Neuromodulation and Individuality
Within populations, individuals show a variety of behavioral preferences, even in the absence of genetic or environmental variability. Neuromodulators affect these idiosyncratic preferences in a wide range of systems, however, the mechanism(s) by which they do so is unclear. I review the evidence su...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | article |
| Language: | EN |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doaj.org/article/477d9dea5dee44e7aa374e698d56da3d |
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| Summary: | Within populations, individuals show a variety of behavioral preferences, even in the absence of genetic or environmental variability. Neuromodulators affect these idiosyncratic preferences in a wide range of systems, however, the mechanism(s) by which they do so is unclear. I review the evidence supporting three broad mechanisms by which neuromodulators might affect variability in idiosyncratic behavioral preference: by being a source of variability directly upstream of behavior, by affecting the behavioral output of a circuit in a way that masks or accentuates underlying variability in that circuit, and by driving plasticity in circuits leading to either homeostatic convergence toward a given behavior or divergence from a developmental setpoint. I find evidence for each of these mechanisms and propose future directions to further understand the complex interplay between individual variability and neuromodulators. |
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