Norah Harper
Research Mentor(s): Ada Eban-Rothschild
Mentor Department: Psychology
Authors: Norah Harper, Arpit Pradhan, Ada Eban-Rothschild
Session: Session 1 (9:00am – 9:50am)
Presentation Type: Poster 10
Abstract
Sleep is a fundamental physiological state characterized by reduced responsiveness to external stimuli. However, individuals can selectively respond to behaviorally relevant sounds, suggesting the presence of neural mechanisms that prioritize salient auditory information even during sleep. While dopaminergic neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA-DA) are known to play a crucial role in salience processing during wakefulness, their involvement in auditory salience processing during sleep remains unclear. This study aims to investigate whether VTA-DA neurons contribute to the processing of salient sounds during sleep by developing an ethologically relevant behavioral paradigm in rodents. Social interaction, a naturally motivated behavior that facilitates learning across species, will serve as the reinforcing stimulus in our task. In the wake phase, an experimental mouse will learn to associate an auditory cue with lever pressing, which lifts a barrier and enables interaction with a conspecific on the other side. Once the mouse reliably forms this association, the auditory cue acquires a positive valence. To examine the role of VTA-DA neurons in processing salient auditory information during sleep, we will present the learned positive-valence sound alongside a neutral control sound during different sleep stages while recording VTA-DA neuronal activity and sleep polysomnography. By comparing neural responses to these auditory stimuli, we aim to determine whether VTA-DA neurons selectively encode behaviorally relevant sounds during sleep, potentially influencing arousal or sleep-state transitions. This study will provide critical insights into how the brain integrates motivationally significant information during sleep and the broader role of the dopaminergic system in sleep-dependent learning and memory.
