2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Role of dopamine signals in prefrontal executive functions
| Project/Area Number |
26710001
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A)
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| Allocation Type | Partial Multi-year Fund |
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| Research Field |
Neurophysiology / General neuroscience
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| Research Institution | University of Tsukuba |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha) |
INOUE Ken-ichi 京都大学, 霊長類研究所, 助教 (90455395)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2014-04-01 – 2018-03-31
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| Keywords | ドーパミンニューロン / 行動抑制 / 尾状核 |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Although dopamine neurons are well known as key components of the brain’s reward system, the degeneration of these neurons causes not only reward-related motivational dysfunctions but also motor and cognitive dysfunctions as seen in Parkinson’s disease. In the present study, we focused on a cognitive function called “response inhibition”, which is required to inhibit inappropriate actions, and found that the nigrostriatal dopamine pathway plays a crucial role in response inhibition in macaque monkeys. Furthermore, we were able to develop a new optogenetic technique that can stimulate targeted neural pathways in the macaque brain. We are planning to stimulate the nigrostriatal dopamine pathway using this optogenetic technique and examine whether stimulating this pathway enhances the performance of response inhibition.
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| Free Research Field |
神経生理学
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