Description du projet
Mieux comprendre les voyages mentaux
Notre cerveau a la capacité intrigante d’imaginer les résultats possibles d’une décision avant qu’elle ne soit prise. Les informations provenant de plusieurs autres régions du cerveau sur la signification émotionnelle et cognitive de divers stimuli sont rassemblées dans la région du cortex orbitofrontal (COF) sous la forme d’une carte interne. Cette carte se dessine spontanément, sans orientation extérieure, et participe au processus interne de prise de décision du cerveau concernant le comportement futur. Financé par le Conseil européen de la recherche, le projet MentalTravel étudiera comment la carte interne du COF se constitue et comment elle aide le cerveau à atteindre un objectif tout en évitant les obstacles. La compréhension de ce processus pourrait permettre de mieux appréhender les mécanismes qui sous-tendent les troubles psychiatriques.
Objectif
One of the most notable features of the brain is the ability to simulate possible consequences of a behavioural choice that has not even been experienced in the real world. While this ability is likely fundamental for our intelligence and creativity, its neural circuit basis is largely unclear. To tackle this problem, we will focus on the rat’s ability of spatial navigation, finding an optimal path to a remote destination that is located outside the range of sensory perception. This ability is thought to be supported by the brain’s internal map that allows an animal to estimate its future position followed by planned movements. While the hippocampal formation has been the primary focus of research on the brain’s spatial map, it mainly tracks an animal’s position and its nearby trajectories. By contrast, the brain has another internal map in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) that points to an animal’s goal destination throughout navigation. Because this goal coding emerges autonomously in the network without relying on explicit external cues, it can be considered part of the brain’s inner reasoning process for future behaviours. Here we will explore how this internally-set goal can emerge in the OFC network through interactions with its associated regions – thalamus and neuromodulatory systems. We will then explore how this goal coding can be used to plan an optimal goal-directed path by avoiding known obstacles in the environment. Since this process likely requires the cooperation of two internal maps in OFC and the hippocampus, we will elucidate the underlying circuit mechanism that employs multiple map systems in parallel. We will take advantage of state-of-the-art experimental and analysis techniques to decipher neural codes for navigational simulations. The OFC and the hippocampus are the regions often affected by psychiatric disorders, and their role in inner reasoning may provide new insights into their pathophysiology.
Champ scientifique (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classe les projets avec EuroSciVoc, une taxonomie multilingue des domaines scientifiques, grâce à un processus semi-automatique basé sur des techniques TLN. La classification de ce projet a été validée par l’équipe qui en a la charge.
CORDIS classe les projets avec EuroSciVoc, une taxonomie multilingue des domaines scientifiques, grâce à un processus semi-automatique basé sur des techniques TLN. La classification de ce projet a été validée par l’équipe qui en a la charge.
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Régime de financement
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC GrantsInstitution d’accueil
80539 Munchen
Allemagne