NIH VideoCast - Amygdalar circuits for innate, learned and regulated behavior

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Amygdalar circuits for innate, learned and regulated behavior

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Air date:	Monday, November 23, 2015, 12:00:00 PM Time displayed is Eastern Time, Washington DC Local
Views:	Total views: 346 (28 Live, 318 On-demand)
Category:	Neuroscience
Runtime:	00:58:08
Closed captioning:	Check box to display CC outside of the video Note: You can drag the captioning window around and resize it
Description:	Neuroscience Seminar Series Dr. Salzman’s lab studies the neural mechanisms that give particular sensory stimuli emotional value, leading to emotional behavior. Using the primate visual system as an experimental platform, their basic approach is to conduct neurophysiological experiments in rhesus monkeys performing a variety of tasks involving emotional learning. They generally use conditioning techniques to give otherwise neutral stimuli emotional significance. They are investigating the physiological responses of amygdala neurons during emotional learning. The amygdala is a limbic brain structure likely to be critical to the process of associating sensory stimuli with emotional values. Simultaneously, they employ quantitative measurements of emotional learning and behavior in the monkey. They are testing the hypothesis that modulations in amygdala neural activity are correlated with the monkeys' emotional learning, behavior, and decision making. Future studies are planned in three general directions. First, they plan to study how orbitofrontal cortex contributes to emotional learning and behavior on the tasks they employ. Parts of orbitofrontal cortex are intimately connected to the amygdala, and their goal is to understand the distinct processing in these brain areas. Second, they plan to investigate how stimuli in other sensory modalities become associated with emotional value in the amygdala. The amygdala receives input from multiple sensory modalities, and therefore representations of emotional value in the amygdala may exist across sensory modalities, perhaps even in the same cells. Finally, they plan to use pharmacological manipulations to try to understand the critical synaptic mechanisms underlying emotional learning. These experiments may deepen their understanding of psychopharmacology by linking synaptic mechanisms to both neurophysiology and to emotional behavior.

NLM Title:	Amygdalar circuits for innate, learned, and regulated behavior / Dan Salzman.
Author:	Salzman, Dan. National Institutes of Health (U.S.),
Publisher:
Abstract:	(CIT): Neuroscience Seminar Series Dr. Salzman"s lab studies the neural mechanisms that give particular sensory stimuli emotional value, leading to emotional behavior. Using the primate visual system as an experimental platform, their basic approach is to conduct neurophysiological experiments in rhesus monkeys performing a variety of tasks involving emotional learning. They generally use conditioning techniques to give otherwise neutral stimuli emotional significance. They are investigating the physiological responses of amygdala neurons during emotional learning. The amygdala is a limbic brain structure likely to be critical to the process of associating sensory stimuli with emotional values. Simultaneously, they employ quantitative measurements of emotional learning and behavior in the monkey. They are testing the hypothesis that modulations in amygdala neural activity are correlated with the monkeys' emotional learning, behavior, and decision making. Future studies are planned in three general directions. First, they plan to study how orbitofrontal cortex contributes to emotional learning and behavior on the tasks they employ. Parts of orbitofrontal cortex are intimately connected to the amygdala, and their goal is to understand the distinct processing in these brain areas. Second, they plan to investigate how stimuli in other sensory modalities become associated with emotional value in the amygdala. The amygdala receives input from multiple sensory modalities, and therefore representations of emotional value in the amygdala may exist across sensory modalities, perhaps even in the same cells. Finally, they plan to use pharmacological manipulations to try to understand the critical synaptic mechanisms underlying emotional learning. These experiments may deepen their understanding of psychopharmacology by linking synaptic mechanisms to both neurophysiology and to emotional behavior.
Subjects:	Amygdala--physiology Behavior--physiology Emotions--physiology Neuropsychology--methods
Publication Types:	Lecture Webcast

NLM Classification:	WL 103
NLM ID:	101673113
CIT Live ID:	17425
Permanent link:	https://videocast.nih.gov/watch=17425

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