Insular and prelimbic cortices control behavioral accuracy and precision in a temporal decision-making task in rats

Behav Brain Res. 2024 Mar 15:114961. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.114961. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTThe anterior insular cortex (AIC) comprises a region of sensory integration. It appears to detect salient events in order to guide goal-directed behavior, code tracking errors, and estimate the passage of time. Temporal processing in the AIC may be instantiated by the integration of representations of interoception. Projections between the AIC and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) - found both in rats and humans - also suggest a possible role for these structures in the integration of autonomic responses during ongoing behavior. Few studies, however, have investigated the role of AIC and mPFC in decision-making and time estimation tasks. Moreover, their findings are not consistent, so the relationship between temporal decision-making and those areas remains unclear. The present study employed bilateral inactivations to explore the role of AIC and prelimbic cortex (PL) in rats during a temporal decision-making task. In this task, two levers are available simultaneously (but only one is active), one predicting reinforcement after a short, and the other after a long-fixed interval. Optimal performance requires a switch from the short to the long lever after the short-fixed interval elapsed and no reinforcement was delivered. Switch behavior from the short to the long lever was dependent on AIC and PL. During AIC inactivation, switch latencies became more variable, while during PL...

Source: Behavioural Brain Research - March 17, 2024 Category: Neurology Authors: Estela B Nepomoceno Samanta Rodrigues Katia S de Melo Tatiana L Ferreira David Freestone Marcelo S Caetano Source Type: research