A Reward-Based Behavioral Platform to Measure Neural Activity during Head-Fixed Behavior
نویسندگان
چکیده
Understanding the neural computations that contribute to behavior requires recording from neurons while an animal is behaving. This is not an easy task as most subcellular recording techniques require absolute head stability. The Go/No-Go sensory task is a powerful decision-driven task that enables an animal to report a binary decision during head-fixation. Here we discuss how to set up an Ardunio and Python based platform system to control a Go/No-Go sensory behavior paradigm. Using an Arduino micro-controller and Python-based custom written program, a reward can be delivered to the animal depending on the decision reported. We discuss the various components required to build the behavioral apparatus that can control and report such a sensory stimulus paradigm. This system enables the end user to control the behavioral testing in real-time and therefore it provides a strong custom-made platform for probing the neural basis of behavior.
منابع مشابه
Neurophysiology of Reward
! Abstract The functions of rewards are based primarily on their effects on behavior and are less directly governed by the physics and chemistry of input events as in sensory systems. Therefore, the investigation of neural mechanisms underlying reward functions requires behavioral theories that can conceptualize the different effects of rewards on behavior. The scientific investigation of behav...
متن کاملIndividual differences and the neural representations of reward expectation and reward prediction error.
Reward expectation and reward prediction errors are thought to be critical for dynamic adjustments in decision-making and reward-seeking behavior, but little is known about their representation in the brain during uncertainty and risk-taking. Furthermore, little is known about what role individual differences might play in such reinforcement processes. In this study, it is shown behavioral and ...
متن کاملSelf-report and behavioral measures of reward sensitivity predict the feedback negativity.
Rewards are integral to learning associations that aid in survival. The feedback negativity (FN), an event-related potential that differentiates outcomes indicating monetary losses versus gains, has recently emerged as a possible neural measure of reward processing. If this view is correct, then the FN should correlate with measures of reward sensitivity in other domains, although few studies h...
متن کاملContribution of Nucleus Accumbens Core (AcbC) to Behavior Control during a Learned Resting Period: Introduction of a Novel Task and Lesion Experiments
In recent years, the study of resting state neural activity has received much attention. To better understand the roles of different brain regions in the regulation of behavioral activity in an arousing or a resting period, we developed a novel behavioral paradigm (8-arm food-foraging task; 8-arm FFT) using the radial 8-arm maze and examined how AcbC lesions affect behavioral execution and lear...
متن کاملActivation of prefrontal cortical parvalbumin interneurons facilitates extinction of reward-seeking behavior.
Forming and breaking associations between emotionally salient environmental stimuli and rewarding or aversive outcomes is an essential component of learned adaptive behavior. Importantly, when cue-reward contingencies degrade, animals must exhibit behavioral flexibility to extinguish prior learned associations. Understanding the specific neural circuit mechanisms that operate during the formati...
متن کامل