| Budget Amount *help |
¥3,640,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥840,000)
Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000)
Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000)
Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,300,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥300,000)
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
The motor cortex receives dopaminergic projections from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in the midbrain. In the present study, we attempted to reveal the functional role of this projection in motor skill learning. Using voltage-sensitive dye imaging, it was uncovered that VTA modulated primary motor cortex excitability in a time-dependent manner with a window of several tens of milliseconds. The possibility was also suggested that VTA directly or indirectly affects the neural processing in the higher-order motor areas. Moreover, rats given electrical stimulation to VTA exhibited better motor performance in the ladder rung walking task, suggesting that the projection from VTA to motor cortices could mediate and facilitate the learning of motor skills.
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