Organization of interneuronal connections in the nucleus accumbens in "impulsive" and "self-controlled" behavior in cats

Abstract

In behavioral experiments, cats placed in a situation of choosing between a high-value time-delayed and a low-value rapid food reinforcement elected to wait for the preferred reward (they demonstrated "self-control") or to obtain the worse reward quickly (they demonstrated impulsive behavior). On the basis of the selected behavioral strategy, the cats were divided into three groups - "impulsive," "ambivalent," and "self-controlled." Cross-correlation analysis was used to assess the linked activity of cells in the nucleus accumbens, which reflects the nature of interactions between close-lying neurons. In cats with self-control, interneuronal interactions appeared in a significantly larger proportion of cases than in impulsive cats. In combinations resulting in long-latency reactions, cats with self-controlled and impulsive behavior showed no significant difference in the occurrence frequency of interneuronal interactions. The numbers of interneuronal interactions were greater during erroneous responses as compared with correctly performed reactions in animals of the different groups. These data indicate a key role for the interrelated activity of nucleus accumbens neurons in organizing the pattern of long-latency responses typical of self-controlled behavior.