摘要：额叶皮层在高等认知过程中发挥重要作用——能控制视觉皮层中的信息，但人们对这种调控的具体情况却知之甚少。现在，Behrad Noudoost 和 Tirin Moore发现，对“前眼野”的D1多巴胺受体进行药理性修饰处理，视觉皮层V4的神经元活动受到特定的影响，并区分出由该区域选择性影响的行为。这些结果表明，D1受体在调控额叶皮层感觉区域过程中扮演一个重要角色，此外，我们可以了解到，在前额多巴胺引起的精神疾病中，该感觉器官是如何改变信息处理方式的。
眼睛是怎么处理视觉信息的？
生物探索推荐英文摘要
doi:10.1038/nature09995
Control of visual cortical signals by prefrontal dopamine
Abstract: The prefrontal cortex is thought to modulate sensory signals in posterior cortices during top-down attention1, 2, but little is known about the underlying neural circuitry. Experimental and clinical evidence indicate that prefrontal dopamine has an important role in cognitive functions3, acting predominantly through D1 receptors. Here we show that dopamine D1 receptors mediate prefrontal control of signals in the visual cortex of macaques (Macaca mulatta). We pharmacologically altered D1-receptor-mediated activity in the frontal eye field of the prefrontal cortex and measured the effect on the responses of neurons in area V4 of the visual cortex. This manipulation was sufficient to enhance the magnitude, the orientation selectivity and the reliability of V4 visual responses to an extent comparable with the known effects of top-down attention. The enhancement of V4 signals was restricted to neurons with response fields overlapping the part of visual space affected by the D1 receptor manipulation. Altering either D1- or D2-receptor-mediated frontal eye field activity increased saccadic target selection but the D2 receptor manipulation did not enhance V4 signals. Our results identify a role for D1 receptors in mediating the control of visual cortical signals by the prefrontal cortex and suggest how processing in sensory areas could be altered in mental disorders involving prefrontal dopamine.
