Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 20 Penn St, HSF-2 S251, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
Neuron. 2010 Dec 9;68(5):991-1001. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2010.11.019.
Attention or variations in event processing help drive learning. Lesion studies have implicated the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) in this process, particularly when expected rewards are omitted. However, lesion studies cannot specify how information processing in CeA supports such learning. To address these questions, we recorded CeA neurons in rats performing a task in which rewards were delivered or omitted unexpectedly. We found that activity in CeA neurons increased selectively at the time of omission and declined again with learning. Increased firing correlated with CeA-inactivation sensitive measures of attention. Notably CeA neurons did not fire to the cues or in response to unexpected rewards. These results indicate that CeA contributes to learning in response to reward omission due to a specific role in signaling actual omission rather than a more general involvement in signaling expectancies, errors, or reward value.
注意或事件处理中的变化有助于促进学习。损伤研究表明，杏仁中央核（CeA）在这个过程中起作用，尤其是当预期的奖励被省略时。然而，损伤研究无法具体说明 CeA 中的信息处理如何支持这种学习。为了解决这些问题，我们在大鼠中记录了 CeA 神经元，这些大鼠在执行一项任务时，奖励会意外地被给予或省略。我们发现，CeA 神经元的活动在省略时选择性地增加，并随着学习再次下降。增加的发射与 CeA 失活敏感的注意力测量相关。值得注意的是，CeA 神经元不会对提示或意外奖励做出反应。这些结果表明，CeA 由于在信号实际省略方面的特定作用而有助于对奖励省略的学习，而不是更普遍地参与信号预期、错误或奖励价值。
