On the role of the anterior cingulate cortex in goal-directed instrumental behaviour in rats

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26885079
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Experimental psychology
• Research Institution: Keio University
• Principal Investigator: Kosaki Yutaka 慶應義塾大学, 先導研究センター, 研究員 (80738469)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-08-29 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 道具的学習 / 目的的行動 / S-R習慣 / 連合過程 / 前帯状皮質 / 損傷

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Instrumental behaviour of animals, including humans, is theorised to be mediated by two distinct processes. One is a process where a stimulus-response (S-R) association reinforced by the outcome of the response. The other is a goal-directed process, in which animals are sensitive to the contingency between response and its outcome as well as to the expected value of the outcome. In the current study, I examined the contribution of the peri-genual anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) to these distinct processes underlying instrumental behaviour. Using the contingency-degradation procedure and the outcome devaluation procedure, I found that the rats with ibotenic acid-induced lesions of the ACC performed comparably to the sham-lesioned control animals, in either of these tests. The results suggest that the peri-genual ACC, in contrast to the more anterior prelimbic cortex, is not crucial for the goal-directed control of instrumental behaviour.

Free Research Field

行動神経科学