动物实验,神经元 z-bo 2020-08-31 449

　　Researchers at Okinawa Institute of Technology have identified neurons involved in behavioral decision-making in rats throughout the research process. Researchers use special optical technology to control the activity of nerve cells and inactivate certain areas of the rat's brain. This effect may cause it to complicate rat behavior.

　　This special technique called optogenetics allows researchers to reveal the activation and inhibition of specific neurons. Optogenetic research can be conducted by triggering specific neurons in the brain to express specific light-sensitive proteins. In the study, researchers can use a kind of "optical cable" to illuminate the brain, thereby controlling the activity of neurons that express light-sensitive proteins. In this study, the researchers showed how to use this technique to prevent a group of neurons from "activating" (inhibiting neuronal activity). In this article, researchers describe damage to the nucleus accumbens region of the brain. Its role in controlling influence and behavioral complexity.

　　The researcher asked the mouse to press one of two levers. Putting to get rewards. If you keep holding down the joystick 20 times, you will continue to earn money. After pressing the joystick 21 times, the reward and the reward to the mouse will stop. Under normal circumstances, the mouse will continue to push the lever (even if there is no return) before switching strategies, and then push another lever. It is rewarded, but when the function of the brain's nucleus accumbens is turned off, the behavior changes immediately and pushes another lever to start receiving the reward. Therefore, the researchers say that when neurons are turned off, their inhibitory effects only cause rapid changes in rat behavior; this study shows that the nucleus accumbens accumulates during reward and false feedback. Inhibition is the first method to reveal neuronal optogenetics, which may increase the complexity of an individual's behavior. The nucleus accumbens neurons may only be part of the reward mechanism. Researcher Wickens said that we are very interested in optogenetic tools. The real challenge is to learn the brain with them. In order to determine the neural activity that leads to a person's special behavior, we believe that one day we can use this technology to clearly analyze how the brain works.