Primate amygdala neurons evaluate the progress of self-defined economic choice sequences
The amygdala is a prime valuation structure yet its functions in advanced behaviors are poorly understood. We tested whether individual amygdala neurons encode a critical requirement for goal-directed behavior: the evaluation of progress during sequential choices. As monkeys progressed through choic...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Online |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
2016
|
| Online Access: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5061547/ |
| id |
pubmed-5061547 |
|---|---|
| recordtype |
oai_dc |
| spelling |
pubmed-50615472016-10-14 Primate amygdala neurons evaluate the progress of self-defined economic choice sequences Grabenhorst, Fabian Hernadi, Istvan Schultz, Wolfram Neuroscience The amygdala is a prime valuation structure yet its functions in advanced behaviors are poorly understood. We tested whether individual amygdala neurons encode a critical requirement for goal-directed behavior: the evaluation of progress during sequential choices. As monkeys progressed through choice sequences toward rewards, amygdala neurons showed phasic, gradually increasing responses over successive choice steps. These responses occurred in the absence of external progress cues or motor preplanning. They were often specific to self-defined sequences, typically disappearing during instructed control sequences with similar reward expectation. Their build-up rate reflected prospectively the forthcoming choice sequence, suggesting adaptation to an internal plan. Population decoding demonstrated a high-accuracy progress code. These findings indicate that amygdala neurons evaluate the progress of planned, self-defined behavioral sequences. Such progress signals seem essential for aligning stepwise choices with internal plans. Their presence in amygdala neurons may inform understanding of human conditions with amygdala dysfunction and deregulated reward pursuit. eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd 2016-10-12 /pmc/articles/PMC5061547/ /pubmed/27731795 http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.18731 Text en © 2016, Grabenhorst et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited. |
| repository_type |
Open Access Journal |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
US National Center for Biotechnology Information |
| building |
NCBI PubMed |
| collection |
Online Access |
| language |
English |
| format |
Online |
| author |
Grabenhorst, Fabian Hernadi, Istvan Schultz, Wolfram |
| spellingShingle |
Grabenhorst, Fabian Hernadi, Istvan Schultz, Wolfram Primate amygdala neurons evaluate the progress of self-defined economic choice sequences |
| author_facet |
Grabenhorst, Fabian Hernadi, Istvan Schultz, Wolfram |
| author_sort |
Grabenhorst, Fabian |
| title |
Primate amygdala neurons evaluate the progress of self-defined economic choice sequences |
| title_short |
Primate amygdala neurons evaluate the progress of self-defined economic choice sequences |
| title_full |
Primate amygdala neurons evaluate the progress of self-defined economic choice sequences |
| title_fullStr |
Primate amygdala neurons evaluate the progress of self-defined economic choice sequences |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Primate amygdala neurons evaluate the progress of self-defined economic choice sequences |
| title_sort |
primate amygdala neurons evaluate the progress of self-defined economic choice sequences |
| description |
The amygdala is a prime valuation structure yet its functions in advanced behaviors are poorly understood. We tested whether individual amygdala neurons encode a critical requirement for goal-directed behavior: the evaluation of progress during sequential choices. As monkeys progressed through choice sequences toward rewards, amygdala neurons showed phasic, gradually increasing responses over successive choice steps. These responses occurred in the absence of external progress cues or motor preplanning. They were often specific to self-defined sequences, typically disappearing during instructed control sequences with similar reward expectation. Their build-up rate reflected prospectively the forthcoming choice sequence, suggesting adaptation to an internal plan. Population decoding demonstrated a high-accuracy progress code. These findings indicate that amygdala neurons evaluate the progress of planned, self-defined behavioral sequences. Such progress signals seem essential for aligning stepwise choices with internal plans. Their presence in amygdala neurons may inform understanding of human conditions with amygdala dysfunction and deregulated reward pursuit. |
| publisher |
eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd |
| publishDate |
2016 |
| url |
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5061547/ |
| _version_ |
1613681714467438592 |