Role of the orbitofrontal cortex and dorsal striatum in regulating the dose-related effects of self-administered cocaine

Classic minimal-group studies found that people arbitrarily assigned to a novel group quickly display a range of perceptual, affective, and behavioral in-group biases. We randomly assigned participants to a mixed-race team and used functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify brain regions involved in processing novel in-group and out-group members independently of preexisting attitudes, stereotypes, or familiarity. Whereas previous research on intergroup perception found amygdala activity—typically interpreted as negativity—in response to stigmatized social groups, we found greater activity in the amygdala, fusiform gyri, orbitofrontal cortex, and dorsal striatum when participants viewed novel in-group faces than when they viewed novel out-group faces. Moreover, activity in orbitofrontal cortex mediated the in-group bias in self-reported liking for the faces. These in-group biases in neural activity were not moderated by race or by whether participants explicitly attended to team membership or race, a finding suggesting that they may occur automatically. This study helps clarify the role of neural substrates involved in perceptual and affective in-group biases.

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Cortical and thalamic influences on striatal involvement in instructed, serial reversal learning; implications for the organisation of flexible behaviour.

10.1101/2021.12.20.472804 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Brendan Williams ◽

Anastasia Christakou

Keyword(s):

Functional Connectivity ◽

Cognitive Flexibility ◽

Reversal Learning ◽

Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽

Dorsal Striatum ◽

Response Strategy ◽

Flexible Control ◽

The Right ◽

Serial Reversal

Cognitive flexibility is essential for enabling an individual to respond adaptively to changes in their environment. Evidence from human and animal research suggests that the control of cognitive flexibility is dependent on an array of neural architecture. Cortico-basal ganglia circuits have long been implicated in cognitive flexibility. In particular, the role of the striatum is pivotal, acting as an integrative hub for inputs from the prefrontal cortex and thalamus, and modulation by dopamine and acetylcholine. Striatal cholinergic modulation has been implicated in the flexible control of behaviour, driven by input from the centromedian-parafascicular nuclei of the thalamus. However, the role of this system in humans is not clearly defined as much of the current literature is based on animal work. Here, we aim to investigate the roles corticostriatal and thalamostriatal connectivity in serial reversal learning. Functional connectivity between the left centromedian-parafascicular nuclei and the associative dorsal striatum was significantly increased for negative feedback compared to positive feedback. Similar differences in functional connectivity were observed for the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex, but these were localised to when participants switched to using an alternate response strategy following reversal. These findings suggest that connectivity between the centromedian-parafascicular nuclei and the striatum may be used to generally identify potential changes in context based on negative outcomes, and the effect of this signal on striatal output may be influenced by connectivity between the lateral orbitofrontal cortex and the striatum.

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Role of the orbitofrontal cortex and the dorsal striatum in incentive motivation for cocaine

Behavioural Brain Research ◽

10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112026 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 372 ◽

pp. 112026 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ellie-Anna Minogianis ◽

Alice Servonnet ◽

Marie-Pier Filion ◽

Anne-Noël Samaha

Keyword(s):

Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽

Dorsal Striatum ◽

Incentive Motivation

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IDENTIFICATION OF A NOVEL BDNF-SPECIFIC CORTICOSTRIATAL CIRCUITRY

10.1101/2021.08.26.457842 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yann Ehinger ◽

Drishti Soneja ◽

Khanhky Phamluong ◽

Dorit Ron

Keyword(s):

Motor Cortex ◽

Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽

Neural Circuit ◽

Dorsal Striatum ◽

Medial Part ◽

Striatal Neurons ◽

Bdnf Expression ◽

Axon Terminals ◽

Bdnf Signaling

BDNF is released from axon terminals originating in the cerebral cortex onto striatal neurons. Here, we characterized BDNF in the corticostriatal circuitry. First, we utilized Bdnf-Cre and Ribotag transgenic mouse lines to label BDNF-positive cells in the cortex, and detected BDNF expression in the motor cortex, medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Next, we used a retrograde viral tracing strategy, in combination with Bdnf-Cre knockin mice, to map the cortical outputs of BDNF neurons in the dorsal striatum. We found that the BDNF-positive prefrontal regions differentially project to the dorsal striatum. Specifically, BDNF-expressing neurons located in the mPFC project to both dorsolateral striatum (DLS) and dorsomedial striatum (DMS), and those located in the motor cortex project to the DLS. Surprisingly however, the BDNF-expressing OFC neurons differentially target the dorsal striatum depending on their mediolateral location. Specifically, the DMS is mainly innervated by the medial part of the OFC (mOFC) whereas, the DLS receives projections specifically from the ventrolateral region of the OFC (vlOFC). Next, using an anterograde viral tracing strategy, we confirmed the presence of a BDNF-specific vlOFC-DLS circuit. Finally, we show that overexpression of BDNF in the vlOFC activates TrkB signaling specifically in the DLS but not in the DMS demonstrating the functionality of this circuit. Our study uncovers a previously unknown neural circuit composed of BDNF-positive vlOFC neurons projecting to the DLS. These findings could have important implications for the role of BDNF signaling in the OFC as well as in other corticostriatal circuitries.

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Interacting roles of lateral and medial Orbitofrontal cortex in decision-making and learning : A system-level computational model

10.1101/867515 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Bhargav Teja Nallapu ◽

Frédéric Alexandre

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Computational Model ◽

Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

System Level ◽

Interacting Networks ◽

Cortical Regions ◽

Experimental Findings

AbstractIn the context of flexible and adaptive animal behavior, the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is found to be one of the crucial regions in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) influencing the downstream processes of decision-making and learning in the sub-cortical regions. Although OFC has been implicated to be important in a variety of related behavioral processes, the exact mechanisms are unclear, through which the OFC encodes or processes information related to decision-making and learning. Here, we propose a systems-level view of the OFC, positioning it at the nexus of sub-cortical systems and other prefrontal regions. Particularly we focus on one of the most recent implications of neuroscientific evidences regarding the OFC - possible functional dissociation between two of its sub-regions : lateral and medial. We present a system-level computational model of decision-making and learning involving the two sub-regions taking into account their individual roles as commonly implicated in neuroscientific studies. We emphasize on the role of the interactions between the sub-regions within the OFC as well as the role of other sub-cortical structures which form a network with them. We leverage well-known computational architecture of thalamo-cortical basal ganglia loops, accounting for recent experimental findings on monkeys with lateral and medial OFC lesions, performing a 3-arm bandit task. First we replicate the seemingly dissociate effects of lesions to lateral and medial OFC during decision-making as a function of value-difference of the presented options. Further we demonstrate and argue that such an effect is not necessarily due to the dissociate roles of both the subregions, but rather a result of complex temporal dynamics between the interacting networks in which they are involved.Author summaryWe first highlight the role of the Orbitofrontal Cortex (OFC) in value-based decision making and goal-directed behavior in primates. We establish the position of OFC at the intersection of cortical mechanisms and thalamo-basal ganglial circuits. In order to understand possible mechanisms through which the OFC exerts emotional control over behavior, among several other possibilities, we consider the case of dissociate roles of two of its topographical subregions - lateral and medial parts of OFC. We gather predominant roles of each of these sub-regions as suggested by numerous experimental evidences in the form of a system-level computational model that is based on existing neuronal architectures. We argue that besides possible dissociation, there could be possible interaction of these sub-regions within themselves and through other sub-cortical structures, in distinct mechanisms of choice and learning. The computational framework described accounts for experimental data and can be extended to more comprehensive detail of representations required to understand the processes of decision-making, learning and the role of OFC and subsequently the regions of prefrontal cortex in general.

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Dissociable oscillatory networks support gain and loss processing in human orbitofrontal cortex

10.1101/2021.02.25.432874 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ignacio Saez ◽

Jack Lin ◽

Edward Chang ◽

Josef Parvizi ◽

Robert T. Knight ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Neural Activity ◽

Orbitofrontal Cortex ◽

Low Frequency ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Reward Processing ◽

Neural Oscillations ◽

Beta Band ◽

Neuronal Ensembles ◽

Gain And Loss

AbstractHuman neuroimaging and animal studies have linked neural activity in orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) to valuation of positive and negative outcomes. Additional evidence shows that neural oscillations, representing the coordinated activity of neuronal ensembles, support information processing in both animal and human prefrontal regions. However, the role of OFC neural oscillations in reward-processing in humans remains unknown, partly due to the difficulty of recording oscillatory neural activity from deep brain regions. Here, we examined the role of OFC neural oscillations (<30Hz) in reward processing by combining intracranial OFC recordings with a gambling task in which patients made economic decisions under uncertainty. Our results show that power in different oscillatory bands are associated with distinct components of reward evaluation. Specifically, we observed a double dissociation, with a selective theta band oscillation increase in response to monetary gains and a beta band increase in response to losses. These effects were interleaved across OFC in overlapping networks and were accompanied by increases in oscillatory coherence between OFC electrode sites in theta and beta band during gain and loss processing, respectively. These results provide evidence that gain and loss processing in human OFC are supported by distinct low-frequency oscillations in networks, and provide evidence that participating neuronal ensembles are organized functionally through oscillatory coherence, rather than local anatomical segregation.

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Utilizing the Cortico-Striatal Projectome to Advance the Study of Timing and Time Perception

Timing & Time Perception ◽

10.1163/22134468-00002076 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 411-422 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Nicholas A. Lusk ◽

Dean V. Buonomano

Keyword(s):

Time Perception ◽

Temporal Processing ◽

Large Scale ◽

Imaging Techniques ◽

Brain Connectivity ◽

Beat Frequency ◽

Dorsal Striatum ◽

Frequency Model ◽

Timing And Time Perception

Over the past decade advances in tracing and imaging techniques have spurred the development of increasingly detailed maps of brain connectivity. Broadly termed ‘connectomes’, these maps provide a powerful tool for systems neuroscience. As with most ‘maps’, connectomes offer a static spatial description of the brain’s circuits, whereas timing and temporal processing are inherently dynamic processes; nevertheless, the timing field stands to be a major beneficiary of these large-scale mapping projects. The recently reported ‘projectome’ of mouse cortico-striatal sub-networks is of particular interest because theoretical developments such as the striatal beat-frequency model emphasize the role of the striatum in temporal processing. The cortico-striatal projectome confirms that the dorsal striatum is ideally situated to sample patterns of activity throughout most of the cortex, but that it also contains a level of modularity previously not considered by integrative models of interval timing. Furthermore, the striatal projectome will allow for targeted studies of whether specific subdivisions of the dorsal striatum are differentially involved in timing and time perception as a function of task, stimulus modality, intensity, and valence.

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