Orbitofrontal Circuits Control Multiple Reinforcement-Learning Processes.

ABSTRACT: Adaptive decision making in dynamic environments requires multiple reinforcement-learning steps that may be implemented by dissociable neural circuits. Here, we used a novel directionally specific viral ablation approach to investigate the function of several anatomically defined orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) circuits during adaptive, flexible decision making in rats trained on a probabilistic reversal learning task. Ablation of OFC neurons projecting to the nucleus accumbens selectively disrupted performance following a reversal, by disrupting the use of negative outcomes to guide subsequent choices. Ablation of amygdala neurons projecting to the OFC also impaired reversal performance, but due to disruptions in the use of positive outcomes to guide subsequent choices. Ablation of OFC neurons

SUBMITTER: Groman SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6893860 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature