The John B. Pierce Laboratory New Haven, CT, USA ; Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University School of Medicine New Haven, CT, USA.
Front Neurosci. 2013 Apr 11;7:56. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2013.00056. eCollection 2013.
An emerging literature suggests that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is crucial for the ability to track behavioral outcomes over time and has a critical role in successful foraging. Here, we examine this issue by analyzing changes in neuronal spike activity and local field potentials in the rat mPFC in relation to the consumption of rewarding stimuli. Using multi-electrode recording methods, we simultaneously recorded from ensembles of neurons and field potentials in the mPFC during the performance of an operant-delayed alternation task and a variable-interval licking procedure. In both tasks, we found that consummatory behavior (licking) activates many mPFC neurons and is associated with theta-band phase locking by mPFC field potentials. Many neurons that were modulated by the delivery of reward were also modulated when rats emitted bouts of licks during the period of consumption. The majority of these licking-modulated neurons were found in the rostral part of the prelimbic cortex, a region that is heavily interconnected with the gustatory insular cortex and projects to subcortical feeding-related centers. Based on the tight coupling between spike activity, theta-band phase locking, and licking behavior, we suggest that reward-related activity in the mPFC is driven by consummatory behavior.
越来越多的文献表明，内侧前额叶皮层（mPFC）对于随时间跟踪行为结果的能力至关重要，并且在成功觅食中起着关键作用。在这里，我们通过分析与奖励刺激消耗有关的大鼠 mPFC 中的神经元尖峰活动和局部场电位的变化来研究这个问题。使用多电极记录方法，我们在执行操作性延迟交替任务和可变间隔舔舐程序期间，同时记录 mPFC 中的神经元集合和场电位。在这两个任务中，我们发现，消耗行为（舔舐）激活了许多 mPFC 神经元，并与 mPFC 场电位的 theta 波段相位锁定有关。当大鼠在消耗期间爆发舔舐时，许多被奖励传递调制的神经元也被调制。这些舔舐调制神经元的大部分位于前扣带皮层的前部，该区域与味觉岛叶皮层紧密相连，并投射到皮质下与进食相关的中心。基于尖峰活动、theta 波段相位锁定和舔舐行为之间的紧密耦合，我们认为 mPFC 中的与奖励相关的活动是由消耗行为驱动的。
