Prefrontal chandelier cells encode stimulus salience to facilitate associative learning
报告人简介：吕江腾课题组聚焦大脑神经元环路的组装、运行及功能：从多维度探究皮层神经元的分型，解析皮层内微环路与全脑环路的整合协调关系，研究特定神经元及其环路在正常脑功能及神经精神疾病发生过程中的作用。实验室综合运用钙成像及电生理技术、小鼠遗传学、光/化学遗传学以及动物行为学等方法：（1）揭示皮层中一类特殊的抑制性中间神经元-吊灯细胞（chandelier cells）-的环路的结构与功能，尤其是前额叶皮层吊灯细胞在认知过程及认知障碍中的作用；（2）探索前额叶皮层投射神经元的结构多样性与认知过程的映射关系。
报告内容介绍：Title: Prefrontal chandelier cells encode stimulus salience to facilitate associative learning Abstract: The salience of a sensory stimulus relies on its physical properties and behavioral context. Proper processing of salience is crucial for attending to behaviorally relevant events, thereby facilitating learning. However, the underlying neuronal mechanism remains poorly understood. We discovered that a specific type of GABAergic interneurons, the chandelier cells (ChCs) in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), are robustly activated by novel stimuli, regardless of their valence, as well as by reinforcing stimuli and their predictive cues. The responses of ChCs scale with the intensity of familiar stimuli. Importantly, reducing the ChCs’ ability to detect stimulus salience significantly impairs associative learning. Our findings uncover a novel physiological function of mPFC ChCs in detecting and processing stimulus salience, and in turn facilitating associative learning.
