Research On Information Transfer And Representation Of Goal Information In Nidopallium Caudolaterale And Hippocampus During Goal-directed Behavior In Pigeons

Goal-directed behavior,such as migration,homing,and foraging,is essential for the survival of animals.In this process,animal brain efficient adapting to the environment is an important embodiment of intelligence.During goal-directed behavior,cognitive processing is orchestrated to serve the identification and selection of goals.The existing research indicates the stable representation of goal information needs the accurate coordination of multiple brain regions.Thus,the information transfer among brain regions is very important for the execution of tasks.However,how the goal information is represented in the NCL and Hp regions which as the center of various information integration in pigeon,and how the goal information is transmitted in the network of the two brain regions is unclear.Research on the representation and transmission mechanism of goal information in goal-directed behavior is valuable for exploring the information processing mechanisms of the pigeon brain,and it is also of positive significance in brain-inspired intelligence and bionic navigation.To reveal the representation and transmission mechanism of goal information in the NCL and Hp regions,the pigeons are used as a model animal in this study.According to the difference of goal information in goal-oriented tasks,we design two behavioral tasks: without preset goal-directed task and preset goal-directed task.We record the neural signals in vivo from the NCL and Hp regions during the tasks by using the microelectrode array chronic implantation technology.Firstly,by comparing the time characteristics and frequency band characteristic of the LFP signals in NCL regions response during different behavioral tasks,we analyze the representation of the goal information in the NCL regions.Secondly,using coupling analysis and complex network method,the functional connectivity between the NCL and the Hp in the behavioral tasks and the modulation of the goal information on the Hp-NCL functional network are explored to reveal the common role of the NCL and the Hp in the representation of the goal information.Lastly,a method framework for quantitative analysis of Hp-NCL information transfer is proposed,and we analyze the transfer of goal information between Hp and NCL regions in goal-directed behavior.On this basis,the influence of Hp-NCL information transfer on pigeon goal-directed behavior is verified,and then we make an effective prediction for the turning behavior of pigeon during the goal-directed task.The main contents and innovation points of this thesis are presented as follows:(1)The characteristics of LFP signals encoding goal information in the NCL region are analyzed.According to the analysis results of the two goal-directed tasks with different goal information,we find that the 40-60 Hz of LFP recorded from the NCL region is the characteristic band which encode the goal information.Moreover,the power enhanced time window of the characteristic band moves forward with the advance of the time of the goal known.(2)Because of the energy characteristic of LFP signals recorded from the Hp region is complex during the goal-directed behavior.By the amplitude-amplitude coupling analysis,the frequency band and time window of the LFP related to goal information representation are determined.The results of the coupling analysis show that the coupling value between the slow gamma band in the Hp region and the goal information representation band in the NCL region is obviously higher than that of other frequency bands.Meanwhile,the time window of the coupling relationship is modulated by the goal information.These results solve the problem that the response characteristics of LFP recorded from the Hp region are difficult to determine.(3)Based on Hp-NCL functional network analysis,it is found that there is a highly clustered functional relation between the Hp region and the NCL region.On the basis of this connection mode and the time window,the Hp region participates in the representation of goal information by the NCL region.The Hp-NCL functional network connection mode in different goal location tasks exhibit significant difference.Meanwhile,the time window of the Hp-NCL functional relation will be modulated by the time of goal known.(4)A method framework of quantitative analysis of Hp-NCL information transfer is established to realize the multi-angle analysis of information transfer between brain regions.By analyzing the dynamic changes of information transfer between the Hp and NCL regions,the time window of information transfer between the Hp and the NCL regions is determined during the tasks.And we find that the main direction of information transfer in the two brain regions is from the Hp to the NCL by using functional causality analysis.Moreover,the information transfer in the two regions is achieved by the slow gamma-band oscillation during goal-directed behavior.On this basis,the effective prediction of pigeon turning behavior is realized.