Mastodawn

@AllenNeuroLab Jan 21, 2024

Earl K. Miller Jan 19, 2024

A nice, concise summary of our recent work. It must have been written by a human.
https://scienceblog.com/541768/mit-study-reveals-universal-brain-patterns/
#neuroscience

MIT Study Reveals Universal Brain Patterns

In the brain's cortex, neurons are arranged in six layers, visible under a microscope. MIT neuroscientists discovered that these layers exhibit specific electrical activity patterns consistent across various brain regions and animal species, including humans. The top layers display neuron activity dominated by fast gamma waves, while deeper layers

ScienceBlog.com

@AllenNeuroLab Dec 12, 2023

Andy Alexander Dec 5, 2023

Our new review on progress, pitfalls, and opportunities in rat imaging is now out! Led by the amazing @neurosjk and an awesome crew from Ben Scott's lab. Give it a read below.

https://doi.org/10.1117/1.NPh.10.4.044304

Advances in cellular resolution microscopy for brain imaging in rats

Rats are used in neuroscience research because of their physiological similarities with humans and accessibility as model organisms, trainability, and behavioral repertoire. In particular, rats perform a wide range of sophisticated social, cognitive, motor, and learning behaviors within the contexts of both naturalistic and laboratory environments. Further progress in neuroscience can be facilitated by using advanced imaging methods to measure the complex neural and physiological processes during behavior in rats. However, compared with the mouse, the rat nervous system offers a set of challenges, such as larger brain size, decreased neuron density, and difficulty with head restraint. Here, we review recent advances in in vivo imaging techniques in rats with a special focus on open-source solutions for calcium imaging. Finally, we provide suggestions for both users and developers of in vivo imaging systems for rats.

SPIE Digital Library

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@AllenNeuroLab Dec 8, 2023

@markgbaxter other than our own work on this, I like the Irish News better on this one: https://www.irishnews.com/magazine/science/2017/10/12/news/pigs-have-been-shown-to-possess-astonishingly-good-memories-and-highly-developed-learning-skills-1160772/

Pigs have been shown to possess ‘astonishingly' good memories and highly developed learning skills

They demonstrated abilities rarely seen in animals.

The Irish News

@AllenNeuroLab Dec 4, 2023

El Duvelle Dec 1, 2023

The Journal of Neuroscience is moving on to Open (but still anonymous) Peer-reviews! Nice!

Introducing Open Peer Review at JNeurosci

#Neuroscience #PeerReview

Introducing Open Peer Review at JNeurosci

Scientific publishing has dramatically changed in recent years, and, as a result, there have been a number of exciting and very useful improvements to the peer review process. This process focuses on the evaluation of scientific work as a method of scholarly quality assurance in terms of scientific

Journal of Neuroscience

@AllenNeuroLab Nov 29, 2023

Glad to welcome Dr. Michael Fanselow to FIU tomorrow for our Neuroscience Speaker Series sponsored by the Cognitive Neuroscience Program (http://cn.fiu.edu) and the Training in Environmental Neuroscience Program (https://tens.fiu.edu)!!!

@AllenNeuroLab Nov 28, 2023

@u0421793 good point! I’ll fix and repost.

@AllenNeuroLab Nov 17, 2023

Alicia Izquierdo, Ph.D.Nov 17, 2023

In press! 📣 The surprising result that basolateral amygdala has a more crucial role in learning meaningful changes in the reward environment than orbitofrontal cortex. Check our paper to find out how! 🤓 #neuroscience #CompNeuro https://www.jneurosci.org/content/early/2023/11/13/JNEUROSCI.0622-23.2023

Dissociable contributions of basolateral amygdala and ventrolateral orbitofrontal cortex to flexible learning under uncertainty

Reversal learning measures the ability to form flexible associations between choice outcomes with stimuli and actions that precede them. This type of learning is thought to rely on several cortical and subcortical areas, including highly interconnected orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and basolateral amygdala (BLA), and is often impaired in various neuropsychiatric and substance use disorders. However, unique contributions of these regions to stimulus- and action-based reversal learning have not been systematically compared using a chemogenetic approach and particularly before and after the first reversal that introduces new uncertainty. Here, we examined the roles of ventrolateral OFC (vlOFC) and BLA during reversal learning. Male and female rats were prepared with inhibitory DREADDs targeting projection neurons in these regions and tested on a series of deterministic and probabilistic reversals during which they learned about stimulus identity or side (left or right) associated with different reward probabilities. Using a counterbalanced within-subject design, we inhibited these regions prior to reversal sessions. We assessed initial and pre-post reversal changes in performance to measure learning and adjustments to reversals, respectively. We found that inhibition of vlOFC, but not BLA, eliminated adjustments to stimulus-based reversals. Inhibition of BLA, but not vlOFC, selectively impaired action-based probabilistic reversal learning, leaving deterministic reversal learning intact. vlOFC exhibited a sex-dependent role in early adjustment to action-based reversals, but not in overall learning. These results reveal dissociable roles for BLA and vlOFC in flexible learning and highlight a more crucial role for BLA in learning meaningful changes in the reward environment. Significance Statement Inflexible learning is a feature of several neuropsychiatric disorders. We investigated how the ventrolateral orbitofrontal cortex (vlOFC) and basolateral amygdala (BLA) are involved in learning of stimuli or actions under reinforcement uncertainty. Following chemogenetic inhibition of these regions in both male and females, we measured learning and adjustments to deterministic and probabilistic reversals. For action learning, BLA, but not vlOFC, is needed for probabilistic reversal learning. However, BLA is not necessary for initial probabilistic learning or retention, indicating a critical role for learning of unexpected changes. For stimulus learning, vlOFC, but not BLA, is required for adjustments to reversals, particularly in females. These findings provide insight into the complementary cortico-amygdalar substrates of learning under different forms of uncertainty.

Journal of Neuroscience

@AllenNeuroLab Nov 12, 2023

Andy Alexander Nov 11, 2023

#SfN23 bound! Excited to catch everyone in DC. Our lab (http://alexander.psych.ucsb.edu) is recruiting at all levels so if you are interested in a position I'd be happy to touch base. Below is a plane snap of the Santa Ynez mtns in SB (just as stunning as the beach if you ask me).

If you have any questions about
@UCSBpsych or DYNS grad programs I'd be happy to answer them. Beyond a DM, you can find me lurking around @HasselmoMichael @smalmberg or @MarkHowe72 @BrenzyNM posters tomorrow afternoon!

Home | The Alexander Lab

The home page of The Alexander Lab at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

@AllenNeuroLab Nov 11, 2023

Redish Lab Nov 8, 2023

Looking forward to #sfn23 next week!

We've got four posters, scattered across the days.

1. Saturday PM VV (double V) 20: Clarifying proactive and reactive cognitive control deficits in psychosis via drift diffusion modeling

2. Sunday PM NN 12: Probing the role of prefrontal cortex, hippocampus, and dorsolateral striatum on decision-making in complex spatial environments

3. Sunday PM OO6: Hippocampal Representations in rats worried about being attacked by a threatening robot in the “robogator” approach-avoidance task

4. Tuesday PM TT9 Network physiology metrics reveal a dynamic balance between excitatory and inhibitory functional connections in rodent prefrontal cortex during decision making

Come check 'em out!

I love #SFN. It's my favorite meeting. I'm looking forward to seeing both old and new friends on the poster floor!

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@AllenNeuroLab Nov 11, 2023

Oh, and stickers might be in our early visitor’s futures if interested!