小柯机器人

美国加州大学洛杉矶分校Kate M. Wassum小组发现，多巴胺向杏仁核基底外侧的投射驱动身份特异性奖赏记忆的编码。这一研究成果于2024年2月23日在线发表在国际学术期刊《自然—神经科学》上。

研究人员利用纤维光度计、细胞类型和通路特异性光遗传学操作、巴甫洛夫线索-奖赏条件反射以及雌雄大鼠决策测试，揭示了腹侧被盖区多巴胺（VTA_DA）向基底外侧杏仁核（BLA）的投射驱动了身份特异性线索-奖赏记忆的编码。在线索-奖励配对过程中，多巴胺会在杏仁核基底外侧释放；VTA_DA→杏仁核基底外侧的活动对于将奖励的识别特征与预测性线索联系起来是必要且充分的，但并不会将一般的奖励属性赋予线索或介导强化。

这些数据揭示了支持适应性决策的多巴胺能学习途径，并有助于解释VTA_DA神经元如何在学习中发挥其新出现的多方面作用。

据悉，为了做出适应性决策，人类会建立一个环境中关联关系的内部模型，并利用它来预测和推断特定的可用结果。详细的、特定身份的线索-回报记忆是这种认知图谱的核心特征。

附：英文原文

Title: Dopamine projections to the basolateral amygdala drive the encoding of identity-specific reward memories

Author: Sias, Ana C., Jafar, Yousif, Goodpaster, Caitlin M., Ramrez-Armenta, Kathia, Wrenn, Tyler M., Griffin, Nicholas K., Patel, Keshav, Lamparelli, Alexander C., Sharpe, Melissa J., Wassum, Kate M.

Issue&Volume: 2024-02-23

Abstract: To make adaptive decisions, we build an internal model of the associative relationships in an environment and use it to make predictions and inferences about specific available outcomes. Detailed, identity-specific cue–reward memories are a core feature of such cognitive maps. Here we used fiber photometry, cell-type and pathway-specific optogenetic manipulation, Pavlovian cue–reward conditioning and decision-making tests in male and female rats, to reveal that ventral tegmental area dopamine (VTADA) projections to the basolateral amygdala (BLA) drive the encoding of identity-specific cue–reward memories. Dopamine is released in the BLA during cue–reward pairing; VTADA→BLA activity is necessary and sufficient to link the identifying features of a reward to a predictive cue but does not assign general incentive properties to the cue or mediate reinforcement. These data reveal a dopaminergic pathway for the learning that supports adaptive decision-making and help explain how VTADA neurons achieve their emerging multifaceted role in learning.

DOI: 10.1038/s41593-024-01586-7

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-024-01586-7

Nature Neuroscience：《自然—神经科学》，创刊于1998年。隶属于施普林格·自然出版集团，最新IF：28.771
官方网址：https://www.nature.com/neuro/
投稿链接：https://mts-nn.nature.com/cgi-bin/main.plex