Abstract
Behavioral flexibility-that is, the ability to deviate from established behavioral sequences-is critical for navigating dynamic environments and requires the durable encoding and retrieval of new memories to guide future choice. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) supports outcome-guided behaviors. However, the coordinated neural circuitry and cellular mechanisms by which OFC connections sustain flexible learning and memory remain elusive. Here we demonstrate in mice that basolateral amygdala (BLA)→OFC projections bidirectionally control memory formation when familiar behaviors are unexpectedly not rewarded, whereas OFC→dorsomedial striatum (DMS) projections facilitate memory retrieval. OFC neuronal ensembles store a memory trace for newly learned information, which appears to be facilitated by circuit-specific dendritic spine plasticity and neurotrophin signaling within defined BLA-OFC-DMS connections and obstructed by cocaine. Thus, we describe the directional transmission of information within an integrated amygdalo-fronto-striatal circuit across time, whereby novel memories are encoded by BLA→OFC inputs, represented within OFC ensembles and retrieved via OFC→DMS outputs during future choice.
Li, D. C., Dighe, N. M., Barbee, B. R., Pitts, E. G., Kochoian, B., Blumenthal, S. A., ... & Gourley, S. L. (2022). A molecularly integrated amygdalo-fronto-striatal network coordinates flexible learning and memory. Nat Neurosci, 1-12. [LINK]
Speaker: Fengjun Ma
Time: 9:30 am, 2022/09/30
Location: CIBR A6 Meeting Room
