Okihide Hikosaka investigates how neural circuits connect sensory information, expected reward and saccades. With Masayuki Matsumoto, he studied the lateral habenula and dopaminergic neurons while monkeys performed visually guided saccades. A 2007 experiment reversed which target position predicted reward; neural responses changed along with the reward contingency.[ref]
Lateral habenula as a source of negative reward signals in dopamine neurons by Masayuki Matsumoto and Okihide Hikosaka. Abstract; rhesus-monkey saccade task and reward-location reversal
The reversal distinguishes a response to a fixed location from a response associated with its learned outcome. Habenular excitation on unrewarded trials preceded inhibition of dopaminergic neurons, and weak electrical stimulation of the lateral habenula inhibited those neurons.[ref]
Lateral habenula as a source of negative reward signals in dopamine neurons by Masayuki Matsumoto and Okihide Hikosaka. Abstract; response timing and stimulation
Recording and intervention address complementary questions: when does activity occur, and can changing the candidate circuit influence another population? The stimulation result alone does not identify every intervening synapse or establish a direct monosynaptic connection. Articles by others on the same topic
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