Neural mechanisms of salience acquired through reward-based associative learning

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26702039
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Basic / Social brain science
• Research Institution: Kyoto University (2016-2017); National Institute for Physiological Sciences (2014-2015)
• Principal Investigator: OGAWA Masaaki 京都大学, 医学研究科, 講師 (00716186)
• Research Collaborator: ISHINO Seiya 京都大学, 医学研究科, 研究員
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 報酬 / 注意

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Despite theoretical and behavioral advances of studies about salience of a cue acquired through associative learning between the cue and reward, the neural mechanisms underlying the salience remained elusive. We show that spiking activities of optogenetically-identified midbrain dopamine neurons may contribute to heighten the salience of a cue associated with uncertain reward. We also show that the orbitofrontal cortex causally contributes to reversal of stimulus-outcome associations　in a context- and temporally specific manner.

Free Research Field

神経科学