Abstract:
Historically, the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) has been implicated in a variety of behaviors ranging from reversal learning and inhibitory control to more complex representations of reward value and task space. While modern interpretations of the OFC\'s function have focused on a role in outcome evaluation, these cognitive processes often require an organism to inhibit a maladaptive response or strategy. Single-unit recordings from the OFC in rats performing a stop-change task show that the OFC responds strongly to STOP trials. To investigate the role that the OFC plays in stop-change performance, we expressed halorhodopsin (eNpHR3.0) in excitatory neurons in the OFC and tested rats on the stop-change task. Previous work suggests that the OFC differentiates between STOP trials based on trial sequence (i.e., gS trials: STOP trials preceded by a GO vs sS trials: STOP trials preceded by a STOP). We found that yellow light activation of the eNpHR3.0-expressing neurons significantly decreased accuracy only on STOP trials that followed GO trials (gS trials). Further, optogenetic inhibition of the OFC speeded reaction times on error trials. This suggests that the OFC plays a role in inhibitory control processes and that this role needs to be accounted for in modern interpretations of OFC function.
摘要:
历史上,眶额叶皮层(OFC)涉及多种行为,从逆转学习和抑制控制到更复杂的奖励值和任务空间表示。虽然对OFC功能的现代解释集中在结果评估中的作用,这些认知过程通常需要有机体来抑制适应不良的反应或策略。在执行停止改变任务的大鼠中,来自OFC的单个单位记录表明,OFC对STOP试验反应强烈。为了研究OFC在停止改变性能中的作用,我们在OFC的兴奋性神经元中表达了halorhodopsin(eNpHR3.0),并在停止改变任务中测试了大鼠。先前的工作表明,OFC根据试验序列区分STOP试验(即,gS试验:STOP试验之前是GO和sS试验:STOP试验之前是STOP)。我们发现,表达eNpHR3.0的神经元的黄光激活仅在GO试验(gS试验)之后的STOP试验中显着降低了准确性。Further,OFC的光遗传学抑制加快了错误试验的反应时间。这表明OFC在抑制控制过程中起作用,并且在对OFC功能的现代解释中需要考虑这一角色。重要性声明眶额皮质(OFC)是一个高度相互联系的大脑区域,被认为对健康的认知功能至关重要。历史上,研究表明OFC抑制了不适当的行为,然而,最近的工作集中在其在指导基于价值的决策中的作用。结合光遗传学使用经典抑制控制任务的修改版本,我们表明,虽然对基于价值的决策很重要,OFC中兴奋性神经元的破坏也会损害抑制控制过程。这凸显了对OFC功能的理论解释以适应其在两种类型的认知过程中的作用的必要性。