RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Thalamostriatal Interactions in Human Reversal Learning
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 246371
DO 10.1101/246371
A1 Tiffany Bell
A1 Angela Langdon
A1 Michael Lindner
A1 William Lloyd
A1 Anastasia Christakou
YR 2018
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/03/24/246371.abstract
AB Cognitive flexibility is crucial for adaptation, and is disrupted in neuropsychiatric disorders and psychopathology. Human studies of flexibility using reversal learning tasks typically focus on mechanisms that identify changes in response contingencies, rather than learning and expressing a new response. However, animal studies suggest a specific role in this process for the connections between dorsal striatum and the centromedian parafascicular (CM-Pf) thalamus, a system not well understood in humans. This study investigated the role of this system in human probabilistic reversal learning, specifically with respect to learning a new response strategy. Using psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data we show that CM-Pf–dorsal striatal connectivity increased during reversal, but not initial, learning. The strength of this connectivity was associated with the ability to flexibly alter behaviour. These findings expand our understanding of flexibility mechanisms in the human brain, bridging the gap with animal studies of this system.