2013 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Role of the striatal dopamine in the selection of action
Project/Area Number |
24800001
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Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
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Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
Research Field |
Neurophysiology and muscle physiology
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Research Institution | Hokkaido University |
Principal Investigator |
KUNIMATSU Jun 北海道大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 助教 (50632395)
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Project Period (FY) |
2012-08-31 – 2014-03-31
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Keywords | 大脳基底核 / 眼球運動 / タイミング / ドパミン / ニホンザル |
Research Abstract |
Although several lines of evidence suggest that the basal ganglia is involved in the monitoring of elapsed time, the underlying neuronal mechanisms remain unclear. To examine this, we recorded the neuronal activity in the striatum while monkeys performed a time reproduction task. Striatal neurons showed different time course of buildup activity depending on the length of the time to be reported. Furthermore, we manipulated signals in the direct and indirect basal ganglia pathways pharmacologically and examined the role of each pathway in keeping track of time. The reproduction of time interval was altered following the D1 or D2 receptors antagonist injection. Our data suggest that the subjective passage of time may be regulated by the balance of signals in the direct and indirect basal ganglia pathways. This neural mechanism could be generalized to other voluntary movement that is also regulated by the signals through the basal ganglia.
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