{"id":2531,"date":"2015-04-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-04-09T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vermont.salk.edu\/news-release\/how-the-brain-balances-risk-taking-and-learning\/"},"modified":"2018-10-03T14:40:07","modified_gmt":"2018-10-03T21:40:07","slug":"how-the-brain-balances-risk-taking-and-learning","status":"publish","type":"disclosure","link":"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/es\/news-release\/how-the-brain-balances-risk-taking-and-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"How the brain balances risk-taking and learning"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\nLA JOLLA\u2013If you had 10 chances to roll a die, would you rather be guaranteed to receive $5 for every roll ($50 total) or take the risk of winning $100 if you only roll a six?\n<\/p>\n<p>\nMost animals, from roundworms to humans, prefer the more predictable situation when it comes to securing resources for survival, such as food. Now, Salk scientists have discovered the basis for how animals balance learning and risk-taking behavior to get to a more predictable environment. The research reveals new details on the function of two chemical signals critical to human behavior: dopamine\u2013responsible for reward and risk-taking\u2013and CREB\u2013needed for learning.\n<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/gPw5fnFnPkY\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>\n\u201cPrevious research has shown that certain neurons respond to changes in light to determine variability in their environment, but that\u2019s not the only mechanism,\u201d says senior author <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/es\/faculty\/chalasani.html\/\">Sreekanth Chalasani<\/a>, an assistant professor in Salk\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/es\/faculty\/molecular_neurobiology_laboratory.html\/\"\"\">Laboratorio de Neurobiolog\u00eda Molecular<\/a>. \u201cWe discovered a new mechanism that evaluates environmental variability, a skill crucial to animals\u2019 survival.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>\nBy studying roundworms (<em>Caenorhabditis elegans<\/em>), Salk researchers charted how this new circuit uses information from the animal\u2019s senses to figure out how predictable the environment and prompt the worm to move to a new location if needed. The work was detailed April 9, 2015 in <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cell.com\/neuron\/abstract\/S0896-6273(15)00250-0\" target=\"_blank\">Neuron<\/a><\/em>.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nThe circuit, made up of 16 of the 302 neurons in the worm\u2019s brain, likely has parallels in more complex animal brains, researchers say, and could be a starting point to understanding\u2013and fixing\u2013certain psychiatric or behavioral disorders.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\u201cWhat was surprising is the degree to which variability in animal behavior can be explained by variability in their past sensory experience and not just noise,\u201d says <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/es\/faculty\/sharpee.html\/\">Tatyana Sharpee<\/a>, associate professor and co-senior author of the paper. \u201cWe can now predict future animal behaviors based on past sensory experience, independent of the influence of genetic factors.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"imageCaption\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"border-bottom: 1px #006699 solid;\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/2075.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p>This image shows a single sensory neuron in the roundworm <em>Caenorhabditis elegans<\/em>. Salk researchers demonstrated how a neural circuit uses prior experience to modify future behaviors. The work reveals new details on the function of two chemical signals critical to animal\u2013and human\u2013behavior: dopamine (responsible for reward and risk-taking) and CREB (needed for learning).<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/2075.jpg\">Haga clic aqu\u00ed<\/a> para obtener una imagen en alta resoluci\u00f3n.<\/p>\n<p>\nImagen: Cortes\u00eda del Instituto Salk de Estudios Biol\u00f3gicos\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\nThe team discovered that two pairs of neurons in this learning circuit act as gatekeepers. One pair responds to large increases of the presence of food and the other pair responds to large decreases of the presence of food. When either of these high-threshold neurons detect a large change in an environment (for example, the smell of a lot of food to no food) they induce other neurons to release the neurotransmitter dopamine.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nDumping dopamine onto a brain\u2013human or otherwise\u2013makes one more willing to take risks. It\u2019s no different in the roundworm: stimulated by large varieties in its environment, dopamine surges in the worm\u2019s system and activates four other neurons in the learning circuit, giving them a greater response range. This prompts the worm to search more actively in a wider area (risk-taking) until it hits a more consistent environment. The amount of dopamine in its system serves as its memory of the past experience: about 30 minutes or so and it forgets information gathered in the time before that.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nWhile it\u2019s been known that the presence of dopamine is tied to risk-taking behavior, how exactly dopamine does this hasn\u2019t been well understood. With this new work, scientists now have a fundamental model of how dopamine signaling leads the worm to take more risks and explore new environments.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n\u201cThe connection between dopamine and risk is conserved across animals and is already known, but we showed mechanistically how it works,\u201d says Chalasani, who is also holder of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/es\/faculty\/faculty_chairs.html\/\">Helen McLoraine Developmental Chair in Neurobiology<\/a>. \u201cWe hope this work will lead to better therapies for neurodegenerative and behavioral diseases and other disorders where dopamine signaling is irregular.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>\nInterestingly, the scientists found that the high-threshold neurons also lead to increased signaling from a protein called CREB, known in humans and other animals to be essential to learning and retaining new memories. The researchers showed that not only are the presence of CREB important to learning, but the amount of CREB protein determines how quickly an animal learns. This surprising connection could lead to new avenues of research for brain enhancements, adds Chalasani.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nHow did researchers test all of this in worms exactly? They began by placing worms in dishes that contained either a large or a small patch of edible bacteria. Worms in the smaller patches tended to reach the edges more frequently, experiencing large changes in variability (edges have large amounts of food compared to the center). Worms on the large patch, however, reached the edge less frequently, thereby experiencing a general stable environment (mainly an area with constant food).\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"imageCaption530\"><iframe src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JWzfAwlj-Tc\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"caption\">\nSalk Institute researchers discovered how a neural circuit in roundworms balance learning and risk-taking behavior to get to a more predictable environment. Worms have two pairs of neurons that respond to large changes environment, such as different concentrations of food in a small space (left panel). As a result, the worms experience a greater increase in dopamine and risk-taking behavior to prompt them to move to a more stable space. When worms experience less variety in their environment, they experience less dopamine (right panel). The neural circuit likely has parallels in more complex animals and could help to explain behavior.<\/p>\n<p class=\"caption\">\nVideo: Courtesy of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\nUsing genetics, imaging, behavioral analysis and other techniques, researchers found that when worms are on small patches, the two pairs of high-threshold neurons respond to the greater variation and signal leading to increased dopamine. When worms in these smaller patches (and higher dopamine) were taken out and put into a new dish, they explored a larger area, taking more of a risk. Worms from the larger patches, however, produced less dopamine and were more cautious, exploring just a small space when placed in a new area.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nAdditionally, when the protein CREB was present in larger amounts, the team found that the worms took far less time to learn about their food variability. \u201cNormally the worms took about 30 minutes or so to explore and learn about food, but as you keep increasing the CREB protein they learn it faster,\u201d says Chalasani. \u201cSo dopamine stores the memory of what these worms learn while CREB regulates how quickly they learn.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>\nAuthors include Adam J. Calhoun of the <a href=\"https:\/\/ucsd.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\">Universidad de California, San Diego<\/a>; Navin Pokala of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rockefeller.edu\/\">The Rockefeller University<\/a>; and Ada Tong, James A. J. Fitzpatrick, Tatyana O. Sharpee and Sreekanth H. Chalasani, all of the Salk Institute.\n<\/p>\n<p>\nThe work was funded by the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nih.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\">Institutos Nacionales de Salud<\/a>, la <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/\">Fundaci\u00f3n Nacional de Ciencias<\/a> and the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ritaallenfoundation.org\/\">Rita Allen Foundation<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n<p>\n<strong>Acerca del Instituto Salk de Estudios Biol\u00f3gicos:<\/strong><br \/>\nThe Salk Institute for Biological Studies is one of the world&#8217;s preeminent basic research institutions, where internationally renowned faculty probes fundamental life science questions in a unique, collaborative, and creative environment. Focused both on discovery and on mentoring future generations of researchers, Salk scientists make groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of cancer, aging, Alzheimer&#8217;s, diabetes and infectious diseases by studying neuroscience, genetics, cell and plant biology, and related disciplines.\n<\/p>\n<p>Faculty achievements have been recognized with numerous honors, including Nobel Prizes and memberships in the National Academy of Sciences. Founded in 1960 by polio vaccine pioneer Jonas Salk, MD, the Institute is an independent nonprofit organization and architectural landmark.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","faculty":[77,66],"disease-research":[332,124],"class_list":["post-2531","disclosure","type-disclosure","status-publish","hentry","faculty-sreekanth-chalasani","faculty-tatyana-sharpee","disease-research-computational-biology","disease-research-neuroscience-and-neurological-disorders"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How the brain balances risk-taking and learning - Salk Institute for Biological Studies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.salk.edu\/es\/news-release\/how-the-brain-balances-risk-taking-and-learning\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How the brain balances risk-taking and learning - 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