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Proximity of Substantia Nigra Microstimulation to Putative GABAergic Neurons Predicts Modulation of Human Reinforcement Learning. Frontiers in human neuroscience Ramayya, A. G., Pedisich, I., Levy, D., Lyalenko, A., Wanda, P., Rizzuto, D., Baltuch, G. H., Kahana, M. J. 2017; 11: 200

Abstract

Neuronal firing in the substantia nigra (SN) immediately following reward is thought to play a crucial role in human reinforcement learning. As in Ramayya et al. (2014a) we applied microstimulation in the SN of patients undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS) for the treatment of Parkinson's disease as they engaged in a two-alternative reinforcement learning task. We obtained microelectrode recordings to assess the proximity of the electrode tip to putative dopaminergic and GABAergic SN neurons and applied stimulation to assess the functional importance of these neuronal populations for learning. We found that the proximity of SN microstimulation to putative GABAergic neurons predicted the degree of stimulation-related changes in learning. These results extend previous work by supporting a specific role for SN GABA firing in reinforcement learning. Stimulation near these neurons appears to dampen the reinforcing effect of rewarding stimuli.

View details for DOI 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00200

View details for PubMedID 28536513

View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5422436