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Manea AMG, Maisson DJN, Voloh B, Zilverstand A, Hayden B, Zimmermann J. Neural timescales reflect behavioral demands in freely moving rhesus macaques. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2151. [PMID: 38461167 PMCID: PMC10925022 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46488-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 03/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Previous work demonstrated a highly reproducible cortical hierarchy of neural timescales at rest, with sensory areas displaying fast, and higher-order association areas displaying slower timescales. The question arises how such stable hierarchies give rise to adaptive behavior that requires flexible adjustment of temporal coding and integration demands. Potentially, this lack of variability in the hierarchical organization of neural timescales could reflect the structure of the laboratory contexts. We posit that unconstrained paradigms are ideal to test whether the dynamics of neural timescales reflect behavioral demands. Here we measured timescales of local field potential activity while male rhesus macaques foraged in an open space. We found a hierarchy of neural timescales that differs from previous work. Importantly, although the magnitude of neural timescales expanded with task engagement, the brain areas' relative position in the hierarchy was stable. Next, we demonstrated that the change in neural timescales is dynamic and contains functionally-relevant information, differentiating between similar events in terms of motor demands and associated reward. Finally, we demonstrated that brain areas are differentially affected by these behavioral demands. These results demonstrate that while the space of neural timescales is anatomically constrained, the observed hierarchical organization and magnitude is dependent on behavioral demands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana M G Manea
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
| | - David J-N Maisson
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Benjamin Voloh
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Anna Zilverstand
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Benjamin Hayden
- Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Jan Zimmermann
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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Voloh B, Maisson DJN, Cervera RL, Conover I, Zambre M, Hayden B, Zimmermann J. Hierarchical action encoding in prefrontal cortex of freely moving macaques. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113091. [PMID: 37656619 PMCID: PMC10591875 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Our natural behavioral repertoires include coordinated actions of characteristic types. To better understand how neural activity relates to the expression of actions and action switches, we studied macaques performing a freely moving foraging task in an open environment. We developed a novel analysis pipeline that can identify meaningful units of behavior, corresponding to recognizable actions such as sitting, walking, jumping, and climbing. On the basis of transition probabilities between these actions, we found that behavior is organized in a modular and hierarchical fashion. We found that, after regressing out many potential confounders, actions are associated with specific patterns of firing in each of six prefrontal brain regions and that, overall, encoding of action category is progressively stronger in more dorsal and more caudal prefrontal regions. Together, these results establish a link between selection of units of primate behavior on one hand and neuronal activity in prefrontal regions on the other.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Voloh
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - David J-N Maisson
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | | | - Indirah Conover
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Mrunal Zambre
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Benjamin Hayden
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Jan Zimmermann
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA; Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
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Maisson DJN, Cervera RL, Voloh B, Conover I, Zambre M, Zimmermann J, Hayden BY. Widespread coding of navigational variables in prefrontal cortex. Curr Biol 2023; 33:3478-3488.e3. [PMID: 37541250 PMCID: PMC10984098 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.07.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Revised: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2023]
Abstract
To navigate effectively, we must represent information about our location in the environment. Traditional research highlights the role of the hippocampal complex in this process. Spurred by recent research highlighting the widespread cortical encoding of cognitive and motor variables previously thought to have localized function, we hypothesized that navigational variables would be likewise encoded widely, especially in the prefrontal cortex, which is associated with volitional behavior. We recorded neural activity from six prefrontal regions while macaques performed a foraging task in an open enclosure. In all regions, we found strong encoding of allocentric position, allocentric head direction, boundary distance, and linear and angular velocity. These encodings were not accounted for by distance, time to reward, or motor factors. The strength of coding of all variables increased along a ventral-to-dorsal gradient. Together, these results argue that encoding of navigational variables is not localized to the hippocampus and support the hypothesis that navigation is continuous with other forms of flexible cognition in the service of action.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J-N Maisson
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Center for Neuroengineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Roberto Lopez Cervera
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Center for Neuroengineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Benjamin Voloh
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Center for Neuroengineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Indirah Conover
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Center for Neuroengineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Mrunal Zambre
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Center for Neuroengineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Jan Zimmermann
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Center for Neuroengineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Benjamin Y Hayden
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Center for Neuroengineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
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Voloh B, Eisenreich BR, Maisson DJN, Ebitz RB, Park HS, Hayden BY, Zimmermann J. Hierarchical organization of rhesus macaque behavior. Oxf Open Neurosci 2023; 2:kvad006. [PMID: 37577290 PMCID: PMC10421634 DOI: 10.1093/oons/kvad006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Revised: 06/11/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
Primatologists, psychologists and neuroscientists have long hypothesized that primate behavior is highly structured. However, delineating that structure has been impossible due to the difficulties of precision behavioral tracking. Here we analyzed a dataset consisting of continuous measures of the 3D position of two male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) performing three different tasks in a large unrestrained environment over several hours. Using an unsupervised embedding approach on the tracked joints, we identified commonly repeated pose patterns, which we call postures. We found that macaques' behavior is characterized by 49 distinct postures, lasting an average of 0.6 seconds. We found evidence that behavior is hierarchically organized, in that transitions between poses tend to occur within larger modules, which correspond to identifiable actions; these actions are further organized hierarchically. Our behavioral decomposition allows us to identify universal (cross-individual and cross-task) and unique (specific to each individual and task) principles of behavior. These results demonstrate the hierarchical nature of primate behavior, provide a method for the automated ethogramming of primate behavior, and provide important constraints on neural models of pose generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Voloh
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Center for Neuroengineering, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030
| | - Benjamin R Eisenreich
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Center for Neuroengineering, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030
| | - David J-N Maisson
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Center for Neuroengineering, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030
| | - R Becket Ebitz
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Center for Neuroengineering, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030
| | - Hyun Soo Park
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota, 40 Church St, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Benjamin Y Hayden
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Center for Neuroengineering, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030
| | - Jan Zimmermann
- Department of Neuroscience, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, Center for Neuroengineering, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030
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Tran H, Alekseichuk I, Shirinpour S, Vail B, Maisson D, Voloh B, Zimmermann J, Opitz A. Orientation-dependent effects of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) on spike timing in awake non-human primates. Brain Stimul 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2021.10.086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
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Voloh B, Watson MR, König S, Womelsdorf T. MAD saccade: statistically robust saccade threshold estimation via the median absolute deviation. J Eye Mov Res 2020; 12:10.16910/jemr.12.8.3. [PMID: 33828776 PMCID: PMC7881893 DOI: 10.16910/jemr.12.8.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Saccade detection is a critical step in the analysis of gaze data. A common method for saccade detection is to use a simple threshold for velocity or acceleration values, which can be estimated from the data using the mean and standard deviation. However, this method has the downside of being influenced by the very signal it is trying to detect, the outlying velocities or accelerations that occur during saccades. We propose instead to use the median absolute deviation (MAD), a robust estimator of dispersion that is not influenced by outliers. We modify an algorithm proposed by Nyström and colleagues, and quantify saccade detection performance in both simulated and human data. Our modified algorithm shows a significant and marked improvement in saccade detection - showing both more true positives and less false negatives - especially under higher noise levels. We conclude that robust estimators can be widely adopted in other common, automatic gaze classification algorithms due to their ease of implementation.
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Voloh B, Womelsdorf T. Cell-Type Specific Burst Firing Interacts with Theta and Beta Activity in Prefrontal Cortex During Attention States. Cereb Cortex 2019; 28:4348-4364. [PMID: 29136106 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhx287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Population-level theta and beta band activity in anterior cingulate and prefrontal cortices (ACC/PFC) are prominent signatures of self-controlled, adaptive behaviors. But how these rhythmic activities are linked to cell-type specific activity has remained unclear. Here, we suggest such a cell-to-systems level linkage. We found that the rate of burst spiking events is enhanced particularly during attention states and that attention-specific burst spikes have a unique temporal relationship to local theta and beta band population-level activities. For the 5-10 Hz theta frequency range, bursts coincided with transient increases of local theta power relative to nonbursts, particularly for bursts of putative interneurons. For the 16-30 Hz beta frequency, bursts of putative interneurons phase synchronized stronger than nonbursts, and were associated with larger beta power modulation. In contrast, burst of putative pyramidal cells showed similar beta power modulation as nonbursts, but were accompanied by stronger beta power only when they occurred early in the beta cycle. These findings suggest that in the ACC/PFC during attention states, mechanisms underlying burst firing are intimately linked to narrow band population-level activities, providing a cell-type specific window into rhythmic inhibitory gating and the emergence of rhythmically coherent network states during goal directed behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Voloh
- Department of Biology, Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, PMB 407817, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - T Womelsdorf
- Department of Biology, Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, PMB 407817, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN, USA
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Watson MR, Voloh B, Thomas C, Hasan A, Womelsdorf T. Costs of attentional set-shifting during dynamic foraging, controlled by a novel Unity3D-based integrative experimental toolkit. J Vis 2019. [DOI: 10.1167/19.10.47d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Marcus R Watson
- Department of Biology, Centre for Vision Research, York University
| | | | | | - Asif Hasan
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Vanderbilt University
| | - Thilo Womelsdorf
- Department of Biology, Centre for Vision Research, York University
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Vanderbilt University
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Watson MR, Voloh B, Thomas C, Hasan A, Womelsdorf T. USE: An integrative suite for temporally-precise psychophysical experiments in virtual environments for human, nonhuman, and artificially intelligent agents. J Neurosci Methods 2019; 326:108374. [PMID: 31351974 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2019.108374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2019] [Revised: 06/24/2019] [Accepted: 07/24/2019] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is a growing interest in complex, active, and immersive behavioral neuroscience tasks. However, the development and control of such tasks present unique challenges. NEW METHOD The Unified Suite for Experiments (USE) is an integrated set of hardware and software tools for the design and control of behavioral neuroscience experiments. The software, developed using the Unity video game engine, supports both active tasks in immersive 3D environments and static 2D tasks used in more traditional visual experiments. The custom USE SyncBox hardware, based around an Arduino Mega2560 board, integrates and synchronizes multiple data streams from different pieces of experimental hardware. The suite addresses three key issues with developing cognitive neuroscience experiments in Unity: tight experimental control, accurate sub-ms timing, and accurate gaze target identification. RESULTS USE is a flexible framework to realize experiments, enabling (i) nested control over complex tasks, (ii) flexible use of 3D or 2D scenes and objects, (iii) touchscreen-, button-, joystick- and gaze-based interaction, and (v) complete offline reconstruction of experiments for post-processing and temporal alignment of data streams. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS Most existing experiment-creation tools are not designed to support the development of video-game-like tasks. Those that do use older or less popular video game engines as their base, and are not as feature-rich or enable as precise control over timing as USE. CONCLUSIONS USE provides an integrated, open source framework for a wide variety of active behavioral neuroscience experiments using human and nonhuman participants, and artificially-intelligent agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcus R Watson
- Department of Biology, Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, ON, M6J1P3, Canada.
| | - Benjamin Voloh
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240 United States
| | - Christopher Thomas
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240 United States
| | - Asif Hasan
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240 United States
| | - Thilo Womelsdorf
- Department of Biology, Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, ON, M6J1P3, Canada; Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240 United States; Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240 United States
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Voloh B, Womelsdorf T. A Role of Phase-Resetting in Coordinating Large Scale Neural Networks During Attention and Goal-Directed Behavior. Front Syst Neurosci 2016; 10:18. [PMID: 27013986 PMCID: PMC4782140 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2016.00018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2015] [Accepted: 02/17/2016] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Short periods of oscillatory activation are ubiquitous signatures of neural circuits. A broad range of studies documents not only their circuit origins, but also a fundamental role for oscillatory activity in coordinating information transfer during goal directed behavior. Recent studies suggest that resetting the phase of ongoing oscillatory activity to endogenous or exogenous cues facilitates coordinated information transfer within circuits and between distributed brain areas. Here, we review evidence that pinpoints phase resetting as a critical marker of dynamic state changes of functional networks. Phase resets: (1) set a "neural context" in terms of narrow band frequencies that uniquely characterizes the activated circuits; (2) impose coherent low frequency phases to which high frequency activations can synchronize, identifiable as cross-frequency correlations across large anatomical distances; (3) are critical for neural coding models that depend on phase, increasing the informational content of neural representations; and (4) likely originate from the dynamics of canonical E-I circuits that are anatomically ubiquitous. These multiple signatures of phase resets are directly linked to enhanced information transfer and behavioral success. We survey how phase resets re-organize oscillations in diverse task contexts, including sensory perception, attentional stimulus selection, cross-modal integration, Pavlovian conditioning, and spatial navigation. The evidence we consider suggests that phase-resets can drive changes in neural excitability, ensemble organization, functional networks, and ultimately, overt behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Voloh
- Department of Biology, Centre for Vision Research, York University Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Thilo Womelsdorf
- Department of Biology, Centre for Vision Research, York University Toronto, ON, Canada
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