INVESTIGATING THE ROLE OF HIPPOCAMPUS - ORBITOFRONTAL CIRCUITS FOR COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY

The project will study the role of ventral hippocampus-orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) circuits in reversal learning and stress resilience. Aim 1 will inhibit specific neural projections within this circuit (ventral hippocampus to medial OFC, and medial OFC to lateral OFC) to test its functional importance for reversal learning. Aim 2 will use in vivo Ca2+ imaging to examine neural activity in the ventral hippocampus, medial OFC, and lateral OFC to understand how neurons store, process, and update action-outcome value associations for reversal learning. Aim 3 will investigate how these brain regions become dysfunctional under chronic stress and test if stimulating this circuitry can confer stress resilience and counteract stress-induced deficits in reversal learning.