Characterization of Frontostriatal Neural Codes of Executive Functions

University Of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison WI

Investigators

Abstract

Cognitive control of goal-directed behaviors likely involves the communication and computations across millions of cells in a distributed manner across multiple brain regions. To date, little is known regarding how the coordinated activity of these neurons represents cognitive processes involved in goal-directed behaviors, such as working memory, attention, and decision/response selection (i.e. the population code). To address this lacuna, these electrophysiological studies will record electrical signaling of neurons in rats within two fundamentally important brain regions, the prelimbic region of the frontal cortex (plPFC) and dorsal striatum (dSTR). A primary goal of this project is to relate this neural activity to animal performance in spatial delayed response tests of working memory using state-of-the-art computational strategies. Importantly, these studies will examine the distributed representations of task-related events within populations of plPFC and dSTR neurons as well as for the PFC-dSTR circuit as a whole under varying conditions associated with varying levels of performance (short delays, long delays, noise-stress). These studies are anticipated to further elucidate the neuronal codes and network circuitry that underlie higher cognitive function as measured in this task. In addition to the scientific knowledge gained by these studies, this project contains learning opportunities for undergraduates, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows. A key theme in this work is the need for cross-disciplinary training in biology (neuroscience) and computational/engineering sciences. As part of our ongoing commitment to provide these educational opportunities, we have developed a neural analysis programming contest to 1) introduce students to computational neuroscience approaches, 2) educate and engage researchers outside the field of neuroscience in computational techniques and issues in neuroscience, and 3) build an open community and forum discussion for computational approaches in neuroscience.