當(dāng)執(zhí)行一個(gè)行為時(shí),，動(dòng)作序列的適當(dāng)起動(dòng)和終止至關(guān)重要；這個(gè)過程在帕金森氏癥和亨廷頓癥等“黑質(zhì)紋狀體”疾病中不能正常進(jìn)行,。

人們對(duì)主管一個(gè)固定行為模式的學(xué)習(xí)和執(zhí)行的神經(jīng)機(jī)制還不是很了解,，但Xin Jin 和Rui Costa揭示了在任務(wù)訓(xùn)練過程中基底神經(jīng)節(jié)回路中所出現(xiàn)的起動(dòng)/停止神經(jīng)激發(fā)模式。小鼠能夠?qū)W會(huì)按自己確定的進(jìn)度非常精確地執(zhí)行固定數(shù)量的一組重復(fù)性動(dòng)作——它們要完成的任務(wù)是壓杠桿,，完成之后可以獲得蔗糖作為獎(jiǎng)勵(lì),。

利用這一任務(wù)，Jin和Costa發(fā)現(xiàn),，“黑質(zhì)紋狀體”回路中很多神經(jīng)元能夠選擇性地對(duì)每組被執(zhí)行的動(dòng)作發(fā)出自我抑制或自我終止的信號(hào),。這些回路的基因改動(dòng)破壞起動(dòng)/停止的執(zhí)行，影響小鼠的表現(xiàn),。這一發(fā)現(xiàn)為特定神經(jīng)活動(dòng)和任務(wù)學(xué)習(xí)之間的因果關(guān)系提供了證據(jù),。(生物谷Bioon.com)

生物谷推薦原文出處：

Nature doi:10.1038/nature09263

Start/stop signals emerge in nigrostriatal circuits during sequence learning
Xin Jin& Rui M. Costa

Learning new action sequences subserves a plethora of different abilities such as escaping a predator, playing the piano, or producing fluent speech. Proper initiation and termination of each action sequence is critical for the organization of behaviour, and is compromised in nigrostriatal disorders like Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases. Using a self-paced operant task in which mice learn to perform a particular sequence of actions to obtain an outcome, we found neural activity in nigrostriatal circuits specifically signalling the initiation or the termination of each action sequence. This start/stop activity emerged during sequence learning, was specific for particular actions, and did not reflect interval timing, movement speed or action value. Furthermore, genetically altering the function of striatal circuits disrupted the development of start/stop activity and selectively impaired sequence learning. These results have important implications for understanding the functional organization of actions and the sequence initiation and termination impairments observed in basal ganglia disorders.