Prelimbic cortex neural encoding dynamically tracks expected outcome value

Niedringhaus, Mark; West, Elizabeth A.

doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2022.113938

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Thus, while the RE is critical for synchrony between the mPFC-HPC, and behavioral performance, RE function in the context of working memory goes beyond relaying information between mPFC and HPC. The mPFC plays a significant role in modulating expected outcome value to alter behavior in real-time across behavioral flexibility domains (Birrell and Brown 2000;Ostlund and Balleine 2005;Tran-Tu-Yen et al 2009;West et al 2021;Niedringhaus and West 2022), which is critical in a working memory task in which information needs to be held online trial by trial such as the DNMTP. RE is critical for behavioral flexibility in spatial navigation a win-stay task (Viena et al, 2018), as well as reversal learning and set-shifting (Rojas et al 2024).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus reuniens are critical for working memory in an operant delayed nonmatch task

Ciacciarelli,

Dunn,

Gohar

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Working memory refers to the temporary retention of a small amount of information used in the execution of a cognitive task. The prefrontal cortex and its connections with thalamic subregions are thought to mediate specific aspects of working memory, including engaging with the hippocampus to mediate memory retrieval. We used an operant delayed-non match to position task, which does not require the hippocampus, to determine roles of the rodent medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), the nucleus reuniens thalamic region (RE), and their connection. We found that transient inactivation of the mPFC and RE using the GABA-A agonist muscimol led to a delay-independent reduction in behavioral performance in the delayed non-match to position paradigm. Critically, we used a chemogenetic approach to determine the directionality of the necessary circuitry for behavioral performance reliant on working memory. Specifically, when we targeted mPFC neurons that project to the RE (mPFC-RE) we found a delay- independent reduction in the delayed non-match to position task, but not when we targeted RE neurons that project to the mPFC (RE-mPFC). Our results suggest a broader role for the mPFC-RE circuit in mediating working memory beyond the connection with the hippocampus.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus reuniens are critical for working memory in an operant delayed nonmatch task

Ciacciarelli,

Dunn,

Gohar

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…Among all brain areas, the prefrontal cortex is well-known for playing a pivotal role in adaptive behavior, specifically in the encoding and updating of instrumental action-outcome (A-O) and of Pavlovian stimulus-outcome (S-O) associations, with a high parcellation of function existing among prefrontal subregions. For instance, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) has been historically linked to the acquisition (Killcross and Coutureau, 2003; Tran-Tu-Yen et al, 2009) and updating (Boitard et al, 2016) of instrumental associations, and more recently has been suggested to participate in the updating of Pavlovian associations following outcome devaluation (Niedringhaus and West, 2022), while the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) has been implicated, directly or indirectly, in the updating of previously established instrumental (Parkes et al, 2018; Fresno et al, 2019; Cerpa et al, 2023) and Pavlovian associations (Ostlund and Balleine, 2007; Alcaraz et al, 2015; Morceau et al, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adaptive responding to stimulus-outcome associations requires noradrenergic transmission in the medial prefrontal cortex

Piccin,

Plat,

Wolff

et al. 2023

Preprint

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A dynamic environment, such as the one we inhabit, requires organisms to continuously update their knowledge of the setting. While the prefrontal cortex is recognized for its pivotal role in regulating such adaptive behavior, the specific contributions of each prefrontal area remain elusive. In the current work, we investigated the direct involvement of two major prefrontal subregions, the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the ventrolateral orbitofrontal cortex (vlOFC), in updating Pavlovian stimulus-outcome (S-O) associations following contingency degradation. Specifically, animals had to learn that a specific cue, previously fully predicting the delivery of a specific reward, was no longer a reliable predictor. First, we found that chemogenetic inhibition of mPFC, but not of vlOFC, neurons altered the rats’ ability to adaptively respond to degraded and non-degraded cues. Next, given the growing evidence pointing at noradrenaline (NA) as a main neuromodulator of adaptive behavior, we decided to investigate the possible involvement of NA projections to the two subregions in this higher-order cognitive process. Employing a pair of novel retrograde vectors, we traced NA projections from the locus coeruleus (LC) to both structures and observed an equivalent yet relatively segregated amount of inputs. Then, we showed that chemogenetic inhibition of NA projections to the mPFC, but not to the vlOFC, also impaired the rats’ ability to adaptively respond to the degradation procedure. Altogether, our findings provide important evidence of functional parcellation within the prefrontal cortex and point at mPFC-NA as key for updating Pavlovian S-O associations.Significant statementThe ability to update stimulus-outcome (S-O) associations is a key adaptive behavior, essential for surviving in an ever-changing environment. The prefrontal cortex is well-known for playing a key role in this process. The discrete contribution of each prefrontal subregion and of different neurotransmitters, however, remains unclear. In the current study, we show that inhibiting medial prefrontal (mPFC), but not ventrolateral orbitofrontal cortex (vlOFC), neurons impairs the rats’ ability to update S-O associations following contingency degradation. Moreover, we demonstrate that discrete noradrenergic projections to the two subregions exist and that inhibiting the ones projecting to the mPFC, but not to the vlOFC, once again impairs the rats’ behavior, thereby implying a substantial contribution of noradrenaline in orchestrating this higher-order cognitive process.

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