Competitor suppresses neuronal representation of food reward in the nucleus accumbens/medial striatum of domestic chicks

Amita, Hidetoshi; Matsushima, Toshiya

doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2014.04.004

Cited by 11 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Involvement of the Ac in long‐term changes following social stress is further substantiated by recent observations on differential expression of a number of transcripts in the Ac of mice exposed to social stress as compared with those with no social stress (Lo Iacono et al ., ). In young chicks, the firing rate of mSt/Ac neurones changed during foraging tasks if a competitor conspecific was present (Amita & Matsushima, ), however, mSt/Ac lesions did not affect social facilitation in young chicks (Ogura et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of nucleus accumbens lesions on socially motivated behaviour of young domestic chicks

Zachár

Tóth

Balogh

et al. 2016

Eur J of Neuroscience

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Behaviour of young domestic chicks when isolated from conspecifics is influenced by two conflicting drives: fear of potential predator and craving for company. The nucleus accumbens (Ac) has been suggested to influence social behaviour, as well as motivation in goal-directed tasks. In this study, the Ac of 1-day-old domestic chicks was lesioned bilaterally, using radiofrequency method. Open field behaviour before and after presenting a silhouette of a bird of prey was recorded, followed by a behavioural test to measure group size preference and social motivation of chicks. Ac-lesioned individuals emitted more distress calls and ambulated more in the open field test, however, they reacted to the predatory stimulus very similarly to control chicks: their vocalization was reduced and the intergroup difference in motor activity also disappeared. There was no difference between the lesioned and control chicks in the latency to approach their conspecifics in the social motivation test, and both groups chose the larger flock (eight) of conspecifics over the smaller one (three). Concerning the role of Ac in social behaviour, a difference between lesioned and sham birds was evident here only in the absence of detectable stimulus (predator or conspecifics). These findings may reflect either decreased fear of exposure to predators or increased craving for conspecifics suggesting that the likely function of Ac is to modulate goal-driven, including socially driven, behaviours, especially when the direct stimulus representing the goal is absent. This is in harmony with the known promotion of impulsiveness by Ac lesions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of nucleus accumbens lesions on socially motivated behaviour of young domestic chicks

Zachár

Tóth

Balogh

et al. 2016

Eur J of Neuroscience

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“…Second, localized lesion and pharmacological manipulation studies have reported critical involvement of the striatum in reinforcement learning (Annett et al, 1989; Izawa et al, 2001; Ichikawa et al, 2004; Clarke et al, 2008; Rueda-Orozco et al, 2008; Castañé et al, 2010; Ogura et al, 2015). Third, during reinforcement tasks, striatal neurons show reward-related activities both before and after mammals (Tremblay et al, 1998; Janak et al, 2004; Apicella et al, 2009; Kim et al, 2009) and birds (Yanagihara et al, 2001; Izawa et al, 2005; Amita and Matsushima, 2014) receive a reward.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In neuronal recordings from chicks performing the operant pecking task, both the medial striatum (MSt) (Yanagihara et al, 2001) and arcopallium (Arco, an associative area in the avian telencephalon, Aoki et al, 2003) have been found to code rewards and prediction of rewards. Particularly, some MSt neurons show a sequence of characteristic burst activities during the cue period, the post-operant delay period, and/or the reward period of the task (Izawa et al, 2005; Amita and Matsushima, 2014). Localized MSt lesions cause impulsive choices (Izawa et al, 2003) while Arco lesions cause cost-averse choices (Aoki et al, 2006), suggesting the involvement of these areas in foraging decision making.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Striatal and Tegmental Neurons Code Critical Signals for Temporal-Difference Learning of State Value in Domestic Chicks

2016

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To ensure survival, animals must update the internal representations of their environment in a trial-and-error fashion. Psychological studies of associative learning and neurophysiological analyses of dopaminergic neurons have suggested that this updating process involves the temporal-difference (TD) method in the basal ganglia network. However, the way in which the component variables of the TD method are implemented at the neuronal level is unclear. To investigate the underlying neural mechanisms, we trained domestic chicks to associate color cues with food rewards. We recorded neuronal activities from the medial striatum or tegmentum in a freely behaving condition and examined how reward omission changed neuronal firing. To compare neuronal activities with the signals assumed in the TD method, we simulated the behavioral task in the form of a finite sequence composed of discrete steps of time. The three signals assumed in the simulated task were the prediction signal, the target signal for updating, and the TD-error signal. In both the medial striatum and tegmentum, the majority of recorded neurons were categorized into three types according to their fitness for three models, though these neurons tended to form a continuum spectrum without distinct differences in the firing rate. Specifically, two types of striatal neurons successfully mimicked the target signal and the prediction signal. A linear summation of these two types of striatum neurons was a good fit for the activity of one type of tegmental neurons mimicking the TD-error signal. The present study thus demonstrates that the striatum and tegmentum can convey the signals critically required for the TD method. Based on the theoretical and neurophysiological studies, together with tract-tracing data, we propose a novel model to explain how the convergence of signals represented in the striatum could lead to the computation of TD error in tegmental dopaminergic neurons.

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“…Second, foraging decisions are socially modulated by conspecific individuals. Choice impulsiveness in chicks can be conditionally enhanced by competitive training experiences (Amita et al, 2010), and this enhancement might involve the suppression of striatal neuronal activities, as elicited by the presence of the accompanying forager (Amita & Matsushima, 2014). Furthermore, foraging effort (Ogura & Matsushima, 2011) and operant peck latency (Amita & Matsushima, 2011) are socially facilitated in a reversible and contextual manner.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Selective contribution of the telencephalic arcopallium to the social facilitation of foraging efforts in the domestic chick

Xin

Ogura

Leo

et al. 2016

Eur J of Neuroscience

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To investigate the neural basis of socio-economic behaviors in birds, we examined the effects of bilateral electrolytic lesions of arcopallium (Arco, the major descending pallial area of the avian telencephalon) and the surrounding nuclei in domestic chicks. We tested foraging effort (running distance) in an I-shaped maze with two food patches that delivered food in a biased manner according to a variable interval schedule. Normally, chicks run back and forth between the patches, and the patch use time matches the respective food delivery rate. In the paired phase, even without actual interference of food, chicks showed social facilitation of running effort compared with the single phase. Chicks with lesions in the Arco and lateral Arco showed significant reductions in social facilitation. The lesion effects of the lateral Arco were particularly selective, as it was not accompanied by changes in running distance in the single phase. Lesions of the nidopallium and nucleus taeniae of the amygdala produced no changes in foraging behavior. On the other hand, the Arco lesion did not impair social facilitation of operant peck latency. In accordance with this, anterograde tracing revealed characteristic projections from the lateral Arco to the extended amygdala, hippocampus, and septum, as well as wide areas of limbic nuclei in the hypothalamus and medial areas of the striatum including the nucleus accumbens. Pathways from the lateral Arco could enable chicks to overcome the extra effort investment of social foraging, suggesting functional and anatomical analogies to the anterior cingulate cortex and basolateral amygdala in mammals.

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Competitor suppresses neuronal representation of food reward in the nucleus accumbens/medial striatum of domestic chicks

Cited by 11 publications

References 63 publications

Effect of nucleus accumbens lesions on socially motivated behaviour of young domestic chicks

Effect of nucleus accumbens lesions on socially motivated behaviour of young domestic chicks

Striatal and Tegmental Neurons Code Critical Signals for Temporal-Difference Learning of State Value in Domestic Chicks

Selective contribution of the telencephalic arcopallium to the social facilitation of foraging efforts in the domestic chick

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