McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Nature. 2021 Dec;600(7887):100-104. doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-04056-3. Epub 2021 Oct 6.
Interactions between the mediodorsal thalamus and the prefrontal cortex are critical for cognition. Studies in humans indicate that these interactions may resolve uncertainty in decision-making, but the precise mechanisms are unknown. Here we identify two distinct mediodorsal projections to the prefrontal cortex that have complementary mechanistic roles in decision-making under uncertainty. Specifically, we found that a dopamine receptor (D2)-expressing projection amplifies prefrontal signals when task inputs are sparse and a kainate receptor (GRIK4) expressing-projection suppresses prefrontal noise when task inputs are dense but conflicting. Collectively, our data suggest that there are distinct brain mechanisms for handling uncertainty due to low signals versus uncertainty due to high noise, and provide a mechanistic entry point for correcting decision-making abnormalities in disorders that have a prominent prefrontal component.
中背侧丘脑与前额叶皮层之间的相互作用对认知至关重要。人类研究表明，这些相互作用可能有助于解决决策中的不确定性，但确切的机制尚不清楚。在这里，我们确定了中背侧丘脑投射到前额叶皮层的两个不同的投射，它们在不确定条件下的决策中有互补的机制作用。具体来说，我们发现多巴胺受体（D2）表达的投射在任务输入稀疏时放大前额叶信号，而表达 kainate 受体（GRIK4）的投射在任务输入密集但冲突时抑制前额叶噪声。总的来说，我们的数据表明，由于信号低而导致的不确定性和由于噪声高而导致的不确定性有不同的大脑机制，并为纠正具有突出前额叶成分的疾病中的决策异常提供了一个机械切入点。
