Abstract
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is implicated in many basic human functions and behaviours and is closely associated with happiness, depression and reward processing. In particular it appears to be involved in suppressing responses to distracting stimuli while waiting for a delayed reward. Here we present a system level model of the limbic system which is able to generate a serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine [5HT]) signal so that a simulated animal waits for a delayed reward. We propose that the 5HT signal is computed by a network involving the medial Orbital Frontal Cortex (mOFC), medial Pre Frontal Cortex (mPFC), Dorsal Raphe Nucleus (DRN)and the Nucleus Accumbens Core (NAcc). The serotonin signal encodes pre-reward liking, motivation throughout the trial and delayed reward waiting. We have successfully replicated the behaviour and dynamics of laboratory studies. With the help of this model we can predict that low levels of serotonin indirectly cause less encountered rewards because the animal gives up too early.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Miyazaki, K., Miyazaki, K.W., Doya, K.: Activation of dorsal raphe serotonin neurons underlies waiting for delayed rewards. J. Neurosci. 31(2), 469–479 (2011)
Dayan, P., Huys, Q.J.M.: Serotonin, inhibition, and negative mood. PLoS Comput. Biol. 4(2), e4 (2008)
Dorocic, I.P., Furth, D., Xuan, Y., Johansson, Y., Pozzi, L., Silberberg, G., Carlen, M., Meletis, K.: A whole-brain atlas of inputs to serotonergic neurons of the dorsal and median raphe nuclei. Neuron 83, 663–678 (2014)
Sparta, D.R., Stuber, G.D.: Cartography of serotonergic circuits. Neuron 83(3), 513–515 (2014)
Ranade, S.P., Mainen, Z.F.: Transient firing of dorsal raphe neurons encodes diverse and specific sensory, motor, and reward events. J. Neurophysiol. 102(5), 3026–3037 (2009)
Nakamura, K., Ono, T.: Lateral hypothalamus neuron involvement in integration of natural and artificial rewards and cue signals. J. Neurophysiol. 55(1), 163–181 (1986)
Sesack, S.R., Grace, A.A.: Cortico-basal ganglia reward network: microcircuitry. Neuropsychopharmacology 35(1), 27–47 (2010). Official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
Noonan, M.P., Kolling, N., Walton, M.E., Rushworth, M.F.S.: Re-evaluating the role of the orbitofrontal cortex in reward and reinforcement. Eur. J. Neurosci. 35(7), 997–1010 (2012)
Humphries, M.D., Prescott, T.J.: The ventral basal ganglia, a selection mechanism at the crossroads of space, strategy, and reward. Progress Neurobiol. 90(4), 385–417 (2010)
Van Bockstaele, E.J., Pickel, V.M.: GABA-containing neurons in the ventral tegmental area project to the nucleus accumbens in rat brain. Brain Res. 682(1–2), 215–221 (1995)
Brog, J.S., Salyapongse, A., Deutch, A.Y., Zahm, D.S.: The patterns of afferent innervation of the core and shell in the ‘accumbens’ part of the rat ventral striatum. J. Comp. Neurol. 338, 255–278 (1993)
Basar, K., Sesia, T., Groenewegen, H., Steinbusch, H.W.M., Visser-Vandewalle, V., Temel, Y.: Nucleus accumbens and impulsivity. Progress Neurobiol. 92(4), 533–557 (2010)
Rajakumar, N., Elisevich, K., Flumerfelt, B.A.: Compartmental origin of the striato-entopeduncular projection in the rat. J. Comp. Neurol. 331(2), 286–296 (1993)
Hong, S., Hikosaka, O.: The globus pallidus sends reward-related signals to the lateral habenula. Neuron 60(4), 720–729 (2008)
Barrot, M., Sesack, S.R., Georges, F., Pistis, M., Hong, S., Jhou, T.C.: Braking dopamine systems: a new GABA master structure for mesolimbic and nigrostriatal functions. J. Neurosci. 32(41), 14094–14101 (2012). The Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience
Bourdy, R., Barrot, M.: A new control center for dopaminergic systems: Pulling the VTA by the tail. Trends Neurosci. 35(11), 681–688 (2012)
Hoover, W.B., Vertes, R.P.: Projections of the medial orbital and ventral orbital cortex in the rat. J. Comp. Neurol. 519(18), 3766–3801 (2011)
Homberg, J.R.: Serotonin and decision making processes. Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev. 36(1), 218–236 (2012)
Juckel, G., Mendlin, A., Jacobs, B.L.: Electrical stimulation of rat medial prefrontal cortex enhances forebrain serotonin output: implications for electroconvulsive therapy and transcranial magnetic stimulation in depression. Neuropsychopharmacology 21(3), 391–398 (1999)
Vertes, R.P., Linley, S.B.: Efferent, afferent connections of the dorsal, median raphe nuclei in the rat. In: Monti, J.M., Pandi-Perumal, S.R., Jacobs, B.L., Nutt, D.J. (eds.) Serotonin, Sleep: Molecular, Functional and Clinical Aspects. Birkhäuser, Switzerland (2008)
Nakamura, K., Matsumoto, M., Hikosaka, O.: Reward-dependent modulation of neuronal activity in the primate dorsal raphe nucleus. J. Neurosci. 28(20), 5331–5343 (2008). The Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience
Bromberg-Martin, E.S., Hikosaka, O., Nakamura, K.: Coding of task reward value in the dorsal raphe nucleus. J. Neurosci. 30(18), 6262–6272 (2010). The Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience
Cardinal, R.N.: Neural systems implicated in delayed and probabilistic reinforcement. Neural Netw. 19, 1277–1301 (2006)
Evenden, J.: Impulsivity: a discussion of clinical and experimental findings. J. Psycopharmacology 13(2), 180–192 (1999)
Nakamura, K.: The role of the doral raphe nucleus in reward-seeking behaviour. Front. Integr. Neurosci. 60 (2013)
Robinson, E.S.J., Dalley, J.W., Theobald, D.E.H., Glennon, J.C., Pezze, M.A., Murphy, E.R., Robbins, T.W.: Opposing roles for 5-HT2A and 5-HT2C receptors in the nucleus accumbens on inhibitory response control in the 5-choice serial reaction time task. Neuropsychopharmacology 33(10), 27–47 (2010). Official Publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
Cools, R., Nakamura, K., Daw, N.D.: Serotonin and dopamine: unifying affective, activational, and decision functions. Neuropsychopharmacology 36(1), 98–113 (2011). Official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
Schulz, W., Dayan, P., Montague, P.R.: A neural substrate of prediction and reward. Science 275, 1593–1599 (1997)
Seymour, B., Daw, N., Roiser, J., Dayan, P., Dolan, R.: Serotonin selectively modulates reward value in human decision-making. J. Neurosci. 32(17), 5833–5842 (2012)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this paper
Cite this paper
Sutherland, M., Porr, B. (2016). Modelling the Effect of Dorsal Raphe Serotonin Neurons on Patience for Future Rewards. In: Tuci, E., Giagkos, A., Wilson, M., Hallam, J. (eds) From Animals to Animats 14. SAB 2016. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 9825. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43488-9_23
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-43488-9_23
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-43487-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-43488-9
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)