ePoster

Integrated electrophysiology and fiber photometry examination of the prefrontal cortex in the mouse model of implicit learning

Éva Gulyás, Vivien Pillár, Bálint Király, Franciska Benyó, Annamária Benke, Balázs Hangya
FENS Forum 2024(2024)
Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center, Vienna, Austria

Conference

FENS Forum 2024

Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center, Vienna, Austria

Resources

Authors & Affiliations

Éva Gulyás, Vivien Pillár, Bálint Király, Franciska Benyó, Annamária Benke, Balázs Hangya

Abstract

Neuromodulators have a key role in mediating cognitive processes such as attention, learning and memory. Disorders of the neuromodulatory systems underlie certain degenerative neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. While the role of neuromodulators in explicit learning is increasingly in the focus of the research, their participation in implicit learning and memory processes is poorly understood.To examine this we have used a previously developed automated training setup in which animals must respond to sequential light flashes at different locations. Following the automatic behavioral pretraining period we implanted a custom-built microdrive with eight tetrode electrodes in the prefrontal cortex which is centrally involved in learning. In addition to electrophysiological recordings, genetically encoded dopamine sensor was injected into the contralateral hemisphere to monitor the release of dopamine through fiber photometry. When the animals were able to follow the sequence stably, we introduced blocks of trials in which the stimuli followed each other in a random order. During the sequential learning task, behavioral, electrophysiological and photometric data was collected synchronously.Comparing the animals’ behaviour between sequential and randomized blocks, we found that the reaction time was lower while the accuracy was higher in the sequential blocks. We found that neurons form distinct groups based on characteristic firing patterns, furthermore we observed robust and correlated dopamine release and neuronal activation during learning and the execution of the task.The combination of electrophysiology and fiber photometry measurments can help to understand the neural basis of implicit learning processes and neurodegenerative diseases.

Unique ID: fens-24/integrated-electrophysiology-fiber-0ea456c1