Nervous systems maintain information internally using persistent activity changes. The mechanisms by which this activity arises are incompletely understood. We study prefrontal cortex (PFC) in mice performing behaviors in which stimuli predicted …
We examined the relationships between activity in the locus coeruleus (LC), activity in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1), and pupil diameter in mice performing a tactile detection task. While LC spiking consistently preceded S1 membrane …
Dynamic decision making requires an intact medial frontal cortex. Recent work has combined theory and single-neuron measurements in frontal cortex to advance models of decision making. We review behavioral tasks that have been used to study dynamic …
The nervous system is hypothesized to compute reward prediction errors (RPEs) to promote adaptive behavior. Correlates of RPEs have been observed in the midbrain dopamine system, but the extent to which RPE signals exist in other reward-processing …
The locus coeruleus is a pontine nucleus that produces much of the brain’s norepinephrine. Despite its small size, the locus coeruleus is critical for a myriad of functions and is involved in many neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. In …
Decisions occur in dynamic environments. In the framework of reinforcement learning, the probability of performing an action is influenced by decision variables. Discrepancies between predicted and obtained rewards (reward prediction errors) update …
The locus coeruleus (LC) is a major hub of norepinephrine producing neurons that modulate a number of physiological functions. Structural or functional abnormalities of LC impact several brain regions including cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum and …
The copper (Cu) transporters ATPase copper-transporting alpha (ATP7A) and ATPase copper-transporting beta (ATP7B) are essential for the normal function of the mammalian central nervous system. Inactivation of ATP7A or ATP7B causes the severe …