MODULATION ACTIVITY OF NUCLEUS BASALIS MAGNOCELLULARIS NEURONS PREDICTS OUTCOME OF SKILL MOVEMENTS IN RAT
As it’s known, basal forebrain neurons increase their firing rate to stimuli regularly followed by the reward during learning. However, it can be assumed that stimuli accompany movement or its critical stage can be associated with the above-mentioned changes in the behavior of basal forebrain neurons during motor learning. In order to test this assumption, the activity of nucleus basalis magnocellularis neurons during reaching for food movements in freely moving rat was registered. A group of phasically activated neurons during the critical stage of such movements was shown. This modulation of activity was not observed when the movement failed, and thus, predicted the outcome of the movement. The possibility to encode behavioral salience of stimuli that accompany movement by the nucleus basalis neurons is discussed.