Boraud先生は、これまでサル・げっ歯類などの動物実験さらには理論神経科学など幅広い方法を用いて、大脳基底核の機能や大脳基底核疾患の病態について、注目すべき成果をあげてこられました。沖縄OISTでのワークショップOpen Problems in Neuroscience of Decision Makingに参加のあと、共同研究のため生体システム研究部門に２週間ほど滞在されますので、セミナーをお願いしました。多数御来聴下さい。

Humans possess the unique capacity of being able to purposely select the behavioral actions in which they engage their bodies on the basis of conscious estimation of costs and benefits. This notion has already been elaborated in economics, with a central supervisor comparing options at an abstract level, and making decisions that are then executed by slave systems (or motor effectors). In my talk, I propose to re-evaluate this concept with the presentation of an alternative view in which action selection relies on a direct competition between motor effectors which in turn signal the benefits (or expected values) of particular actions, with the "winner" then specifying the actual body movement performed. By focusing on the cortex-basal-ganglia loop, I will describe electrophysiological and fMRI studies in humans and non-human primates to support this novel theory.