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SUMMARY:BMI Progress Reports 2021 // Prof. Sandi's Lab: Jun Huang - Change
 s in nucleus accumbens dopamine signals accompanying reward-based learning
  of a goal-directed sensorimotor transformation
DTSTART:20211215T121500
DTEND:20211215T130000
DTSTAMP:20260407T095825Z
UID:cfffaa8a94b5b7b0136023258065987a44b1b4dded5fa3a67996fc54
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Jun Huang\, LGC\nDopamine signals are thought to be important 
 for reward-based learning and appear to play important roles in regulating
  synaptic plasticity in the nucleus accumbens and the striatum. However\, 
 the precise neuronal circuit mechanisms underlying the learning of even th
 e simplest goal-directed sensorimotor transformations remain to be precise
 ly defined. Here\, we measured dopamine signals with fiber photometry usin
 g dLight expressed in the nucleus accumbens of head-restrained mice across
  reward-based sensorimotor task learning. Thirsty mice were first trained 
 in a free-licking task\, during which the mouse learned to lick a spout\, 
 for which they were sometimes rewarded with water delivery. In free lickin
 g sessions\, reward triggered a positive dopamine signal\, consistent with
  previous findings\, while unrewarded licks evoked a negative dopamine sig
 nal. The amplitude of the reward-triggered dopamine response decreased acr
 oss most individual sessions\, likely reflecting the gradual reduction in 
 thirst across each session with accumulated reward. Subsequently\, the sam
 e mice were trained over days in a whisker-detection task\, in which mice 
 learned to lick the reward spout in response to a single brief whisker def
 lection. Reward delivery appeared to evoke a consistent dLight response ac
 ross learning days. Whisker detection task learning was accompanied by an 
 increase in a fast sensory-evoked dopamine signal\, consistent with a larg
 e body of literature indicating dopaminergic reward prediction error signa
 ls. These dopamine reward-related signals could causally contribute to tas
 k-learning\, for example through regulating synaptic plasticity at cortico
 striatal synapses. Interestingly\, dopamine signal dynamics in individual 
 mice during the free-licking task appeared to be predictive of performance
  on the first day of learning of the whisker detection task. Our results a
 re thus consistent with a role of dopaminergic signalling in reward-based 
 learning and further suggest that inter-individual differences in dopamine
  dynamics may be an early predictor of future learning performance. As a n
 ext step\, it will be important to carry out pharmacological and optogenet
 ic manipulations to test these hypotheses in further detail.\n 
LOCATION:Online
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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