Specialized coding patterns among dorsomedial prefrontal neuronal ensembles predict conditioned reward seeking

eLife

Preston N Siegler¹  Heather Holman¹  Christopher W Bowen¹  Roger I Grant¹  Elizaveta V Romanova¹  Kelsey M Vollmer¹  Kion T Winston¹  Elizabeth M Doncheck¹  James M Otis² 

[1] Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, United States;Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, United States;Hollings Cancer Center, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, United States;

关键词: circuits;    cortical;    prelimbic;    value;    memory;    addiction;    Mouse;   

DOI  :  10.7554/eLife.65764

来源: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd

【 摘 要 】

Non-overlapping cell populations within dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), defined by gene expression or projection target, control dissociable aspects of reward seeking through unique activity patterns. However, even within these defined cell populations, considerable cell-to-cell variability is found, suggesting that greater resolution is needed to understand information processing in dmPFC. Here, we use two-photon calcium imaging in awake, behaving mice to monitor the activity of dmPFC excitatory neurons throughout Pavlovian reward conditioning. We characterize five unique neuronal ensembles that each encodes specialized information related to a sucrose reward, reward-predictive cues, and behavioral responses to those cues. The ensembles differentially emerge across daily training sessions – and stabilize after learning – in a manner that improves the predictive validity of dmPFC activity dynamics for deciphering variables related to behavioral conditioning. Our results characterize the complex dmPFC neuronal ensemble dynamics that stably predict reward availability and initiation of conditioned reward seeking following cue-reward learning.

【 授权许可】

CC BY