Principal Investigator Ann Graybiel
Much of the normal behavior depends on learning how to perform sequences of acts so smoothly that we can carry them out almost without conscious effort. This type of learning is crucial for maximizing cognitive function. We depend on it to free us to think and to react to new events in the environment. Much evidence suggests that the basal ganglia are centrally involved in this type of learning, variously known as procedural, implicit or habit learning. But what neural process lets us transform behaviors into habits? And how do we break habits once they are formed? The goal of our research is to answer these questions.
The basal ganglia function as part of a distributed network -- the frontal cortex and basal ganglia operate in loop circuits that change during the acquisition and performance of habit behavior. The lab is interested in identifying the neural plasticity that occurs in these cortico-basal ganglia loops during acquisition, and the neural encoding that mediates subsequent performance the of behavioral routines. We use two experimental approaches to focus on these issues.