
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Schmidt CC, Achilles EIS, Bolte K, Kleineberg NN, Richter MK, Schloss N, Fink GR, Weiss PH. Association of Circumscribed Subcortical Gray and White Matter Lesions With Apraxic Deficits in Patients With Left Hemisphere Stroke. Neurology 2023; 101:e1137-e1144. [PMID: 37463748 PMCID: PMC10513893 DOI: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000207598] [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: 11/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Apraxia is commonly attributed to left hemisphere (LH) lesions of the cortical fronto-temporo-parietal praxis networks or white matter lesions causing disconnections between cortical nodes. By contrast, the contribution of lesions to the subcortical gray matter, that is, basal ganglia or thalamus, to apraxic deficits remains controversial. Here, we investigate whether damage to these subcortical gray matter structures (i.e., caudate nucleus, putamen, globus pallidus, and thalamus) or the adjacent white matter tracts was associated with apraxic deficits. METHODS We identified patients with distinct subcortical lesions with and without apraxia from a large retrospective sample of subacute LH ischemic stroke patients (n = 194). To test which subcortical structures (caudate nucleus, putamen, globus pallidus, thalamus, and adjacent white matter tracts), when lesioned, contributed to apraxic deficits, we statistically compared the proportion of lesioned voxels within subcortical gray and white matter structures between the apraxic and nonapraxic patients. RESULTS Of the 194 stroke patients screened, 39 (median age = 65 years, range 30-82 years; median time poststroke at the apraxia assessment = 7 days, range 1-44 days) had lesions confined to subcortical regions (gray and white matter). Eleven patients showed apraxic deficits when imitating gestures or pantomiming object use. Region-wise statistical lesion comparison (controlled for lesion size) revealed a more significant proportion of damage ('lesion load') in the caudate nucleus in apraxic stroke patients (mean difference = 6.9%, 95% CI 0.4-13.3, p = 0.038, η p 2 = 0.11). By contrast, apraxic patients had lower lesion load in the globus pallidus (mean difference = 9.9%, 95% CI 0.1-19.8, p = 0.048, η p 2 = 0.10), whereas the lesion load in other subcortical structures (putamen, thalamus, and adjacent white matter tracts) did not differ significantly between the apraxic and nonapraxic patients. DISCUSSION These findings provide new insights into the subcortical anatomy of apraxia after LH stroke, suggesting a specific contribution of caudate nucleus lesions to apraxic deficits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia C Schmidt
- From the Cognitive Neuroscience (C.C.S., E.I.S.A., N.N.K., M.K.R., G.R.F., P.H.W.), Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany; and Department of Neurology (E.I.S.A., K.B., N.N.K., M.K.R., N.S., G.R.F., P.H.W.), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Germany.
| | - Elisabeth I S Achilles
- From the Cognitive Neuroscience (C.C.S., E.I.S.A., N.N.K., M.K.R., G.R.F., P.H.W.), Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany; and Department of Neurology (E.I.S.A., K.B., N.N.K., M.K.R., N.S., G.R.F., P.H.W.), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Germany
| | - Katharina Bolte
- From the Cognitive Neuroscience (C.C.S., E.I.S.A., N.N.K., M.K.R., G.R.F., P.H.W.), Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany; and Department of Neurology (E.I.S.A., K.B., N.N.K., M.K.R., N.S., G.R.F., P.H.W.), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Germany
| | - Nina N Kleineberg
- From the Cognitive Neuroscience (C.C.S., E.I.S.A., N.N.K., M.K.R., G.R.F., P.H.W.), Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany; and Department of Neurology (E.I.S.A., K.B., N.N.K., M.K.R., N.S., G.R.F., P.H.W.), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Germany
| | - Monika K Richter
- From the Cognitive Neuroscience (C.C.S., E.I.S.A., N.N.K., M.K.R., G.R.F., P.H.W.), Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany; and Department of Neurology (E.I.S.A., K.B., N.N.K., M.K.R., N.S., G.R.F., P.H.W.), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Germany
| | - Natalie Schloss
- From the Cognitive Neuroscience (C.C.S., E.I.S.A., N.N.K., M.K.R., G.R.F., P.H.W.), Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany; and Department of Neurology (E.I.S.A., K.B., N.N.K., M.K.R., N.S., G.R.F., P.H.W.), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Germany
| | - Gereon R Fink
- From the Cognitive Neuroscience (C.C.S., E.I.S.A., N.N.K., M.K.R., G.R.F., P.H.W.), Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany; and Department of Neurology (E.I.S.A., K.B., N.N.K., M.K.R., N.S., G.R.F., P.H.W.), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Germany
| | - Peter H Weiss
- From the Cognitive Neuroscience (C.C.S., E.I.S.A., N.N.K., M.K.R., G.R.F., P.H.W.), Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany; and Department of Neurology (E.I.S.A., K.B., N.N.K., M.K.R., N.S., G.R.F., P.H.W.), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne, Germany
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Mizes KGC, Lindsey J, Escola GS, Ölveczky BP. Motor cortex is required for flexible but not automatic motor sequences. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.05.556348. [PMID: 37732225 PMCID: PMC10508748 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.05.556348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/22/2023]
Abstract
How motor cortex contributes to motor sequence execution is much debated, with studies supporting disparate views. Here we probe the degree to which motor cortex's engagement depends on task demands, specifically whether its role differs for highly practiced, or 'automatic', sequences versus flexible sequences informed by external events. To test this, we trained rats to generate three-element motor sequences either by overtraining them on a single sequence or by having them follow instructive visual cues. Lesioning motor cortex revealed that it is necessary for flexible cue-driven motor sequences but dispensable for single automatic behaviors trained in isolation. However, when an automatic motor sequence was practiced alongside the flexible task, it became motor cortex-dependent, suggesting that subcortical consolidation of an automatic motor sequence is delayed or prevented when the same sequence is produced also in a flexible context. A simple neural network model recapitulated these results and explained the underlying circuit mechanisms. Our results critically delineate the role of motor cortex in motor sequence execution, describing the condition under which it is engaged and the functions it fulfills, thus reconciling seemingly conflicting views about motor cortex's role in motor sequence generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin G. C. Mizes
- Program in Biophysics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138,
USA
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Center for
Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Jack Lindsey
- Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia
University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
| | - G. Sean Escola
- Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia
University, New York, NY, 10027, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY,
10032, USA
| | - Bence P. Ölveczky
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Center for
Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
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Monteiro T, Rodrigues FS, Pexirra M, Cruz BF, Gonçalves AI, Rueda-Orozco PE, Paton JJ. Using temperature to analyze the neural basis of a time-based decision. Nat Neurosci 2023; 26:1407-1416. [PMID: 37443279 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01378-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023]
Abstract
The basal ganglia are thought to contribute to decision-making and motor control. These functions are critically dependent on timing information, which can be extracted from the evolving state of neural populations in their main input structure, the striatum. However, it is debated whether striatal activity underlies latent, dynamic decision processes or kinematics of overt movement. Here, we measured the impact of temperature on striatal population activity and the behavior of rats, and compared the observed effects with neural activity and behavior collected in multiple versions of a temporal categorization task. Cooling caused dilation, and warming contraction, of both neural activity and patterns of judgment in time, mimicking endogenous decision-related variability in striatal activity. However, temperature did not similarly affect movement kinematics. These data provide compelling evidence that the timecourse of evolving striatal activity dictates the speed of a latent process that is used to guide choices, but not continuous motor control. More broadly, they establish temporal scaling of population activity as a likely neural basis for variability in timing behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiago Monteiro
- Neuroscience Programme, Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal
- Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | | | - Margarida Pexirra
- Neuroscience Programme, Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University College London, London, UK
| | - Bruno F Cruz
- Neuroscience Programme, Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal
- NeuroGEARS Ltd., London, UK
| | - Ana I Gonçalves
- Neuroscience Programme, Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal
| | | | - Joseph J Paton
- Neuroscience Programme, Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal.
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Robbe D, Safaie M. Hot times for the dorsal striatum. Nat Neurosci 2023; 26:1320-1321. [PMID: 37443280 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01386-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- David Robbe
- Institut de Neurobiologie de la Méditerranée (INMED), INSERM, Turing Center for Living System, Aix Marseille Université, Marseille, France.
| | - Mostafa Safaie
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
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36
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Blot FGC, White JJ, van Hattem A, Scotti L, Balaji V, Adolfs Y, Pasterkamp RJ, De Zeeuw CI, Schonewille M. Purkinje cell microzones mediate distinct kinematics of a single movement. Nat Commun 2023; 14:4358. [PMID: 37468512 PMCID: PMC10356806 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40111-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The classification of neuronal subpopulations has significantly advanced, yet its relevance for behavior remains unclear. The highly organized flocculus of the cerebellum, known to fine-tune multi-axial eye movements, is an ideal substrate for the study of potential functions of neuronal subpopulations. Here, we demonstrate that its recently identified subpopulations of 9+ and 9- Purkinje cells exhibit an intermediate Aldolase C expression and electrophysiological profile, providing evidence for a graded continuum of intrinsic properties among PC subpopulations. By identifying and utilizing two Cre-lines that genetically target these floccular domains, we show with high spatial specificity that these subpopulations of Purkinje cells participate in separate micromodules with topographically organized connections. Finally, optogenetic excitation of the respective subpopulations results in movements around the same axis in space, yet with distinct kinematic profiles. These results indicate that Purkinje cell subpopulations integrate in discrete circuits and mediate particular parameters of single movements.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Joshua J White
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Amy van Hattem
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Licia Scotti
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Vaishnavi Balaji
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Youri Adolfs
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht, Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - R Jeroen Pasterkamp
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht, Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Chris I De Zeeuw
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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37
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Pierrieau E, Berret B, Lepage JF, Bernier PM. From Motivation to Action: Action Cost Better Predicts Changes in Premovement Beta-Band Activity than Speed. J Neurosci 2023; 43:5264-5275. [PMID: 37339875 PMCID: PMC10342222 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0213-23.2023] [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: 02/04/2023] [Revised: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2023] [Indexed: 06/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Although premovement beta-band event-related desynchronization (β-ERD; 13-30 Hz) from sensorimotor regions is modulated by movement speed, current evidence does not support a strict monotonic association between the two. Given that β-ERD is thought to increase information encoding capacity, we tested the hypothesis that it might be related to the expected neurocomputational cost of movement, here referred to as action cost. Critically, action cost is greater both for slow and fast movements compared with a medium or "preferred" speed. Thirty-one right-handed participants performed a speed-controlled reaching task while recording their EEG. Results revealed potent modulations of beta power as a function of speed, with β-ERD being significantly greater both for movements performed at high and low speeds compared with medium speed. Interestingly, medium-speed movements were more often chosen by participants than low-speed and high-speed movements, suggesting that they were evaluated as less costly. In line with this, modeling of action cost revealed a pattern of modulation across speed conditions that strikingly resembled the one found for β-ERD. Indeed, linear mixed models showed that estimated action cost predicted variations of β-ERD significantly better than speed. This relationship with action cost was specific to beta power, as it was not found when averaging activity in the mu band (8-12 Hz) and gamma band (31-49 Hz) bands. These results demonstrate that increasing β-ERD may not merely speed up movements, but instead facilitate the preparation of high-speed and low-speed movements through the allocation of additional neural resources, thereby enabling flexible motor control.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Heightened beta activity has been associated with movement slowing in Parkinson's disease, and modulations of beta activity are commonly used to decode movement parameters in brain-computer interfaces. Here we show that premovement beta activity is better explained by the neurocomputational cost of the action rather than its speed. Instead of being interpreted as a mere reflection of changes in movement speed, premovement changes in beta activity might therefore be used to infer the amount of neural resources that are allocated for motor planning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emeline Pierrieau
- Programme de Physiologie, Faculté de Médecine et des Sciences de la Santé, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec J1H 5N4, Canada
| | - Bastien Berret
- CIAMS (Complexité, Innovation, Activités, Motrices, et Sportives), Université Paris-Saclay, 91405 Orsay, France
- CIAMS (Complexité, Innovation, Activités, Motrices, et Sportives), Université d'Orléans, 45067 Orléans, France
- Institut Universitaire de France, 75231 Paris, France
| | - Jean-François Lepage
- Programme de Physiologie, Faculté de Médecine et des Sciences de la Santé, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec J1H 5N4, Canada
- Département de Pédiatrie, Faculté de Médecine et des Sciences de la Santé, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec J1H 5N4, Canada
| | - Pierre-Michel Bernier
- Département de Kinanthropologie, Faculté des Sciences de l'Activité Physique, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec J1K 2R1, Canada
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38
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Markowitz JE. A groom with a view. eLife 2023; 12:88595. [PMID: 37191296 DOI: 10.7554/elife.88595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Mapping mouse grooming episodes to neural activity shows that striatal cells deep in the brain collectively represent key aspects of self-grooming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey E Markowitz
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, United States
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39
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Ji T, Gong W, Zhou J, Jing Y, Xing R, Zhu B, Li K, Hou C, Zhang Q, Li Y, Wang H. Scalable multi-dimensional topological deformation actuators for active object identification. MATERIALS HORIZONS 2023; 10:1726-1736. [PMID: 36891764 DOI: 10.1039/d2mh01567f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Rarely are bionic robots capable of rapid multi-dimensional deformation and object identification in the same way as animals and plants. This study proposes a topological deformation actuator for bionic robots based on pre-expanded polyethylene and large flake MXene, inspired by the octopus predation behavior. This unusual, large-area topological deformation actuator (easily reaching 800 cm2 but is not constrained to this size) prepared by large-scale blow molding and continuous scrape coating exhibits different distribution states of molecular chains at low and high temperatures, causing the actuator's deformation direction to change axially. With its multi-dimensional topological deformation and self-powered active object identification capabilities, the actuator can capture objects like an octopus. The contact electrification effect assists the actuator to identify the type and size of the target object during this multi-dimensional topological deformation that is controllable and designable. This work demonstrates the direct conversion of light energy into contact electrical signals, introducing a new route for the practicality and scaling of bionic robots.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianyi Ji
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, P. R. China.
- Engineering Research Center of Advanced Glasses Manufacturing Technology, Ministry of Education, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, P. R. China.
| | - Wei Gong
- College of Light-Textile Engineering and Art, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei 230036, P. R. China.
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, 4 Engineering Drive 3, Singapore 117583, Singapore
| | - Jie Zhou
- School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610100, China
| | - Yangmin Jing
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, P. R. China.
| | - Ruizhe Xing
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, P. R. China
| | - Bingjie Zhu
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, P. R. China.
| | - Kerui Li
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, P. R. China.
| | - Chengyi Hou
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, P. R. China.
| | - Qinghong Zhang
- Engineering Research Center of Advanced Glasses Manufacturing Technology, Ministry of Education, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, P. R. China.
| | - Yaogang Li
- Engineering Research Center of Advanced Glasses Manufacturing Technology, Ministry of Education, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, P. R. China.
| | - Hongzhi Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, P. R. China.
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Zareian B, Lam A, Zagha E. Dorsolateral Striatum is a Bottleneck for Responding to Task-Relevant Stimuli in a Learned Whisker Detection Task in Mice. J Neurosci 2023; 43:2126-2139. [PMID: 36810226 PMCID: PMC10039746 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1506-22.2023] [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: 08/05/2022] [Revised: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023] Open
Abstract
A learned sensory-motor behavior engages multiple brain regions, including the neocortex and the basal ganglia. How a target stimulus is detected by these regions and converted to a motor response remains poorly understood. Here, we performed electrophysiological recordings and pharmacological inactivations of whisker motor cortex and dorsolateral striatum to determine the representations within, and functions of, each region during performance in a selective whisker detection task in male and female mice. From the recording experiments, we observed robust, lateralized sensory responses in both structures. We also observed bilateral choice probability and preresponse activity in both structures, with these features emerging earlier in whisker motor cortex than dorsolateral striatum. These findings establish both whisker motor cortex and dorsolateral striatum as potential contributors to the sensory-to-motor (sensorimotor) transformation. We performed pharmacological inactivation studies to determine the necessity of these brain regions for this task. We found that suppressing the dorsolateral striatum severely disrupts responding to task-relevant stimuli, without disrupting the ability to respond, whereas suppressing whisker motor cortex resulted in more subtle changes in sensory detection and response criterion. Together these data support the dorsolateral striatum as an essential node in the sensorimotor transformation of this whisker detection task.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Selecting an item in a grocery store, hailing a cab - these daily practices require us to transform sensory stimuli into motor responses. Many decades of previous research have studied goal-directed sensory-to-motor transformations within various brain structures, including the neocortex and the basal ganglia. Yet, our understanding of how these regions coordinate to perform sensory-to-motor transformations is limited because these brain structures are often studied by different researchers and through different behavioral tasks. Here, we record and perturb specific regions of the neocortex and the basal ganglia and compare their contributions during performance of a goal-directed somatosensory detection task. We find notable differences in the activities and functions of these regions, which suggests specific contributions to the sensory-to-motor transformation process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Behzad Zareian
- Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California 92521
| | - Angelina Lam
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California 92521
| | - Edward Zagha
- Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California 92521
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California 92521
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California 92521
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41
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Minkowicz S, Mathews MA, Mou FH, Yoon H, Freda SN, Cui ES, Kennedy A, Kozorovitskiy Y. Striatal ensemble activity in an innate naturalistic behavior. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.23.529669. [PMID: 36865109 PMCID: PMC9980072 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.23.529669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/25/2023]
Abstract
Self-grooming is an innate, naturalistic behavior found in a wide variety of organisms. The control of rodent grooming has been shown to be mediated by the dorsolateral striatum through lesion studies and in-vivo extracellular recordings. Yet, it is unclear how populations of neurons in the striatum encode grooming. We recorded single-unit extracellular activity from populations of neurons in freely moving mice and developed a semi-automated approach to detect self-grooming events from 117 hours of simultaneous multi-camera video recordings of mouse behavior. We first characterized the grooming transition-aligned response profiles of striatal projection neuron and fast spiking interneuron single units. We identified striatal ensembles whose units were more strongly correlated during grooming than during the entire session. These ensembles display varied grooming responses, including transient changes around grooming transitions or sustained changes in activity throughout the duration of grooming. Neural trajectories computed from the identified ensembles retain the grooming related dynamics present in trajectories computed from all units in the session. These results elaborate striatal function in rodent self-grooming and demonstrate that striatal grooming-related activity is organized within functional ensembles, improving our understanding of how the striatum guides action selection in a naturalistic behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Minkowicz
- Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
| | | | - Felicia Hoilam Mou
- Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
| | - Hyoseo Yoon
- Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
| | - Sara Nicole Freda
- Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
| | - Ethan S Cui
- Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, United States
| | - Ann Kennedy
- Department of Neuroscience, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States
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42
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Tracking neural activity from the same cells during the entire adult life of mice. Nat Neurosci 2023; 26:696-710. [PMID: 36804648 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01267-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023]
Abstract
Stably recording the electrical activity of the same neurons over the adult life of an animal is important to neuroscience research and biomedical applications. Current implantable devices cannot provide stable recording on this timescale. Here, we introduce a method to precisely implant electronics with an open, unfolded mesh structure across multiple brain regions in the mouse. The open mesh structure forms a stable interwoven structure with the neural network, preventing probe drifting and showing no immune response and neuron loss during the year-long implantation. Rigorous statistical analysis, visual stimulus-dependent measurement and unbiased, machine-learning-based analysis demonstrated that single-unit action potentials have been recorded from the same neurons of behaving mice in a very long-term stable manner. Leveraging this stable structure, we demonstrated that the same neurons can be recorded over the entire adult life of the mouse, revealing the aging-associated evolution of single-neuron activities.
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43
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The deep cerebellar nuclei to striatum disynaptic connection contributes to skilled forelimb movement. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112000. [PMID: 36656714 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112000] [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: 06/17/2022] [Revised: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Cerebellar-thalamo-striatal synaptic communication has been implicated in a wide range of behaviors, including goal-directed actions, and is altered in cerebellar dystonia. However, its detailed connectivity through the thalamus and its contribution to the execution of forelimb movements is unclear. Here, we use trans-synaptic and retrograde tracing, ex vivo slice recordings, and optogenetic inhibitions during the execution of unidirectional or sequential joystick displacements to demonstrate that the deep cerebellar nuclei (DCN) influence the dorsal striatum with a very high probability. We show that this mainly occurs through the centrolateral (CL), parafascicular (PF), and ventrolateral (VL) nuclei of the thalamus, observing that the DCN→VL and DCN→CL pathways contribute to the execution of unidirectional forelimb displacements while the DCN→PF and DCN→thalamo→striatal pathways contribute to the appropriate execution of forelimb reaching and sequential displacements. These findings highlight specific contributions of the different cerebellar-thalamo-striatal paths to the control of skilled forelimb movement.
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44
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Kudryavtseva VA, Moiseeva AV, Mukhamedova SG, Piavchenko GA, Kuznetsov SL. Age- and sex-related dynamics of structural and functional motor behavior interactions in striatum neurons in rats. SECHENOV MEDICAL JOURNAL 2022. [DOI: 10.47093/2218-7332.2022.13.2.20-29] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Aim. To study the age-related dynamics of structural and functional interactions of striatal neurons in the implementation of acts of motor behaviour in rats of both sexes.Materials and methods. The study was carried out on 36 Wistar rats of both sexes aged 2, 7 and 16 months (n = 6 per group). In animals of all groups, locomotor activity was determined using a Laboras device (Metris, the Netherlands) for15 minutes, after which the brain was sampled to determine the number and size of neurons in the striatum. The median and interquartile range of the index of motor activity and the number of neurons were determined, and to study the relationship between these indicators, a correlation and regression analysis was performed with the construction of linear and polynomial trends, and the coefficient of determination R2 was calculated.Results. The size of neurons did not change significantly with age in the rats of both sexes. The number of neurons differed statistically in the rats of different sexes in all age groups. In male rats, the maximum number of neurons was noted at the age of 7 months with a decrease to 16 months. In female rats, the maximum number of neurons was recorded at the age of 2 months with a further decrease to 7 and 16 months. According to the regression analysis, a linear strong relationship (R2 =0.80 for males, R2 = 0.79 for females) was established between the number of neurons in the striatum and motor activity in 2-month-old animals. At the age of 7 and 16 months the relationship is non-linear.Conclusion. The number of neurons in the striatum is subject to sex and age dynamics, while their size remains unchanged from 2 to 16 months. For animals of both sexes, a decrease in the role of the striatum in providing motor activity in the process of growing up was noted. This relationship reaches its maximum in 2-month-old rats and then decreases.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - A. V. Moiseeva
- Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University)
| | - S. G. Mukhamedova
- Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University)
| | - G. A. Piavchenko
- Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University)
| | - S. L. Kuznetsov
- Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University (Sechenov University)
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Jensen KT, Kadmon Harpaz N, Dhawale AK, Wolff SBE, Ölveczky BP. Long-term stability of single neuron activity in the motor system. Nat Neurosci 2022; 25:1664-1674. [PMID: 36357811 PMCID: PMC11152193 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-022-01194-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
How an established behavior is retained and consistently produced by a nervous system in constant flux remains a mystery. One possible solution to ensure long-term stability in motor output is to fix the activity patterns of single neurons in the relevant circuits. Alternatively, activity in single cells could drift over time provided that the population dynamics are constrained to produce the same behavior. To arbitrate between these possibilities, we recorded single-unit activity in motor cortex and striatum continuously for several weeks as rats performed stereotyped motor behaviors-both learned and innate. We found long-term stability in single neuron activity patterns across both brain regions. A small amount of drift in neural activity, observed over weeks of recording, could be explained by concomitant changes in task-irrelevant aspects of the behavior. These results suggest that long-term stable behaviors are generated by single neuron activity patterns that are themselves highly stable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristopher T Jensen
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Computational and Biological Learning Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Naama Kadmon Harpaz
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Ashesh K Dhawale
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
| | - Steffen B E Wolff
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Pharmacology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Bence P Ölveczky
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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46
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Barrett JM, Martin ME, Shepherd GMG. Manipulation-specific cortical activity as mice handle food. Curr Biol 2022; 32:4842-4853.e6. [PMID: 36243014 PMCID: PMC9691616 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.09.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2022] [Revised: 09/02/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Food handling offers unique yet largely unexplored opportunities to investigate how cortical activity relates to forelimb movements in a natural, ethologically essential, and kinematically rich form of manual dexterity. To determine these relationships, we recorded high-speed (1,000 fps) video and multi-channel electrophysiological cortical spiking activity while mice handled food. The high temporal resolution of the video allowed us to decompose active manipulation ("oromanual") events into characteristic submovements, enabling event-aligned analysis of cortical activity. Activity in forelimb M1 was strongly modulated during food handling, generally higher during oromanual events and lower during holding intervals. Optogenetic silencing and stimulation of forelimb M1 neurons partially affected food-handling movements, exerting suppressive and activating effects, respectively. We also extended the analysis to forelimb S1 and lateral M1, finding broadly similar oromanual-related activity across all three areas. However, each area's activity displayed a distinct timing and phasic/tonic temporal profile, which was further analyzed by non-negative matrix factorization and demonstrated to be attributable to area-specific composition of activity classes. Current or future forelimb position could be accurately predicted from activity in all three regions, indicating that the cortical activity in these areas contains high information content about forelimb movements during food handling. These results thus establish that cortical activity during food handling is manipulation specific, distributed, and broadly similar across multiple sensorimotor areas while also exhibiting area- and submovement-specific relationships with the fast kinematic hallmarks of this natural form of complex free-object-handling manual dexterity.
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Affiliation(s)
- John M Barrett
- Department of Neuroscience, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 303 E Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
| | - Megan E Martin
- Department of Neuroscience, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 303 E Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
| | - Gordon M G Shepherd
- Department of Neuroscience, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 303 E Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611, USA
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47
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Nordli SA, Todd PM. Embodied and embedded ecological rationality: A common vertebrate mechanism for action selection underlies cognition and heuristic decision-making in humans. Front Psychol 2022; 13:841972. [DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.841972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 10/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The last common ancestor shared by humans and other vertebrates lived over half a billion years ago. In the time since that ancestral line diverged, evolution by natural selection has produced an impressive diversity—from fish to birds to elephants—of vertebrate morphology; yet despite the great species-level differences that otherwise exist across the brains of many animals, the neural circuitry that underlies motor control features a functional architecture that is virtually unchanged in every living species of vertebrate. In this article, we review how that circuitry facilitates motor control, trial-and-error-based procedural learning, and habit formation; we then develop a model that describes how this circuitry (embodied in an agent) works to build and refine sequences of goal-directed actions that are molded to fit the structure of the environment (in which the agent is embedded). We subsequently review evidence suggesting that this same functional circuitry became further adapted to regulate cognitive control in humans as well as motor control; then, using examples of heuristic decision-making from the ecological rationality tradition, we show how the model can be used to understand how that circuitry operates analogously in both cognitive and motor domains. We conclude with a discussion of how the model encourages a shift in perspective regarding ecological rationality’s “adaptive toolbox”—namely, to one that views heuristic processes and other forms of goal-directed cognition as likely being implemented by the same neural circuitry (and in the same fashion) as goal-directed action in the motor domain—and how this change of perspective can be useful.
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48
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Cometa A, Falasconi A, Biasizzo M, Carpaneto J, Horn A, Mazzoni A, Micera S. Clinical neuroscience and neurotechnology: An amazing symbiosis. iScience 2022; 25:105124. [PMID: 36193050 PMCID: PMC9526189 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In the last decades, clinical neuroscience found a novel ally in neurotechnologies, devices able to record and stimulate electrical activity in the nervous system. These technologies improved the ability to diagnose and treat neural disorders. Neurotechnologies are concurrently enabling a deeper understanding of healthy and pathological dynamics of the nervous system through stimulation and recordings during brain implants. On the other hand, clinical neurosciences are not only driving neuroengineering toward the most relevant clinical issues, but are also shaping the neurotechnologies thanks to clinical advancements. For instance, understanding the etiology of a disease informs the location of a therapeutic stimulation, but also the way stimulation patterns should be designed to be more effective/naturalistic. Here, we describe cases of fruitful integration such as Deep Brain Stimulation and cortical interfaces to highlight how this symbiosis between clinical neuroscience and neurotechnology is closer to a novel integrated framework than to a simple interdisciplinary interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Cometa
- The Biorobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, 56127 Pisa, Italy
- Department of Excellence in Robotics and AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, 56127 Pisa, Italy
| | - Antonio Falasconi
- Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, 4058 Basel, Switzerland
- Biozentrum, University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Marco Biasizzo
- The Biorobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, 56127 Pisa, Italy
- Department of Excellence in Robotics and AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, 56127 Pisa, Italy
| | - Jacopo Carpaneto
- The Biorobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, 56127 Pisa, Italy
- Department of Excellence in Robotics and AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, 56127 Pisa, Italy
| | - Andreas Horn
- Center for Brain Circuit Therapeutics Department of Neurology Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- MGH Neurosurgery & Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery (CNTR) at MGH Neurology Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Movement Disorder and Neuromodulation Unit, Department of Neurology, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt- Universität zu Berlin, Department of Neurology, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Alberto Mazzoni
- The Biorobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, 56127 Pisa, Italy
- Department of Excellence in Robotics and AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, 56127 Pisa, Italy
| | - Silvestro Micera
- The Biorobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, 56127 Pisa, Italy
- Department of Excellence in Robotics and AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, 56127 Pisa, Italy
- Translational Neural Engineering Lab, School of Engineering, École Polytechnique Fèdèrale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
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49
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Kadmon Harpaz N, Hardcastle K, Ölveczky BP. Learning-induced changes in the neural circuits underlying motor sequence execution. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2022; 76:102624. [PMID: 36030613 PMCID: PMC11125547 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2022.102624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2022] [Revised: 06/02/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
As the old adage goes: practice makes perfect. Yet, the neural mechanisms by which rote repetition transforms a halting behavior into a fluid, effortless, and "automatic" action are not well understood. Here we consider the possibility that well-practiced motor sequences, which initially rely on higher-level decision-making circuits, become wholly specified in lower-level control circuits. We review studies informing this idea, discuss the constraints on such shift in control, and suggest approaches to pinpoint circuit-level changes associated with motor sequence learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naama Kadmon Harpaz
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University. https://twitter.com/@NKadmonHarpaz
| | - Kiah Hardcastle
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University. https://twitter.com/@kiahhardcastle
| | - Bence P Ölveczky
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University.
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50
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Thenaisie Y, Lee K, Moerman C, Scafa S, Gálvez A, Pirondini E, Burri M, Ravier J, Puiatti A, Accolla E, Wicki B, Zacharia A, Castro Jiménez M, Bally JF, Courtine G, Bloch J, Moraud EM. Principles of gait encoding in the subthalamic nucleus of people with Parkinson's disease. Sci Transl Med 2022; 14:eabo1800. [PMID: 36070366 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.abo1800] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Disruption of subthalamic nucleus dynamics in Parkinson's disease leads to impairments during walking. Here, we aimed to uncover the principles through which the subthalamic nucleus encodes functional and dysfunctional walking in people with Parkinson's disease. We conceived a neurorobotic platform embedding an isokinetic dynamometric chair that allowed us to deconstruct key components of walking under well-controlled conditions. We exploited this platform in 18 patients with Parkinson's disease to demonstrate that the subthalamic nucleus encodes the initiation, termination, and amplitude of leg muscle activation. We found that the same fundamental principles determine the encoding of leg muscle synergies during standing and walking. We translated this understanding into a machine learning framework that decoded muscle activation, walking states, locomotor vigor, and freezing of gait. These results expose key principles through which subthalamic nucleus dynamics encode walking, opening the possibility to operate neuroprosthetic systems with these signals to improve walking in people with Parkinson's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yohann Thenaisie
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland.,NeuroRestore, Defitech Centre for Interventional Neurotherapies, CHUV, UNIL, and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland
| | - Kyuhwa Lee
- Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering, Geneva CH-1202, Switzerland
| | - Charlotte Moerman
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland.,NeuroRestore, Defitech Centre for Interventional Neurotherapies, CHUV, UNIL, and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland
| | - Stefano Scafa
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland.,NeuroRestore, Defitech Centre for Interventional Neurotherapies, CHUV, UNIL, and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland.,Institute of Digital Technologies for Personalized Healthcare (MeDiTech) , University of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), Lugano-Viganello CH-6962 Switzerland
| | - Andrea Gálvez
- NeuroRestore, Defitech Centre for Interventional Neurotherapies, CHUV, UNIL, and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland.,Faculty of Life Sciences, EPFL, NeuroX Institute, Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Elvira Pirondini
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland.,Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh 15213, PA, USA.,Rehabilitation and Neural Engineering Labs, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh 15213, PA, USA
| | - Morgane Burri
- NeuroRestore, Defitech Centre for Interventional Neurotherapies, CHUV, UNIL, and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland.,Faculty of Life Sciences, EPFL, NeuroX Institute, Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Jimmy Ravier
- NeuroRestore, Defitech Centre for Interventional Neurotherapies, CHUV, UNIL, and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland.,Faculty of Life Sciences, EPFL, NeuroX Institute, Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland
| | - Alessandro Puiatti
- Institute of Digital Technologies for Personalized Healthcare (MeDiTech) , University of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI), Lugano-Viganello CH-6962 Switzerland
| | - Ettore Accolla
- Department of Neurology, Hôpital Fribourgeois, Fribourg University, Fribourg CH-1708, Switzerland
| | - Benoit Wicki
- Department of Neurology, Hôpital du Valais, Sion CH-1951, Switzerland
| | - André Zacharia
- Clinique Bernoise, Crans-Montana CH-3963, Switzerland.,Department of Neurology, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland.,Department of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva CH-1201, Switzerland
| | - Mayte Castro Jiménez
- Department of Neurology, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland
| | - Julien F Bally
- Department of Neurology, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland
| | - Grégoire Courtine
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland.,NeuroRestore, Defitech Centre for Interventional Neurotherapies, CHUV, UNIL, and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland.,Faculty of Life Sciences, EPFL, NeuroX Institute, Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland.,Department of Neurosurgery, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland
| | - Jocelyne Bloch
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland.,NeuroRestore, Defitech Centre for Interventional Neurotherapies, CHUV, UNIL, and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland.,Faculty of Life Sciences, EPFL, NeuroX Institute, Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland.,Department of Neurosurgery, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland
| | - Eduardo Martin Moraud
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland.,NeuroRestore, Defitech Centre for Interventional Neurotherapies, CHUV, UNIL, and Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne CH-1011, Switzerland
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