美国纽约大学Bijan Pesaran研究组探明了抑制性通讯协调的调节。该项研究成果发表在2022年4月20日出版的《自然》上。
他们研究了一种称为凝视锚定的灵活自然行为中的抑制性通讯，在这种行为中，眼跳被协调的触角暂时抑制。在凝视锚定过程中，他们发现后顶叶皮质到达区的神经元可以抑制顶叶扫视区的神经元放电，从而抑制眼球运动，提高到达准确性。抑制是短暂的，只存在于协调的触角区域周围，当触角神经元发射β频率（15–25）的尖峰时，抑制作用最强，而非伽马频率活动。他们的工作为单一神经元的活动提供了证据，证明了一种新的抑制性通讯机制，即β频率神经相干暂时抑制多区域通讯，以灵活协调自然行为。
研究人员表示，视觉和触觉由不同的大脑区域控制，并在自然行为中协调。理解如何控制灵活、自然的行为，如协调的注视和伸手，取决于理解大脑不同区域的神经元如何交流。伽马频率（40–90 Hz）下的神经相干性波段与兴奋性多区域通讯有关。抑制性控制机制也需要灵活地控制行为，但对于一个区域的神经元如何瞬时抑制另一个区域的单个神经元以支持行为，人们知之甚少。发送者区域的神经元放电如何暂时抑制接收者区域的神经元放电，目前尚不清楚。
附：英文原文
Title: Modulation of inhibitory communication coordinates looking and reaching
Author: Hagan, Maureen A., Pesaran, Bijan
Issue&Volume: 2022-04-20
Abstract: Looking and reaching are controlled by different brain regions and are coordinated during natural behaviour1. Understanding how flexible, natural behaviours such as coordinated looking and reaching are controlled depends on understanding how neurons in different regions of the brain communicate2. Neural coherence in a gamma-frequency (40–90Hz) band has been implicated in excitatory multiregional communication3. Inhibitory control mechanisms are also required to flexibly control behaviour4, but little is known about how neurons in one region transiently suppress individual neurons in another to support behaviour. How neuronal firing in a sender region transiently suppresses firing in a receiver region remains poorly understood. Here we study inhibitory communication during a flexible, natural behaviour, termed gaze anchoring, in which saccades are transiently inhibited by coordinated reaches. During gaze anchoring, we found that neurons in the reach region of the posterior parietal cortex can inhibit neuronal firing in the parietal saccade region to suppress eye movements and improve reach accuracy. Suppression is transient, only present around the coordinated reach, and greatest when reach neurons fire spikes with respect to beta-frequency (15–25Hz) activity, not gamma-frequency activity. Our work provides evidence in the activity of single neurons for a novel mechanism of inhibitory communication in which beta-frequency neural coherence transiently inhibits multiregional communication to flexibly coordinate natural behaviour.
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04631-2
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04631-2
Nature：《自然》，创刊于1869年。隶属于施普林格·自然出版集团，最新IF：69.504
官方网址：http://www.nature.com/
投稿链接：http://www.nature.com/authors/submit_manuscript.html
本期文章：《自然》：Online/在线发表
