1
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Vickers ED, McCormick DA. Pan-cortical 2-photon mesoscopic imaging and neurobehavioral alignment in awake, behaving mice. eLife 2024; 13:RP94167. [PMID: 38808733 PMCID: PMC11136495 DOI: 10.7554/elife.94167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2024] Open
Abstract
The flow of neural activity across the neocortex during active sensory discrimination is constrained by task-specific cognitive demands, movements, and internal states. During behavior, the brain appears to sample from a broad repertoire of activation motifs. Understanding how these patterns of local and global activity are selected in relation to both spontaneous and task-dependent behavior requires in-depth study of densely sampled activity at single neuron resolution across large regions of cortex. In a significant advance toward this goal, we developed procedures to record mesoscale 2-photon Ca2+ imaging data from two novel in vivo preparations that, between them, allow for simultaneous access to nearly all 0f the mouse dorsal and lateral neocortex. As a proof of principle, we aligned neural activity with both behavioral primitives and high-level motifs to reveal the existence of large populations of neurons that coordinated their activity across cortical areas with spontaneous changes in movement and/or arousal. The methods we detail here facilitate the identification and exploration of widespread, spatially heterogeneous neural ensembles whose activity is related to diverse aspects of behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan D Vickers
- Institute of Neuroscience, University of OregonEugeneUnited States
| | - David A McCormick
- Institute of Neuroscience, University of OregonEugeneUnited States
- Department of Biology, University of OregonEugeneUnited States
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2
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Bellafard A, Namvar G, Kao JC, Vaziri A, Golshani P. Volatile working memory representations crystallize with practice. Nature 2024; 629:1109-1117. [PMID: 38750359 PMCID: PMC11136659 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07425-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024]
Abstract
Working memory, the process through which information is transiently maintained and manipulated over a brief period, is essential for most cognitive functions1-4. However, the mechanisms underlying the generation and evolution of working-memory neuronal representations at the population level over long timescales remain unclear. Here, to identify these mechanisms, we trained head-fixed mice to perform an olfactory delayed-association task in which the mice made decisions depending on the sequential identity of two odours separated by a 5 s delay. Optogenetic inhibition of secondary motor neurons during the late-delay and choice epochs strongly impaired the task performance of the mice. Mesoscopic calcium imaging of large neuronal populations of the secondary motor cortex (M2), retrosplenial cortex (RSA) and primary motor cortex (M1) showed that many late-delay-epoch-selective neurons emerged in M2 as the mice learned the task. Working-memory late-delay decoding accuracy substantially improved in the M2, but not in the M1 or RSA, as the mice became experts. During the early expert phase, working-memory representations during the late-delay epoch drifted across days, while the stimulus and choice representations stabilized. In contrast to single-plane layer 2/3 (L2/3) imaging, simultaneous volumetric calcium imaging of up to 73,307 M2 neurons, which included superficial L5 neurons, also revealed stabilization of late-delay working-memory representations with continued practice. Thus, delay- and choice-related activities that are essential for working-memory performance drift during learning and stabilize only after several days of expert performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arash Bellafard
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Ghazal Namvar
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jonathan C Kao
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Henry Samueli School of Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Alipasha Vaziri
- Laboratory of Neurotechnology and Biophysics, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
- The Kavli Neural Systems Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Peyman Golshani
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Greater Los Angeles VA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Intellectual and Developmental Disability Research Center, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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3
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Ferreira A, Constantinescu VS, Malvaut S, Saghatelyan A, Hardy SV. Distinct forms of structural plasticity of adult-born interneuron spines in the mouse olfactory bulb induced by different odor learning paradigms. Commun Biol 2024; 7:420. [PMID: 38582915 PMCID: PMC10998910 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06115-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/08/2024] Open
Abstract
The morpho-functional properties of neural networks constantly adapt in response to environmental stimuli. The olfactory bulb is particularly prone to constant reshaping of neural networks because of ongoing neurogenesis. It remains unclear whether the complexity of distinct odor-induced learning paradigms and sensory stimulation induces different forms of structural plasticity. In the present study, we automatically reconstructed spines in 3D from confocal images and performed unsupervised clustering based on morphometric features. We show that while sensory deprivation decreased the spine density of adult-born neurons without affecting the morphometric properties of these spines, simple and complex odor learning paradigms triggered distinct forms of structural plasticity. A simple odor learning task affected the morphometric properties of the spines, whereas a complex odor learning task induced changes in spine density. Our work reveals distinct forms of structural plasticity in the olfactory bulb tailored to the complexity of odor-learning paradigms and sensory inputs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aymeric Ferreira
- CERVO Brain Research Center, Quebec City, QC, G1J 2G3, Canada
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Bioinformatics, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Vlad-Stefan Constantinescu
- CERVO Brain Research Center, Quebec City, QC, G1J 2G3, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Sarah Malvaut
- CERVO Brain Research Center, Quebec City, QC, G1J 2G3, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Armen Saghatelyan
- CERVO Brain Research Center, Quebec City, QC, G1J 2G3, Canada.
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada.
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada.
| | - Simon V Hardy
- CERVO Brain Research Center, Quebec City, QC, G1J 2G3, Canada.
- Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Bioinformatics, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada.
- Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada.
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4
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Gautham AK, Miner LE, Franco MN, Thornquist SC, Crickmore MA. Molecular control of temporal integration matches decision-making to motivational state. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.01.582988. [PMID: 38496671 PMCID: PMC10942309 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.01.582988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
Motivations bias our responses to stimuli, producing behavioral outcomes that match our needs and goals. We describe a mechanism behind this phenomenon: adjusting the time over which stimulus-derived information is permitted to accumulate toward a decision. As a Drosophila copulation progresses, the male becomes less likely to continue mating through challenges. We show that a set of Copulation Decision Neurons (CDNs) flexibly integrates information about competing drives to mediate this decision. Early in mating, dopamine signaling restricts CDN integration time by potentiating CaMKII activation in response to stimulatory inputs, imposing a high threshold for changing behaviors. Later into mating, the timescale over which the CDNs integrate termination-promoting information expands, increasing the likelihood of switching behaviors. We suggest scalable windows of temporal integration at dedicated circuit nodes as a key but underappreciated variable in state-based decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aditya K. Gautham
- FM Kirby Neurobiology Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Lauren E. Miner
- FM Kirby Neurobiology Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Marco N. Franco
- FM Kirby Neurobiology Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | | | - Michael A. Crickmore
- FM Kirby Neurobiology Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
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5
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Vickers ED, McCormick DA. Pan-cortical 2-photon mesoscopic imaging and neurobehavioral alignment in awake, behaving mice. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.10.19.563159. [PMID: 37961229 PMCID: PMC10634705 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.19.563159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
The flow of neural activity across the neocortex during active sensory discrimination is constrained by task-specific cognitive demands, movements, and internal states. During behavior, the brain appears to sample from a broad repertoire of activation motifs. Understanding how these patterns of local and global activity are selected in relation to both spontaneous and task-dependent behavior requires in-depth study of densely sampled activity at single neuron resolution across large regions of cortex. In a significant advance toward this goal, we developed procedures to record mesoscale 2-photon Ca2+ imaging data from two novel in vivo preparations that, between them, allow simultaneous access to nearly all of the mouse dorsal and lateral neocortex. As a proof of principle, we aligned neural activity with both behavioral primitives and high-level motifs to reveal the existence of large populations of neurons that coordinated their activity across cortical areas with spontaneous changes in movement and/or arousal. The methods we detail here facilitate the identification and exploration of widespread, spatially heterogeneous neural ensembles whose activity is related to diverse aspects of behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan D Vickers
- Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
| | - David A McCormick
- Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR
- Department of Biology
- Institute of Neuroscience
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6
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Juen Z, Villavicencio M, Zuker CS. A neural substrate for short-term taste memories. Neuron 2024; 112:277-287.e4. [PMID: 37944522 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023]
Abstract
Real-time decisions on what foods to select for consumption, particularly in the wild, require a sensitive sense of taste and an effective system to maintain short-term taste memories, also defined as working memory in the scale of seconds. Here, we used a behavioral memory assay, combined with recordings of neural activity, to identify the brain substrate for short-term taste memories. We demonstrate that persistent activity in taste cortex functions as an essential memory trace of a recent taste experience. Next, we manipulated the decay of this persistent activity and showed that early termination of the memory trace abolished the memory. Notably, extending the memory trace by transiently disinhibiting taste cortical activity dramatically extended the retention of a short-term taste memory. Together, our results uncover taste cortex as a neural substrate for working memory and substantiate the role of sensory cortex in memory-guided actions while imposing meaning to a sensory stimulus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhang Juen
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
| | - Miguel Villavicencio
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Charles S Zuker
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Zuckerman Mind Brain and Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
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7
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Ding X, Froudist-Walsh S, Jaramillo J, Jiang J, Wang XJ. Cell type-specific connectome predicts distributed working memory activity in the mouse brain. eLife 2024; 13:e85442. [PMID: 38174734 PMCID: PMC10807864 DOI: 10.7554/elife.85442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Recent advances in connectomics and neurophysiology make it possible to probe whole-brain mechanisms of cognition and behavior. We developed a large-scale model of the multiregional mouse brain for a cardinal cognitive function called working memory, the brain's ability to internally hold and process information without sensory input. The model is built on mesoscopic connectome data for interareal cortical connections and endowed with a macroscopic gradient of measured parvalbumin-expressing interneuron density. We found that working memory coding is distributed yet exhibits modularity; the spatial pattern of mnemonic representation is determined by long-range cell type-specific targeting and density of cell classes. Cell type-specific graph measures predict the activity patterns and a core subnetwork for memory maintenance. The model shows numerous attractor states, which are self-sustained internal states (each engaging a distinct subset of areas). This work provides a framework to interpret large-scale recordings of brain activity during cognition, while highlighting the need for cell type-specific connectomics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xingyu Ding
- Center for Neural Science, New York UniversityNew YorkUnited States
| | - Sean Froudist-Walsh
- Center for Neural Science, New York UniversityNew YorkUnited States
- Bristol Computational Neuroscience Unit, School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology, University of BristolBristolUnited Kingdom
| | - Jorge Jaramillo
- Center for Neural Science, New York UniversityNew YorkUnited States
- Campus Institute for Dynamics of Biological Networks, University of GöttingenGöttingenGermany
| | - Junjie Jiang
- Center for Neural Science, New York UniversityNew YorkUnited States
- The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education,Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science,School of Life Science and Technology, Research Center for Brain-inspired Intelligence, Xi’an Jiaotong UniversityXi'anChina
| | - Xiao-Jing Wang
- Center for Neural Science, New York UniversityNew YorkUnited States
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8
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Do J, Jung MW, Lee D. Automating licking bias correction in a two-choice delayed match-to-sample task to accelerate learning. Sci Rep 2023; 13:22768. [PMID: 38123637 PMCID: PMC10733387 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-49862-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Animals often display choice bias, or a preference for one option over the others, which can significantly impede learning new tasks. Delayed match-to-sample (DMS) tasks with two-alternative choices of lickports on the left and right have been widely used to study sensory processing, working memory, and associative memory in head-fixed animals. However, extensive training time, primarily due to the animals' biased licking responses, limits their practical utility. Here, we present the implementation of an automated side bias correction system in an olfactory DMS task, where the lickport positions and the ratio of left- and right-rewarded trials are dynamically adjusted to counterbalance mouse's biased licking responses during training. The correction algorithm moves the preferred lickport farther away from the mouse's mouth and the non-preferred lickport closer, while also increasing the proportion of non-preferred side trials when biased licking occurs. We found that adjusting lickport distances and the proportions of left- versus right-rewarded trials effectively reduces the mouse's side bias. Further analyses reveal that these adjustments also correlate with subsequent improvements in behavioral performance. Our findings suggest that the automated side bias correction system is a valuable tool for enhancing the applicability of behavioral tasks involving two-alternative lickport choices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jongrok Do
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
- Center for Cognition and Sociality, Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon, 34126, Republic of Korea
| | - Min Whan Jung
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea.
- Center for Synaptic Brain Dysfunctions, Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea.
| | - Doyun Lee
- Center for Cognition and Sociality, Institute for Basic Science, Daejeon, 34126, Republic of Korea.
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9
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Chong HR, Ranjbar-Slamloo Y, Ho MZH, Ouyang X, Kamigaki T. Functional alterations of the prefrontal circuit underlying cognitive aging in mice. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7254. [PMID: 37945561 PMCID: PMC10636129 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43142-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Executive function is susceptible to aging. How aging impacts the circuit-level computations underlying executive function remains unclear. Using calcium imaging and optogenetic manipulation during memory-guided behavior, we show that working-memory coding and the relevant recurrent connectivity in the mouse medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are altered as early as middle age. Population activity in the young adult mPFC exhibits dissociable yet overlapping patterns between tactile and auditory modalities, enabling crossmodal memory coding concurrent with modality-dependent coding. In middle age, however, crossmodal coding remarkably diminishes while modality-dependent coding persists, and both types of coding decay in advanced age. Resting-state functional connectivity, especially among memory-coding neurons, decreases already in middle age, suggesting deteriorated recurrent circuits for memory maintenance. Optogenetic inactivation reveals that the middle-aged mPFC exhibits heightened vulnerability to perturbations. These findings elucidate functional alterations of the prefrontal circuit that unfold in middle age and deteriorate further as a hallmark of cognitive aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huee Ru Chong
- Neuroscience & Mental Health, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
| | - Yadollah Ranjbar-Slamloo
- Neuroscience & Mental Health, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
| | - Malcolm Zheng Hao Ho
- Neuroscience & Mental Health, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
- IGP-Neuroscience, Interdisciplinary Graduate Programme, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
| | - Xuan Ouyang
- Neuroscience & Mental Health, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
| | - Tsukasa Kamigaki
- Neuroscience & Mental Health, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 308232, Singapore.
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10
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Liu J, Liu D, Pu X, Zou K, Xie T, Li Y, Yao H. The Secondary Motor Cortex-striatum Circuit Contributes to Suppressing Inappropriate Responses in Perceptual Decision Behavior. Neurosci Bull 2023; 39:1544-1560. [PMID: 37253985 PMCID: PMC10533474 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-023-01073-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The secondary motor cortex (M2) encodes choice-related information and plays an important role in cue-guided actions. M2 neurons innervate the dorsal striatum (DS), which also contributes to decision-making behavior, yet how M2 modulates signals in the DS to influence perceptual decision-making is unclear. Using mice performing a visual Go/No-Go task, we showed that inactivating M2 projections to the DS impaired performance by increasing the false alarm (FA) rate to the reward-irrelevant No-Go stimulus. The choice signal of M2 neurons correlated with behavioral performance, and the inactivation of M2 neurons projecting to the DS reduced the choice signal in the DS. By measuring and manipulating the responses of direct or indirect pathway striatal neurons defined by M2 inputs, we found that the indirect pathway neurons exhibited a shorter response latency to the No-Go stimulus, and inactivating their early responses increased the FA rate. These results demonstrate that the M2-to-DS pathway is crucial for suppressing inappropriate responses in perceptual decision behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Liu
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Dechen Liu
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Xiaotian Pu
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Kexin Zou
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Taorong Xie
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Yaping Li
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Haishan Yao
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
- Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Technology, Shanghai, 201210, China.
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11
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Chae S, Sihn D, Kim SP. Bias in Prestimulus Motor Cortical Activity Determines Decision-making Error in Rodents. Exp Neurobiol 2023; 32:271-284. [PMID: 37749928 PMCID: PMC10569143 DOI: 10.5607/en23020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2023] [Revised: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Decision-making is a complex process that involves the integration and interpretation of sensory information to guide actions. The rodent motor cortex, which is generally involved in motor planning and execution, also plays a critical role in decision-making processes. In perceptual delayed-response tasks, the rodent motor cortex can represent sensory cues, as well as the decision of where to move. However, it remains unclear whether erroneous decisions arise from incorrect encoding of sensory information or improper utilization of the collected sensory information in the motor cortex. In this study, we analyzed the rodent anterior lateral motor cortex (ALM) while the mice performed perceptual delayed-response tasks. We divided population activities into sensory and choice signals to separately examine the encoding and utilization of sensory information. We found that the encoding of sensory information in the error trials was similar to that in the hit trials, whereas choice signals evolved differently between the error and hit trials. In error trials, choice signals displayed an offset in the opposite direction of instructed licking even before stimulus presentation, and this tendency gradually increased after stimulus onset, leading to incorrect licking. These findings suggest that decision errors are caused by biases in choice-related activities rather than by incorrect sensory encoding. Our study elaborates on the understanding of decision-making processes by providing neural substrates for erroneous decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soyoung Chae
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan 44919, Korea
| | - Duho Sihn
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan 44919, Korea
| | - Sung-Phil Kim
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan 44919, Korea
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12
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Balsdon T, Verdonck S, Loossens T, Philiastides MG. Secondary motor integration as a final arbiter in sensorimotor decision-making. PLoS Biol 2023; 21:e3002200. [PMID: 37459392 PMCID: PMC10393169 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Revised: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Sensorimotor decision-making is believed to involve a process of accumulating sensory evidence over time. While current theories posit a single accumulation process prior to planning an overt motor response, here, we propose an active role of motor processes in decision formation via a secondary leaky motor accumulation stage. The motor leak adapts the "memory" with which this secondary accumulator reintegrates the primary accumulated sensory evidence, thus adjusting the temporal smoothing in the motor evidence and, correspondingly, the lag between the primary and motor accumulators. We compare this framework against different single accumulator variants using formal model comparison, fitting choice, and response times in a task where human observers made categorical decisions about a noisy sequence of images, under different speed-accuracy trade-off instructions. We show that, rather than boundary adjustments (controlling the amount of evidence accumulated for decision commitment), adjustment of the leak in the secondary motor accumulator provides the better description of behavior across conditions. Importantly, we derive neural correlates of these 2 integration processes from electroencephalography data recorded during the same task and show that these neural correlates adhere to the neural response profiles predicted by the model. This framework thus provides a neurobiologically plausible description of sensorimotor decision-making that captures emerging evidence of the active role of motor processes in choice behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tarryn Balsdon
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Stijn Verdonck
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Tim Loossens
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Marios G Philiastides
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
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13
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Akitake B, Douglas HM, LaFosse PK, Beiran M, Deveau CE, O'Rawe J, Li AJ, Ryan LN, Duffy SP, Zhou Z, Deng Y, Rajan K, Histed MH. Amplified cortical neural responses as animals learn to use novel activity patterns. Curr Biol 2023; 33:2163-2174.e4. [PMID: 37148876 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.04.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Revised: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Cerebral cortex supports representations of the world in patterns of neural activity, used by the brain to make decisions and guide behavior. Past work has found diverse, or limited, changes in the primary sensory cortex in response to learning, suggesting that the key computations might occur in downstream regions. Alternatively, sensory cortical changes may be central to learning. We studied cortical learning by using controlled inputs we insert: we trained mice to recognize entirely novel, non-sensory patterns of cortical activity in the primary visual cortex (V1) created by optogenetic stimulation. As animals learned to use these novel patterns, we found that their detection abilities improved by an order of magnitude or more. The behavioral change was accompanied by large increases in V1 neural responses to fixed optogenetic input. Neural response amplification to novel optogenetic inputs had little effect on existing visual sensory responses. A recurrent cortical model shows that this amplification can be achieved by a small mean shift in recurrent network synaptic strength. Amplification would seem to be desirable to improve decision-making in a detection task; therefore, these results suggest that adult recurrent cortical plasticity plays a significant role in improving behavioral performance during learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bradley Akitake
- Unit on Neural Computation and Behavior, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Hannah M Douglas
- Unit on Neural Computation and Behavior, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Paul K LaFosse
- Unit on Neural Computation and Behavior, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Manuel Beiran
- Nash Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA; Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Ciana E Deveau
- Unit on Neural Computation and Behavior, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Jonathan O'Rawe
- Unit on Neural Computation and Behavior, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Anna J Li
- Unit on Neural Computation and Behavior, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Lauren N Ryan
- Unit on Neural Computation and Behavior, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Samuel P Duffy
- Unit on Neural Computation and Behavior, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Zhishang Zhou
- Unit on Neural Computation and Behavior, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Yanting Deng
- Unit on Neural Computation and Behavior, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Kanaka Rajan
- Nash Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Mark H Histed
- Unit on Neural Computation and Behavior, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Program, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
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14
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Qu XT, Wu JN, Wen Y, Chen L, Lv SL, Liu L, Zhan LJ, Liu TY, He H, Liu Y, Xu C. A Virtual Reality Platform for Context-Dependent Cognitive Research in Rodents. Neurosci Bull 2023; 39:717-730. [PMID: 36346582 PMCID: PMC10170012 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-022-00964-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal survival necessitates adaptive behaviors in volatile environmental contexts. Virtual reality (VR) technology is instrumental to study the neural mechanisms underlying behaviors modulated by environmental context by simulating the real world with maximized control of contextual elements. Yet current VR tools for rodents have limited flexibility and performance (e.g., frame rate) for context-dependent cognitive research. Here, we describe a high-performance VR platform with which to study contextual behaviors immersed in editable virtual contexts. This platform was assembled from modular hardware and custom-written software with flexibility and upgradability. Using this platform, we trained mice to perform context-dependent cognitive tasks with rules ranging from discrimination to delayed-sample-to-match while recording from thousands of hippocampal place cells. By precise manipulations of context elements, we found that the context recognition was intact with partial context elements, but impaired by exchanges of context elements. Collectively, our work establishes a configurable VR platform with which to investigate context-dependent cognition with large-scale neural recording.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xue-Tong Qu
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
- University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
- Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Technology, Shanghai, 201210, China
| | - Jin-Ni Wu
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
- University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
- Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Technology, Shanghai, 201210, China
| | - Yunqing Wen
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Long Chen
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Shi-Lei Lv
- Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Li Liu
- Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
| | - Li-Jie Zhan
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Tian-Yi Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Third Affiliated Hospital of Navy Military Medical University, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Hua He
- Department of Neurosurgery, Third Affiliated Hospital of Navy Military Medical University, Shanghai, 200438, China.
| | - Yu Liu
- Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China.
| | - Chun Xu
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
- University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
- Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Technology, Shanghai, 201210, China.
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15
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Kira S, Safaai H, Morcos AS, Panzeri S, Harvey CD. A distributed and efficient population code of mixed selectivity neurons for flexible navigation decisions. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2121. [PMID: 37055431 PMCID: PMC10102117 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37804-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 04/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Decision-making requires flexibility to rapidly switch one's actions in response to sensory stimuli depending on information stored in memory. We identified cortical areas and neural activity patterns underlying this flexibility during virtual navigation, where mice switched navigation toward or away from a visual cue depending on its match to a remembered cue. Optogenetics screening identified V1, posterior parietal cortex (PPC), and retrosplenial cortex (RSC) as necessary for accurate decisions. Calcium imaging revealed neurons that can mediate rapid navigation switches by encoding a mixture of a current and remembered visual cue. These mixed selectivity neurons emerged through task learning and predicted the mouse's choices by forming efficient population codes before correct, but not incorrect, choices. They were distributed across posterior cortex, even V1, and were densest in RSC and sparsest in PPC. We propose flexibility in navigation decisions arises from neurons that mix visual and memory information within a visual-parietal-retrosplenial network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shinichiro Kira
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Houman Safaai
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Neural Computation Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Ari S Morcos
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Stefano Panzeri
- Neural Computation Laboratory, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Rovereto, Italy
- Department of Excellence for Neural Information Processing, Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Hamburg, Germany
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16
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De La Crompe B, Schneck M, Steenbergen F, Schneider A, Diester I. FreiBox: A Versatile Open-Source Behavioral Setup for Investigating the Neuronal Correlates of Behavioral Flexibility via 1-Photon Imaging in Freely Moving Mice. eNeuro 2023; 10:10/4/ENEURO.0469-22.2023. [PMID: 37105720 PMCID: PMC10166259 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0469-22.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Revised: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
To survive in a complex and changing environment, animals must adapt their behavior. This ability is called behavioral flexibility and is classically evaluated by a reversal learning paradigm. During such a paradigm, the animals adapt their behavior according to a change of the reward contingencies. To study these complex cognitive functions (from outcome evaluation to motor adaptation), we developed a versatile, low-cost, open-source platform, allowing us to investigate the neuronal correlates of behavioral flexibility with 1-photon calcium imaging. This platform consists of FreiBox, a novel low-cost Arduino behavioral setup, as well as further open-source tools, which we developed and integrated into our framework. FreiBox is controlled by a custom Python interface and integrates a new licking sensor (strain gauge lickometer) for controlling spatial licking behavioral tasks. In addition to allowing both discriminative and serial reversal learning, the Arduino can track mouse licking behavior in real time to control task events in a submillisecond timescale. To complete our setup, we also developed and validated an affordable commutator, which is crucial for recording calcium imaging with the Miniscope V4 in freely moving mice. Further, we demonstrated that FreiBox can be associated with 1-photon imaging and other open-source initiatives (e.g., Open Ephys) to form a versatile platform for exploring the neuronal substrates of licking-based behavioral flexibility in mice. The combination of the FreiBox behavioral setup and our low-cost commutator represents a highly competitive and complementary addition to the recently emerging battery of open-source initiatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brice De La Crompe
- Optophysiology-Optogenetics and Neurophysiology, University of Freiburg, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
- Institute of Biology III, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
- Intelligent Machine-Brain Interfacing Technology (IMBIT)-BrainLinks-BrainTools, University of Freiburg, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Megan Schneck
- Optophysiology-Optogenetics and Neurophysiology, University of Freiburg, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
- Institute of Biology III, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
- Intelligent Machine-Brain Interfacing Technology (IMBIT)-BrainLinks-BrainTools, University of Freiburg, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Florian Steenbergen
- Optophysiology-Optogenetics and Neurophysiology, University of Freiburg, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
- Institute of Biology III, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
- Intelligent Machine-Brain Interfacing Technology (IMBIT)-BrainLinks-BrainTools, University of Freiburg, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Artur Schneider
- Optophysiology-Optogenetics and Neurophysiology, University of Freiburg, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
- Institute of Biology III, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
- Intelligent Machine-Brain Interfacing Technology (IMBIT)-BrainLinks-BrainTools, University of Freiburg, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Ilka Diester
- Optophysiology-Optogenetics and Neurophysiology, University of Freiburg, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
- Institute of Biology III, Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
- Intelligent Machine-Brain Interfacing Technology (IMBIT)-BrainLinks-BrainTools, University of Freiburg, 79110 Freiburg, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
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17
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Musall S, Sun XR, Mohan H, An X, Gluf S, Li SJ, Drewes R, Cravo E, Lenzi I, Yin C, Kampa BM, Churchland AK. Pyramidal cell types drive functionally distinct cortical activity patterns during decision-making. Nat Neurosci 2023; 26:495-505. [PMID: 36690900 PMCID: PMC9991922 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-022-01245-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
Understanding how cortical circuits generate complex behavior requires investigating the cell types that comprise them. Functional differences across pyramidal neuron (PyN) types have been observed within cortical areas, but it is not known whether these local differences extend throughout the cortex, nor whether additional differences emerge when larger-scale dynamics are considered. We used genetic and retrograde labeling to target pyramidal tract, intratelencephalic and corticostriatal projection neurons and measured their cortex-wide activity. Each PyN type drove unique neural dynamics, both at the local and cortex-wide scales. Cortical activity and optogenetic inactivation during an auditory decision task revealed distinct functional roles. All PyNs in parietal cortex were recruited during perception of the auditory stimulus, but, surprisingly, pyramidal tract neurons had the largest causal role. In frontal cortex, all PyNs were required for accurate choices but showed distinct choice tuning. Our results reveal that rich, cell-type-specific cortical dynamics shape perceptual decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Musall
- Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany.
- Department of Systems Neurophysiology, Institute for Zoology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
| | - Xiaonan R Sun
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Neuroscience, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, Hempstead, NY, USA
| | - Hemanth Mohan
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Neuroscience, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Xu An
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Neuroscience, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Steven Gluf
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Neuroscience, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, NY, USA
| | - Shu-Jing Li
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Neuroscience, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, NY, USA
| | - Rhonda Drewes
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Neuroscience, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, NY, USA
| | - Emma Cravo
- Department of Systems Neurophysiology, Institute for Zoology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Irene Lenzi
- Institute of Biological Information Processing (IBI-3), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
- Department of Systems Neurophysiology, Institute for Zoology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Chaoqun Yin
- Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Björn M Kampa
- Department of Systems Neurophysiology, Institute for Zoology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- JARA Brain, Institute for Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-10), Forschungszentrum Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Anne K Churchland
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Neuroscience, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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18
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Abstract
Neural mechanisms of perceptual decision making have been extensively studied in experimental settings that mimic stable environments with repeating stimuli, fixed rules, and payoffs. In contrast, we live in an ever-changing environment and have varying goals and behavioral demands. To accommodate variability, our brain flexibly adjusts decision-making processes depending on context. Here, we review a growing body of research that explores the neural mechanisms underlying this flexibility. We highlight diverse forms of context dependency in decision making implemented through a variety of neural computations. Context-dependent neural activity is observed in a distributed network of brain structures, including posterior parietal, sensory, motor, and subcortical regions, as well as the prefrontal areas classically implicated in cognitive control. We propose that investigating the distributed network underlying flexible decisions is key to advancing our understanding and discuss a path forward for experimental and theoretical investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gouki Okazawa
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA;
- Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Roozbeh Kiani
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA;
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
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19
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Hart EE, Gardner MPH, Panayi MC, Kahnt T, Schoenbaum G. Calcium activity is a degraded estimate of spikes. Curr Biol 2022; 32:5364-5373.e4. [PMID: 36368324 PMCID: PMC9772124 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.10.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Revised: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Recording action potentials extracellularly during behavior has led to fundamental discoveries regarding neural function-hippocampal neurons respond to locations in space,1 motor cortex neurons encode movement direction,2 and dopamine neurons signal reward prediction errors3-observations undergirding current theories of cognition,4 movement,5 and learning.6 Recently it has become possible to measure calcium flux, an internal cellular signal related to spiking. The ability to image calcium flux in anatomically7,8 or genetically9 identified neurons can extend our knowledge of neural circuit function by allowing activity to be monitored in specific cell types or projections, or in the same neurons across many days. However, while initial studies were grounded in prior unit recording work, it has become fashionable to assume that calcium is identical to spiking, even though the spike-to-fluorescence transformation is nonlinear, noisy, and unpredictable under real-world conditions.10 It remains an open question whether calcium provides a high-fidelity representation of single-unit activity in awake, behaving subjects. Here, we have addressed this question by recording both signals in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) of rats during olfactory discrimination learning. Activity in the OFC during olfactory learning has been well-studied in humans,11,12,13,14 nonhuman primates,15,16 and rats,17,18,19,20,21 where it has been shown to signal information about both the sensory properties of odor cues and the rewards they predict. Our single-unit results replicated prior findings, whereas the calcium signal provided only a degraded estimate of the information available in the single-unit spiking, reflecting primarily reward value.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evan E Hart
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, 251 Bayview Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
- National Institute of General Medical Sciences, 45 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Matthew PH Gardner
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, 251 Bayview Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
- Department of Psychology, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke West, Montreal, QC H4B 1R6, CA
| | - Marios C Panayi
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, 251 Bayview Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Thorsten Kahnt
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, 251 Bayview Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Geoffrey Schoenbaum
- National Institute on Drug Abuse Intramural Research Program, 251 Bayview Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 110 S Paca Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 251 Bayview Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 110 S Paca Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
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20
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Burnston DC. Mechanistic decomposition and reduction in complex, context-sensitive systems. Front Psychol 2022; 13:992347. [PMID: 36420399 PMCID: PMC9677939 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.992347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Standard arguments in philosophy of science infer from the complexity of biological and neural systems to the presence of emergence and failure of mechanistic/reductionist explanation for those systems. I argue against this kind of argument, specifically focusing on the notion of context-sensitivity. Context-sensitivity is standardly taken to be incompatible with reductionistic explanation, because it shows that larger-scale factors influence the functioning of lower-level parts. I argue that this argument can be overcome if there are mechanisms underlying those context-specific reorganizations. I argue that such mechanisms are frequently discovered in neuroscience.
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21
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Yang W, Tipparaju SL, Chen G, Li N. Thalamus-driven functional populations in frontal cortex support decision-making. Nat Neurosci 2022; 25:1339-1352. [PMID: 36171427 PMCID: PMC9534763 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-022-01171-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Neurons in frontal cortex exhibit diverse selectivity representing sensory, motor and cognitive variables during decision-making. The neural circuit basis for this complex selectivity remains unclear. We examined activity mediating a tactile decision in mouse anterior lateral motor cortex in relation to the underlying circuits. Contrary to the notion of randomly mixed selectivity, an analysis of 20,000 neurons revealed organized activity coding behavior. Individual neurons exhibited prototypical response profiles that were repeatable across mice. Stimulus, choice and action were coded nonrandomly by distinct neuronal populations that could be delineated by their response profiles. We related distinct selectivity to long-range inputs from somatosensory cortex, contralateral anterior lateral motor cortex and thalamus. Each input connects to all functional populations but with differing strength. Task selectivity was more strongly dependent on thalamic inputs than cortico-cortical inputs. Our results suggest that the thalamus drives subnetworks within frontal cortex coding distinct features of decision-making. Frontal cortex contains a complex mixture of signals reflecting distinct behavioral and cognitive processes. An analysis of 20,000 neurons during decision-making revealed distinct functional clusters and their activities are driven by the thalamus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiguo Yang
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | | | - Guang Chen
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Nuo Li
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
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22
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Ehrlich DB, Murray JD. Geometry of neural computation unifies working memory and planning. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2115610119. [PMID: 36067286 PMCID: PMC9478653 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2115610119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Real-world tasks require coordination of working memory, decision-making, and planning, yet these cognitive functions have disproportionately been studied as independent modular processes in the brain. Here, we propose that contingency representations, defined as mappings for how future behaviors depend on upcoming events, can unify working memory and planning computations. We designed a task capable of disambiguating distinct types of representations. In task-optimized recurrent neural networks, we investigated possible circuit mechanisms for contingency representations and found that these representations can explain neurophysiological observations from the prefrontal cortex during working memory tasks. Our experiments revealed that human behavior is consistent with contingency representations and not with traditional sensory models of working memory. Finally, we generated falsifiable predictions for neural data to identify contingency representations in neural data and to dissociate different models of working memory. Our findings characterize a neural representational strategy that can unify working memory, planning, and context-dependent decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel B. Ehrlich
- aInterdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510
- bDepartment of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510
| | - John D. Murray
- aInterdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510
- bDepartment of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510
- 1To whom correspondence may be addressed.
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23
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Yin X, Wang Y, Li J, Guo ZV. Lateralization of short-term memory in the frontal cortex. Cell Rep 2022; 40:111190. [PMID: 35977520 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2021] [Revised: 06/04/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite essentially symmetric structures in mammalian brains, the left and right hemispheres do not contribute equally to certain cognitive functions. How both hemispheres interact to cause this asymmetry remains unclear. Here, we study this question in the anterior lateral motor cortex (ALM) of mice performing five versions of a tactile-based decision-making task with a short-term memory (STM) component. Unilateral inhibition of ALM produces variable behavioral deficits across tasks, with the left, right, or both ALMs playing critical roles in STM. Neural activity and its encoding capability are similar across hemispheres, despite that only one hemisphere dominates in behavior. Inhibition of the dominant ALM disrupts encoding capability in the non-dominant ALM, but not vice versa. Variable behavioral deficits are predicted by the influence on contralateral activity across sessions, mice, and tasks. Together, these results reveal that the left and right ALM interact asymmetrically, leading to their differential contributions to STM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinxin Yin
- School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, China; IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, China; Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, 100084 Beijing, China; School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, China
| | - Yu Wang
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, China; Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, 100084 Beijing, China; School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, China
| | - Jiejue Li
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, China; Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, 100084 Beijing, China; School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, China
| | - Zengcai V Guo
- School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, China; IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, China; Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, 100084 Beijing, China.
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24
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Voitov I, Mrsic-Flogel TD. Cortical feedback loops bind distributed representations of working memory. Nature 2022; 608:381-389. [PMID: 35896749 PMCID: PMC9365695 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05014-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Working memory—the brain’s ability to internalize information and use it flexibly to guide behaviour—is an essential component of cognition. Although activity related to working memory has been observed in several brain regions1–3, how neural populations actually represent working memory4–7 and the mechanisms by which this activity is maintained8–12 remain unclear13–15. Here we describe the neural implementation of visual working memory in mice alternating between a delayed non-match-to-sample task and a simple discrimination task that does not require working memory but has identical stimulus, movement and reward statistics. Transient optogenetic inactivations revealed that distributed areas of the neocortex were required selectively for the maintenance of working memory. Population activity in visual area AM and premotor area M2 during the delay period was dominated by orderly low-dimensional dynamics16,17 that were, however, independent of working memory. Instead, working memory representations were embedded in high-dimensional population activity, present in both cortical areas, persisted throughout the inter-stimulus delay period, and predicted behavioural responses during the working memory task. To test whether the distributed nature of working memory was dependent on reciprocal interactions between cortical regions18–20, we silenced one cortical area (AM or M2) while recording the feedback it received from the other. Transient inactivation of either area led to the selective disruption of inter-areal communication of working memory. Therefore, reciprocally interconnected cortical areas maintain bound high-dimensional representations of working memory. Experiments in mice alternating between a visual working memory task and a task that is independent of working memory provide insight into the neural representation of working memory and the distributed nature of its maintenance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Voitov
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, University College London, London, UK. .,Biozentrum, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
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25
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Inagaki HK, Chen S, Daie K, Finkelstein A, Fontolan L, Romani S, Svoboda K. Neural Algorithms and Circuits for Motor Planning. Annu Rev Neurosci 2022; 45:249-271. [PMID: 35316610 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-neuro-092021-121730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
The brain plans and executes volitional movements. The underlying patterns of neural population activity have been explored in the context of movements of the eyes, limbs, tongue, and head in nonhuman primates and rodents. How do networks of neurons produce the slow neural dynamics that prepare specific movements and the fast dynamics that ultimately initiate these movements? Recent work exploits rapid and calibrated perturbations of neural activity to test specific dynamical systems models that are capable of producing the observed neural activity. These joint experimental and computational studies show that cortical dynamics during motor planning reflect fixed points of neural activity (attractors). Subcortical control signals reshape and move attractors over multiple timescales, causing commitment to specific actions and rapid transitions to movement execution. Experiments in rodents are beginning to reveal how these algorithms are implemented at the level of brain-wide neural circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Susu Chen
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, Virginia, USA
| | - Kayvon Daie
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, Virginia, USA.,Allen Institute for Neural Dynamics, Seattle, Washington, USA;
| | - Arseny Finkelstein
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, Virginia, USA.,Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel
| | - Lorenzo Fontolan
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, Virginia, USA
| | - Sandro Romani
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, Virginia, USA
| | - Karel Svoboda
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, Virginia, USA.,Allen Institute for Neural Dynamics, Seattle, Washington, USA;
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26
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Ackels T, Schaefer AT. Getting out the caliper: Behavioral quantification of perceptual odor similarity. CELL REPORTS METHODS 2022; 2:100240. [PMID: 35784647 PMCID: PMC9243597 DOI: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2022.100240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Rigorously quantifying perceptual similarity is essential to link sensory stimuli to neural activity and to define the dimensionality of perceptual space, which is challenging for the chemical senses in particular. Nakayama, Gerkin, and Rinberg present an efficient delayed match-to-sample behavioral paradigm that promises to provide a metric for odor similarity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Ackels
- Sensory Circuits and Neurotechnology Lab, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College, London, UK
| | - Andreas T. Schaefer
- Sensory Circuits and Neurotechnology Lab, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College, London, UK
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27
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Nakayama H, Gerkin RC, Rinberg D. A behavioral paradigm for measuring perceptual distances in mice. CELL REPORTS METHODS 2022; 2:100233. [PMID: 35784646 PMCID: PMC9243525 DOI: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2022.100233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Revised: 02/20/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Perceptual similarities between a specific stimulus and other stimuli of the same modality provide valuable information about the structure and geometry of sensory spaces. While typically assessed in human behavioral experiments, perceptual similarities-or distances-are rarely measured in other species. However, understanding the neural computations responsible for sensory representations requires the monitoring and often manipulation of neural activity, which is more readily achieved in non-human experimental models. Here, we develop a behavioral paradigm that enables the quantification of perceptual similarity between sensory stimuli using mouse olfaction as a model system.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Richard C. Gerkin
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Dmitry Rinberg
- Neuroscience Institute, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY 10016, USA
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
- Department of Physics, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
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28
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Shushruth S, Zylberberg A, Shadlen MN. Sequential sampling from memory underlies action selection during abstract decision-making. Curr Biol 2022; 32:1949-1960.e5. [PMID: 35354066 PMCID: PMC9090972 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.03.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The study of perceptual decision-making in monkeys has provided insights into the process by which sensory evidence is integrated toward a decision. When monkeys make decisions with the knowledge of the motor actions the decisions bear upon, the process of evidence integration is instantiated by neurons involved in the selection of said actions. It is less clear how monkeys make decisions when unaware of the actions required to communicate their choice-what we refer to as "abstract" decisions. We investigated this by training monkeys to associate the direction of motion of a noisy random-dot display with the color of two targets. Crucially, the targets were displayed at unpredictable locations after the motion stimulus was extinguished. We found that the monkeys postponed decision formation until the targets were revealed. Neurons in the parietal association area LIP represented the integration of evidence leading to a choice, but as the stimulus was no longer visible, the samples of evidence must have been retrieved from short-term memory. Our results imply that when decisions are temporally unyoked from the motor actions they bear upon, decision formation is protracted until they can be framed in terms of motor actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Shushruth
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, New York, NY 10027, USA.
| | - Ariel Zylberberg
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, New York, NY 10027, USA.
| | - Michael N Shadlen
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, New York, NY 10027, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York, NY 10027, USA; Kavli Institute, Columbia University, 612 West 130th Street, New York, NY 10027, USA.
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29
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Gmaz JM, van der Meer MAA. Context coding in the mouse nucleus accumbens modulates motivationally relevant information. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001338. [PMID: 35486662 PMCID: PMC9094556 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2021] [Revised: 05/11/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Neural activity in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) is thought to track fundamentally value-centric quantities linked to reward and effort. However, the NAc also contributes to flexible behavior in ways that are difficult to explain based on value signals alone, raising the question of if and how nonvalue signals are encoded in NAc. We recorded NAc neural ensembles while head-fixed mice performed an odor-based biconditional discrimination task where an initial discrete cue modulated the behavioral significance of a subsequently presented reward-predictive cue. We extracted single-unit and population-level correlates related to the cues and found value-independent coding for the initial, context-setting cue. This context signal occupied a population-level coding space orthogonal to outcome-related representations and was predictive of subsequent behaviorally relevant responses to the reward-predictive cues. Together, these findings support a gating model for how the NAc contributes to behavioral flexibility and provide a novel population-level perspective from which to view NAc computations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jimmie M. Gmaz
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, United States of America
| | - Matthijs A. A. van der Meer
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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30
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Derosiere G, Thura D, Cisek P, Duque J. Hasty sensorimotor decisions rely on an overlap of broad and selective changes in motor activity. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001598. [PMID: 35389982 PMCID: PMC9017893 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Revised: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans and other animals are able to adjust their speed–accuracy trade-off (SAT) at will depending on the urge to act, favoring either cautious or hasty decision policies in different contexts. An emerging view is that SAT regulation relies on influences exerting broad changes on the motor system, tuning its activity up globally when hastiness is at premium. The present study aimed to test this hypothesis. A total of 50 participants performed a task involving choices between left and right index fingers, in which incorrect choices led either to a high or to a low penalty in 2 contexts, inciting them to emphasize either cautious or hasty policies. We applied transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) on multiple motor representations, eliciting motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) in 9 finger and leg muscles. MEP amplitudes allowed us to probe activity changes in the corresponding finger and leg representations, while participants were deliberating about which index to choose. Our data indicate that hastiness entails a broad amplification of motor activity, although this amplification was limited to the chosen side. On top of this effect, we identified a local suppression of motor activity, surrounding the chosen index representation. Hence, a decision policy favoring speed over accuracy appears to rely on overlapping processes producing a broad (but not global) amplification and a surround suppression of motor activity. The latter effect may help to increase the signal-to-noise ratio of the chosen representation, as supported by single-trial correlation analyses indicating a stronger differentiation of activity changes in finger representations in the hasty context. Many have argued that the regulation of the speed-accuracy tradeoff relies on an urgency signal, which implements "collapsing decision thresholds" by tuning neural activity in a global manner in decision-related structures. This study indicates that the reality is more subtle, with several aspects of "urgency" being specifically targeted to particular corticospinal populations within the motor system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerard Derosiere
- Institute of Neuroscience, Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
- * E-mail:
| | - David Thura
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center–Impact Team, Inserm U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Lyon 1 University, Bron, France
| | - Paul Cisek
- Department of Neuroscience, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
| | - Julie Duque
- Institute of Neuroscience, Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
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31
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Chevée M, Finkel EA, Kim SJ, O’Connor DH, Brown SP. Neural activity in the mouse claustrum in a cross-modal sensory selection task. Neuron 2022; 110:486-501.e7. [PMID: 34863367 PMCID: PMC8829966 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.11.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2020] [Revised: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
The claustrum, a subcortical nucleus forming extensive connections with the neocortex, has been implicated in sensory selection. Sensory-evoked claustrum activity is thought to modulate the neocortex's context-dependent response to sensory input. Recording from claustrum neurons while mice performed a tactile-visual sensory-selection task, we found that neurons in the anterior claustrum, including putative optotagged claustrocortical neurons projecting to the primary somatosensory cortex (S1), were rarely modulated by sensory input. Rather, they exhibited different types of direction-tuned motor responses. Furthermore, we found that claustrum neurons encoded upcoming movement during intertrial intervals and that pairs of claustrum neurons exhibiting synchronous firing were enriched for pairs preferring contralateral lick directions, suggesting that the activity of specific ensembles of similarly tuned claustrum neurons may modulate cortical activity. Chemogenetic inhibition of claustrocortical neurons decreased lick responses to inappropriate sensory stimuli. Altogether, our data indicate that the claustrum is integrated into higher-order premotor circuits recently implicated in decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxime Chevée
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, 21205, USA.,Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology Graduate Program, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, 21205, USA
| | - Eric A. Finkel
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, 21205, USA
| | - Su-Jeong Kim
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, 21205, USA
| | - Daniel H. O’Connor
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, 21205, USA.,Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, 21205, USA.,Brain Science Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, 21205, USA
| | - Solange P. Brown
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, 21205, USA.,Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, 21205, USA.,Lead contact,Correspondence:
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32
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Pouchelon G, Dwivedi D, Bollmann Y, Agba CK, Xu Q, Mirow AMC, Kim S, Qiu Y, Sevier E, Ritola KD, Cossart R, Fishell G. The organization and development of cortical interneuron presynaptic circuits are area specific. Cell Rep 2021; 37:109993. [PMID: 34758329 PMCID: PMC8832360 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2021] [Revised: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Parvalbumin and somatostatin inhibitory interneurons gate information flow in discrete cortical areas that compute sensory and cognitive functions. Despite the considerable differences between areas, individual interneuron subtypes are genetically invariant and are thought to form canonical circuits regardless of which area they are embedded in. Here, we investigate whether this is achieved through selective and systematic variations in their afferent connectivity during development. To this end, we examined the development of their inputs within distinct cortical areas. We find that interneuron afferents show little evidence of being globally stereotyped. Rather, each subtype displays characteristic regional connectivity and distinct developmental dynamics by which this connectivity is achieved. Moreover, afferents dynamically regulated during development are disrupted by early sensory deprivation and in a model of fragile X syndrome. These data provide a comprehensive map of interneuron afferents across cortical areas and reveal the logic by which these circuits are established during development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabrielle Pouchelon
- Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurobiology, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Broad Institute, Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Deepanjali Dwivedi
- Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurobiology, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Broad Institute, Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Yannick Bollmann
- Aix Marseille University, INSERM, INMED, Turing Center for Living Systems, Marseille, France
| | - Chimuanya K Agba
- Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurobiology, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Broad Institute, Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Qing Xu
- Center for Genomics & Systems Biology, New York University Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, UAE
| | - Andrea M C Mirow
- Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurobiology, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Sehyun Kim
- Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurobiology, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Yanjie Qiu
- Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurobiology, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Broad Institute, Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Elaine Sevier
- Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurobiology, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Broad Institute, Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Kimberly D Ritola
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA 20147, USA
| | - Rosa Cossart
- Aix Marseille University, INSERM, INMED, Turing Center for Living Systems, Marseille, France
| | - Gord Fishell
- Harvard Medical School, Department of Neurobiology, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Broad Institute, Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
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33
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Wang XJ. 50 years of mnemonic persistent activity: quo vadis? Trends Neurosci 2021; 44:888-902. [PMID: 34654556 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2021.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2021] [Revised: 08/27/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Half a century ago persistent spiking activity in the neocortex was discovered to be a neural substrate of working memory. Since then scientists have sought to understand this core cognitive function across biological and computational levels. Studies are reviewed here that cumulatively lend support to a synaptic theory of recurrent circuits for mnemonic persistent activity that depends on various cellular and network substrates and is mathematically described by a multiple-attractor network model. Crucially, a mnemonic attractor state of the brain is consistent with temporal variations and heterogeneity across neurons in a subspace of population activity. Persistent activity should be broadly understood as a contrast to decaying transients. Mechanisms in the absence of neural firing ('activity-silent state') are suitable for passive short-term memory but not for working memory - which is characterized by executive control for filtering out distractors, limited capacity, and internal manipulation of information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Jing Wang
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 20003, USA.
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34
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Zhang X, Liu S, Chen ZS. A geometric framework for understanding dynamic information integration in context-dependent computation. iScience 2021; 24:102919. [PMID: 34430809 PMCID: PMC8367843 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Revised: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a prominent role in performing flexible cognitive functions and working memory, yet the underlying computational principle remains poorly understood. Here, we trained a rate-based recurrent neural network (RNN) to explore how the context rules are encoded, maintained across seconds-long mnemonic delay, and subsequently used in a context-dependent decision-making task. The trained networks replicated key experimentally observed features in the PFC of rodent and monkey experiments, such as mixed selectivity, neuronal sequential activity, and rotation dynamics. To uncover the high-dimensional neural dynamical system, we further proposed a geometric framework to quantify and visualize population coding and sensory integration in a temporally defined manner. We employed dynamic epoch-wise principal component analysis (PCA) to define multiple task-specific subspaces and task-related axes, and computed the angles between task-related axes and these subspaces. In low-dimensional neural representations, the trained RNN first encoded the context cues in a cue-specific subspace, and then maintained the cue information with a stable low-activity state persisting during the delay epoch, and further formed line attractors for sensor integration through low-dimensional neural trajectories to guide decision-making. We demonstrated via intensive computer simulations that the geometric manifolds encoding the context information were robust to varying degrees of weight perturbation in both space and time. Overall, our analysis framework provides clear geometric interpretations and quantification of information coding, maintenance, and integration, yielding new insight into the computational mechanisms of context-dependent computation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohan Zhang
- School of Mathematics, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Shenquan Liu
- School of Mathematics, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhe Sage Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York City, NY, USA
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35
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Zatka-Haas P, Steinmetz NA, Carandini M, Harris KD. Sensory coding and the causal impact of mouse cortex in a visual decision. eLife 2021; 10:e63163. [PMID: 34328419 PMCID: PMC8324299 DOI: 10.7554/elife.63163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2020] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Correlates of sensory stimuli and motor actions are found in multiple cortical areas, but such correlates do not indicate whether these areas are causally relevant to task performance. We trained mice to discriminate visual contrast and report their decision by steering a wheel. Widefield calcium imaging and Neuropixels recordings in cortex revealed stimulus-related activity in visual (VIS) and frontal (MOs) areas, and widespread movement-related activity across the whole dorsal cortex. Optogenetic inactivation biased choices only when targeted at VIS and MOs,proportionally to each site's encoding of the visual stimulus, and at times corresponding to peak stimulus decoding. A neurometric model based on summing and subtracting activity in VIS and MOs successfully described behavioral performance and predicted the effect of optogenetic inactivation. Thus, sensory signals localized in visual and frontal cortex play a causal role in task performance, while widespread dorsal cortical signals correlating with movement reflect processes that do not play a causal role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Zatka-Haas
- UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
- Department of Physiology, Anatomy & Genetics, University of OxfordOxfordUnited Kingdom
| | - Nicholas A Steinmetz
- UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Matteo Carandini
- UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Kenneth D Harris
- UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
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36
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Modularity and robustness of frontal cortical networks. Cell 2021; 184:3717-3730.e24. [PMID: 34214471 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.05.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Revised: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Neural activity underlying short-term memory is maintained by interconnected networks of brain regions. It remains unknown how brain regions interact to maintain persistent activity while exhibiting robustness to corrupt information in parts of the network. We simultaneously measured activity in large neuronal populations across mouse frontal hemispheres to probe interactions between brain regions. Activity across hemispheres was coordinated to maintain coherent short-term memory. Across mice, we uncovered individual variability in the organization of frontal cortical networks. A modular organization was required for the robustness of persistent activity to perturbations: each hemisphere retained persistent activity during perturbations of the other hemisphere, thus preventing local perturbations from spreading. A dynamic gating mechanism allowed hemispheres to coordinate coherent information while gating out corrupt information. Our results show that robust short-term memory is mediated by redundant modular representations across brain regions. Redundant modular representations naturally emerge in neural network models that learned robust dynamics.
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37
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Le Merre P, Ährlund-Richter S, Carlén M. The mouse prefrontal cortex: Unity in diversity. Neuron 2021; 109:1925-1944. [PMID: 33894133 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.03.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Revised: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is considered to constitute the highest stage of neural integration and to be devoted to representation and production of actions. Studies in primates have laid the foundation for theories regarding the principles of prefrontal function and provided mechanistic insights. The recent surge of studies of the PFC in mice holds promise for evolvement of present theories and development of novel concepts, particularly regarding principles shared across mammals. Here we review recent empirical work on the mouse PFC capitalizing on the experimental toolbox currently privileged to studies in this species. We conclude that this line of research has revealed cellular and structural distinctions of the PFC and neuronal activity with direct relevance to theories regarding the functions of the PFC. We foresee that data-rich mouse studies will be key to shed light on the general prefrontal architecture and mechanisms underlying cognitive aspects of organized actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Le Merre
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Marie Carlén
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, 141 83 Huddinge, Sweden.
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38
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Rossi-Pool R, Zainos A, Alvarez M, Diaz-deLeon G, Romo R. A continuum of invariant sensory and behavioral-context perceptual coding in secondary somatosensory cortex. Nat Commun 2021; 12:2000. [PMID: 33790301 PMCID: PMC8012659 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22321-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
A crucial role of cortical networks is the conversion of sensory inputs into perception. In the cortical somatosensory network, neurons of the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) show invariant sensory responses, while frontal lobe neuronal activity correlates with the animal's perceptual behavior. Here, we report that in the secondary somatosensory cortex (S2), neurons with invariant sensory responses coexist with neurons whose responses correlate with perceptual behavior. Importantly, the vast majority of the neurons fall along a continuum of combined sensory and categorical dynamics. Furthermore, during a non-demanding control task, the sensory responses remain unaltered while the sensory information exhibits an increase. However, perceptual responses and the associated categorical information decrease, implicating a task context-dependent processing mechanism. Conclusively, S2 neurons exhibit intriguing dynamics that are intermediate between those of S1 and frontal lobe. Our results contribute relevant evidence about the role that S2 plays in the conversion of touch into perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Román Rossi-Pool
- Instituto de Fisiología Celular─Neurociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.
| | - Antonio Zainos
- Instituto de Fisiología Celular─Neurociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Manuel Alvarez
- Instituto de Fisiología Celular─Neurociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Gabriel Diaz-deLeon
- Instituto de Fisiología Celular─Neurociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Ranulfo Romo
- Instituto de Fisiología Celular─Neurociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.
- Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.
- El Colegio Nacional, Mexico City, Mexico.
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39
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Kang YH, Löffler A, Jeurissen D, Zylberberg A, Wolpert DM, Shadlen MN. Multiple decisions about one object involve parallel sensory acquisition but time-multiplexed evidence incorporation. eLife 2021; 10:63721. [PMID: 33688829 PMCID: PMC8112870 DOI: 10.7554/elife.63721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2020] [Accepted: 03/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
The brain is capable of processing several streams of information that bear on different aspects of the same problem. Here, we address the problem of making two decisions about one object, by studying difficult perceptual decisions about the color and motion of a dynamic random dot display. We find that the accuracy of one decision is unaffected by the difficulty of the other decision. However, the response times reveal that the two decisions do not form simultaneously. We show that both stimulus dimensions are acquired in parallel for the initial ∼0.1 s but are then incorporated serially in time-multiplexed bouts. Thus, there is a bottleneck that precludes updating more than one decision at a time, and a buffer that stores samples of evidence while access to the decision is blocked. We suggest that this bottleneck is responsible for the long timescales of many cognitive operations framed as decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yul Hr Kang
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, United States.,Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Anne Löffler
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, United States.,Kavli Institute for Brain Science, Columbia University, New York, United States
| | - Danique Jeurissen
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, United States.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, United States
| | - Ariel Zylberberg
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, United States.,Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, United States
| | - Daniel M Wolpert
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, United States
| | - Michael N Shadlen
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, United States.,Kavli Institute for Brain Science, Columbia University, New York, United States.,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, United States
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40
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Goldbach HC, Akitake B, Leedy CE, Histed MH. Performance in even a simple perceptual task depends on mouse secondary visual areas. eLife 2021; 10:e62156. [PMID: 33522482 PMCID: PMC7990500 DOI: 10.7554/elife.62156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2020] [Accepted: 01/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Primary visual cortex (V1) in the mouse projects to numerous brain areas, including several secondary visual areas, frontal cortex, and basal ganglia. While it has been demonstrated that optogenetic silencing of V1 strongly impairs visually guided behavior, it is not known which downstream areas are required for visual behaviors. Here we trained mice to perform a contrast-increment change detection task, for which substantial stimulus information is present in V1. Optogenetic silencing of visual responses in secondary visual areas revealed that their activity is required for even this simple visual task. In vivo electrophysiology showed that, although inhibiting secondary visual areas could produce some feedback effects in V1, the principal effect was profound suppression at the location of the optogenetic light. The results show that pathways through secondary visual areas are necessary for even simple visual behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah C Goldbach
- Unit on Neural Computation and Behavior, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Program, National Institutes of HealthBethesdaUnited States
| | - Bradley Akitake
- Unit on Neural Computation and Behavior, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Program, National Institutes of HealthBethesdaUnited States
| | - Caitlin E Leedy
- Unit on Neural Computation and Behavior, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Program, National Institutes of HealthBethesdaUnited States
| | - Mark H Histed
- Unit on Neural Computation and Behavior, National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Program, National Institutes of HealthBethesdaUnited States
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41
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Böhm C, Lee AK. Canonical goal-selective representations are absent from prefrontal cortex in a spatial working memory task requiring behavioral flexibility. eLife 2020; 9:63035. [PMID: 33357380 PMCID: PMC7781596 DOI: 10.7554/elife.63035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 12/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC)'s functions are thought to include working memory, as its activity can reflect information that must be temporarily maintained to realize the current goal. We designed a flexible spatial working memory task that required rats to navigate - after distractions and a delay - to multiple possible goal locations from different starting points and via multiple routes. This made the current goal location the key variable to remember, instead of a particular direction or route to the goal. However, across a broad population of PFC neurons, we found no evidence of current-goal-specific memory in any previously reported form - that is differences in the rate, sequence, phase, or covariance of firing. This suggests that such patterns do not hold working memory in the PFC when information must be employed flexibly. Instead, the PFC grouped locations representing behaviorally equivalent task features together, consistent with a role in encoding long-term knowledge of task structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Böhm
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, United States
| | - Albert K Lee
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Research Campus, Ashburn, United States
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42
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Wu YH, Velenosi LA, Blankenburg F. Response modality-dependent categorical choice representations for vibrotactile comparisons. Neuroimage 2020; 226:117592. [PMID: 33248258 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117592] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2019] [Revised: 11/15/2020] [Accepted: 11/18/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous electrophysiological studies in monkeys and humans suggest that premotor regions are the primary loci for the encoding of perceptual choices during vibrotactile comparisons. However, these studies employed paradigms wherein choices were inextricably linked with the stimulus order and selection of manual movements. It remains largely unknown how vibrotactile choices are represented when they are decoupled from these sensorimotor components of the task. To address this question, we used fMRI-MVPA and a variant of the vibrotactile frequency discrimination task which enabled the isolation of choice-related signals from those related to stimulus order and selection of the manual decision reports. We identified the left contralateral dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) and intraparietal sulcus (IPS) as carrying information about vibrotactile choices. Our finding provides empirical evidence for an involvement of the PMd and IPS in vibrotactile decisions that goes above and beyond the coding of stimulus order and specific action selection. Considering findings from recent studies in animals, we speculate that the premotor region likely serves as a temporary storage site for information necessary for the specification of concrete manual movements, while the IPS might be more directly involved in the computation of choice. Moreover, this finding replicates results from our previous work using an oculomotor variant of the task, with the important difference that the informative premotor cluster identified in the previous work was centered in the bilateral frontal eye fields rather than in the PMd. Evidence from these two studies indicates that categorical choices in human vibrotactile comparisons are represented in a response modality-dependent manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan-Hao Wu
- Neurocomputation and Neuroimaging Unit (NNU), Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
| | - Lisa A Velenosi
- Neurocomputation and Neuroimaging Unit (NNU), Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Felix Blankenburg
- Neurocomputation and Neuroimaging Unit (NNU), Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Habelschwerdter Allee 45, 14195 Berlin, Germany
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43
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Machine Learning for Neural Decoding. eNeuro 2020; 7:ENEURO.0506-19.2020. [PMID: 32737181 PMCID: PMC7470933 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0506-19.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2019] [Revised: 07/01/2020] [Accepted: 07/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite rapid advances in machine learning tools, the majority of neural decoding approaches still use traditional methods. Modern machine learning tools, which are versatile and easy to use, have the potential to significantly improve decoding performance. This tutorial describes how to effectively apply these algorithms for typical decoding problems. We provide descriptions, best practices, and code for applying common machine learning methods, including neural networks and gradient boosting. We also provide detailed comparisons of the performance of various methods at the task of decoding spiking activity in motor cortex, somatosensory cortex, and hippocampus. Modern methods, particularly neural networks and ensembles, significantly outperform traditional approaches, such as Wiener and Kalman filters. Improving the performance of neural decoding algorithms allows neuroscientists to better understand the information contained in a neural population and can help to advance engineering applications such as brain–machine interfaces. Our code package is available at github.com/kordinglab/neural_decoding.
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44
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Hahn LA, Rose J. Working Memory as an Indicator for Comparative Cognition - Detecting Qualitative and Quantitative Differences. Front Psychol 2020; 11:1954. [PMID: 32849144 PMCID: PMC7424011 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2020] [Accepted: 07/15/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Working memory (WM), the representation of information held accessible for manipulation over time, is an essential component of all higher cognitive abilities. It allows for complex behaviors that go beyond simple stimulus-response associations and inflexible behavioral patterns. WM capacity determines how many different pieces of information (items) can be used for these cognitive processes, and in humans, it correlates with fluid intelligence. As such, WM might be a useful tool for comparison of cognition across species. WM can be tested using comparatively simple behavioral protocols, based on operant conditioning, in a multitude of different species. Species-specific contextual variables that influence an animal’s performance on a non-cognitive level are controlled by adapting the WM paradigm. The neuronal mechanisms by which WM emerges in the brain, as sustained neuronal activity, are comparable between the different species studied (mammals and birds), as are the areas of the brain in which WM activity can be measured. Thus WM is comparable between vastly different species within their respective niches, accounting for specific contextual variables and unique adaptations. By approaching the question of “general cognitive abilities” or “intelligence” within the animal kingdom from the perspective of WM, the complexity of the core question at hand is reduced to a fundamental memory system required to allow for complex cognitive abilities. This article argues that measuring WM can be a suitable addition to the toolkit of comparative cognition. By measuring WM on a behavioral level and going beyond behavior to the underlying physiological processes, qualitative and quantitative differences in cognition between different animal species can be identified, free of contextual restraints.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Alexander Hahn
- Neural Basis of Learning, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Jonas Rose
- Neural Basis of Learning, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
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45
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Crochet S. Match Making in Sensory Cortex. Neuron 2020; 106:363-365. [PMID: 32380049 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.04.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Cortical sensory areas are supposed to encode immediate sensory inputs. In this issue of Neuron, Condylis et al. (2020) show that they can also recall information about a past event when in need of comparing two temporally segregated sensory inputs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvain Crochet
- Laboratory of Sensory Processing, Brain Mind Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland; Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), France.
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46
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Gire DH. Taken out of Context: A Novel Cognitive Role for a Premotor Circuit. Neuron 2020; 106:206-208. [PMID: 32325055 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.03.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
In this issue of Neuron, Wu et al. (2020) provide evidence of a novel role for the premotor cortex in maintaining the context-dependent information necessary for mice to solve a delayed match to sample task.
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Affiliation(s)
- David H Gire
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
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47
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Kuwabara M, Kang N, Holy TE, Padoa-Schioppa C. Neural mechanisms of economic choices in mice. eLife 2020; 9:e49669. [PMID: 32096761 PMCID: PMC7062473 DOI: 10.7554/elife.49669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2019] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Economic choices entail computing and comparing subjective values. Evidence from primates indicates that this behavior relies on the orbitofrontal cortex. Conversely, previous work in rodents provided conflicting results. Here we present a mouse model of economic choice behavior, and we show that the lateral orbital (LO) area is intimately related to the decision process. In the experiments, mice chose between different juices offered in variable amounts. Choice patterns closely resembled those measured in primates. Optogenetic inactivation of LO dramatically disrupted choices by inducing erratic changes of relative value and by increasing choice variability. Neuronal recordings revealed that different groups of cells encoded the values of individual options, the binary choice outcome and the chosen value. These groups match those previously identified in primates, except that the neuronal representation in mice is spatial (in monkeys it is good-based). Our results lay the foundations for a circuit-level analysis of economic decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masaru Kuwabara
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington UniversitySaint LouisUnited States
| | - Ningdong Kang
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington UniversitySaint LouisUnited States
| | - Timothy E Holy
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington UniversitySaint LouisUnited States
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