Gutierrez Ranier, Carmena Jose M, Nicolelis Miguel A L, Simon S A
Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Bryan Research Bldg., Durham, NC 27710, USA.
J Neurophysiol. 2006 Jan;95(1):119-33. doi: 10.1152/jn.00467.2005. Epub 2005 Aug 24.
The classification of rhythmic licking into clusters has proved to be useful for characterizing brain mechanisms that modulate the ingestion of natural rewards (sucrose and water). One cortical area that is responsive to rewarding stimuli is the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). However, it is not presently known how OFC neurons respond while rodents freely lick for natural rewards and whether these responses are related to the structure of licking clusters. We addressed these issues by showing that temporary inactivation of the OFC decreases the duration and increases the number of clusters and that the activity of OFC neurons changed at precise times before, during, and after the cluster terminates. Furthermore, analysis of the activity of OFC neuronal ensembles showed that they could discriminate cluster onset from termination, predict when a behaving animal will begin a cluster, and distinguish and anticipate between natural rewards. These results provide a new role for the OFC in influencing licking clusters and anticipating specific rewards.
事实证明，将节律性舔舐分类为簇状对于表征调节天然奖赏（蔗糖和水）摄取的脑机制很有用。对奖赏刺激有反应的一个皮层区域是眶额皮质（OFC）。然而，目前尚不清楚在啮齿动物自由舔舐天然奖赏时OFC神经元如何反应，以及这些反应是否与舔舐簇的结构有关。我们通过表明OFC的暂时失活会减少簇的持续时间并增加簇的数量，以及OFC神经元的活动在簇开始前、期间和结束后的精确时间发生变化，来解决这些问题。此外，对OFC神经元集群活动的分析表明，它们可以区分簇的开始和结束，预测行为动物何时开始一个簇，并区分和预测不同的天然奖赏。这些结果为OFC在影响舔舐簇和预测特定奖赏方面提供了新的作用。
