Circuit Mechanisms of Learning and Decision Making (360G-Wellcome-213465_Z_18_Z)

Decision making concerns every aspect of our lives. Despite substantial progress in understanding the brain regions involved in learning and decision making, the neuronal circuits that govern choice behaviour have remained elusive. This proposal aims at studying precise neuronal circuits underlying learning and decision making. We will focus on frontostriatal neuronal circuits, and how neuromodulators can shape the activity of these circuits during decision making. Our research will take the following complementary directions: A) We will examine defined frontostriatal circuits during a novel decision paradigm that requires integration of perceptual and reward signals in order to investigate the role distinct frontostriatal circuits play in choice behaviour. B) We will focus on dopamine neurons and dopamine recipient structures and examine specialised roles of distinct dopaminergic circuits in learning. C) We will establish how decision uncertainty influences learning, and how dopaminergic circuits regulate learning in uncertain environments. Our group will utilize and develop behavioural, computational, large-scale electrophysiological and imaging tools to study genetically- and anatomically-defined neuronal circuits in behaving mice. These studies will result in a quantitative circuit-level understanding of complex choice behaviour, and will ultimately provide insights into the pathophysiology of diseases compromising cognition.