丘脑-岛叶通路是更新生理需求的基础
Thalamo-insular basis for updating physiological needs
生理需求，如口渴和饥饿，会产生强大的动机，驱动对生存至关重要的行为。然而，大脑如何估计这些需求仍然未知。目前尚不清楚大脑是持续监测身体信号以生成实时表征，还是仅在发生有意义的变化时才更新已有的内部表征。为回答这一问题，我们操纵了丘脑向内感受性岛叶皮层传递的内部感觉输入。我们发现，抑制内部感觉输入会阻止岛叶皮层对口渴和饥饿表征的更新，从而使其活动更接近初始的生理需求状态。因此，线索诱导的进食和饮水，以及对食物和水的自由摄取，都会超出当前的生理需求而持续进行。我们进一步表明，岛叶皮层活动通常同时表征预测和感觉信息。然而，违背习得性预期会引发广泛的、需求特异性的预测误差信号。因此，我们的结果揭示了大脑中更新生理需求的丘脑-皮层基础。
把丘脑到岛叶的内感受输入与需求更新联系起来，为研究内感受预测误差提供了可操纵的环路切入点。
Physiological needs, such as thirst and hunger, produce powerful motivation for behaviors that are essential for survival. Yet, how the brain estimates these needs remains unknown. It is unclear whether the brain continuously monitors bodily signals to create real-time representations, or if existing internal representations are only updated when meaningful changes occur. To address this question, we manipulated thalamic internal sensory inputs to the interoceptive insular cortex. We found that inhibiting internal sensory inputs prevents the updating of insular cortex representations of thirst and hunger, thereby keeping its activity closer to its initial physiological need state. Consequently, cued feeding and drinking, as well as free consumption of food and water, persist beyond the current physiological need. We further show that insular cortex activity normally represents both predictions and sensory information. However, violating learned expectations evokes widespread need-specific prediction error signals. Our results thus reveal a thalamo-cortical basis for updating physiological needs in the brain.
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来源：bioRxiv · Neuroscience · biorxiv.org