Neural activity ramps in frontal cortex signal extended motivation during learning.

ABSTRACT: Learning requires the ability to link actions to outcomes. How motivation facilitates learning is not well understood. We designed a behavioral task in which mice self-initiate trials to learn cue-reward contingencies and found that the anterior cingulate region of the prefrontal cortex (ACC) contains motivation-related signals to maximize rewards. In particular, we found that ACC neural activity was consistently tied to trial initiations where mice seek to leave unrewarded cues to reach reward-associated cues. Notably, this neural signal persisted over consecutive unrewarded cues until reward associated cues were reached, and was required for learning. To determine how ACC inherits this motivational signal we performed projection specific photometry recordings from several inputs to ACC d

SUBMITTER: Regalado JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10614791 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature