The role of the basal ganglia in action selection revealed by single-neuron electrophysiological and histological investigation

• Project/Area Number: 15K16569
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Basic / Social brain science
• Research Institution: National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (2017-2018); Tohoku University (2015-2016)
• Principal Investigator: Oyama Kei 国立研究開発法人量子科学技術研究開発機構, 放射線医学総合研究所 脳機能イメージング研究部, 研究員(任常) (50615250)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2018)
• Budget Amount: ¥3,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥900,000); Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000); Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000); Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000)
• Keywords: 大脳基底核 / 前頭前野 / ラット / 線条体 / 大脳皮質 / 単一ニューロン活動記録・標識 / 報酬予測誤差 / 刺激の価値 / 報酬の期待 / 首輪による非侵襲的訓練

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, I recorded single-unit activities from various brain areas including the medial prefrontal cortex, and investigated the morphological and histological features of medial prefrontal cortex neurons showing activity related to appropriated action selection. I found that the dorsal part of the medial prefrontal cortex is essential for execution of appropriate action, pyramidal neurons located in the layer 3 and 5 of the medial prefrontal cortex play essential role in this process, and they send projections mainly to the dorsomedial part of the striatum. These results suggest that neural circuit linking the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and the dorsomedial striatum plays an important role in execution of appropriate action.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究は、適切な行動の発現に関わっていると考えられている前頭前野、および大脳基底核において、どのような細胞群がどのように働いているのかを、筆者自身らが開発した新技術を用いて、個々の細胞単位で明らかにしようとしたものである。本研究の成果は、不要な行動を繰り返してしまう、前頭前野や大脳基底核が関連した神経疾患の神経基盤の解明に寄与するものであり、神経疾患の治療法の確立にも寄与することが期待される。

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Robust, highly customizable, and economical multi-channel electrode for chronic multi-unit recording in behaving animals (2017)
  • Author(s): Tateyama Yukina、Oyama Kei、Shiraishi Masaru、Iijima Toshio、Tsutsui Ken-Ichiro
  • Journal Title: Neuroscience Research Volume: 125 Pages: 54-59
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2017.07.003
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Neck collar for restraining head and body movements in rats for behavioral task performance and simultaneous neural activity recording. (2016)
  • Author(s): Tateyama Y, Oyama K, Lo CW, Iijima T, Tsutsui KI
  • Journal Title: Journal of Neruoscience Methods Volume: 263 Pages: 68-74
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2016.02.005
  • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research
• [Journal Article] Discrete coding of stimulus value, reward expectation, and reward prediction error in the dorsal striatum. (2015)
  • Author(s): Oyama K, Tateyama Y, Hernadi I, Tobler PN, Iijima T, Tsutsui KI
  • Journal Title: Journal of Neurophysiology Volume: 114 Issue: 5 Pages: 2600-2615
  • DOI: 10.1152/jn.00097.2015
  • Peer Reviewed / Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Inactivation of rat dorsomedial prefrontal cortex or posterior parietal cortex, but not ventromedial prefrontal cortex, impairs the performance of the visuospatial delayed response task. (2016)
  • Author(s): Oyama K, Lo CWC, Tateyama Y, Iijima T, Tsutsui KI.
  • Organizer: The 39th annual meeting of the Japan Neuroscience Society
  • Place of Presentation: 横浜
  • Year and Date: 2016-07-20
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Cytoarchitectonic information of rat medial prefrontal “delay” neurons revealed by single-neuron electroporation (2015)
  • Author(s): Kei Oyama, Yukina Tateyama, Cheuk Wa Christopher Lo, Shinya Ohara, Fuyuki Karube, Fumino Fujiyama, Toshio Iijima, Ken-Ichiro Tsutsui
  • Organizer: Neuroscience 2015
  • Place of Presentation: McCormick Place, Chicago, USA
  • Year and Date: 2015-10-17
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Morphological identification of rat medial prefrontal neurons showing sustained activity during a delay period of a delayed response task by single-neuron electroporation (2015)
  • Author(s): Kei Oyama, Yukina Tateyama, Cheuk Wa Christopher Lo, Shinya Ohara, Fuyuki Karube, Fumino Fujiyama, Toshio Iijima, Ken-Ichiro Tsutsui
  • Organizer: The 38th Annual Meeting of the Japan Neuroscience Society
  • Place of Presentation: Kobe International Conference Center, Kobe
  • Year and Date: 2015-07-28
  • Int'l Joint Research