Learning leaves a memory trace in motor cortex

A theory of brain-computer interface learning via low-dimensional control

A remarkable demonstration of the flexibility of mammalian motor systems is primates' ability to learn to control brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). This constitutes a completely novel motor behavior, yet primates are capable of learning to control BCIs under a wide range of conditions. BCIs with carefully calibrated decoders, for example, can be learned with only minutes to hours of practice. With a few weeks of practice, even BCIs with randomly constructed decoders can be learned. What are the biological substrates of this learning process? Here, we develop a theory based on a re-aiming strategy, whereby learning operates within a low-dimensional subspace of task-relevant inputs driving the local population of recorded neurons. Through comprehensive numerical and formal analysis, we demonstrate that this theory can provide a unifying explanation for disparate phenomena previously reported in three different BCI learning tasks, and we derive a novel experimental prediction that we verify with previously published data. By explicitly modeling the underlying neural circuitry, the theory reveals an interpretation of these phenomena in terms of biological constraints on neural activity.

A combinatorial neural code for long-term motor memory

Motor skill repertoire can be stably retained over long periods, but the neural mechanism that underlies stable memory storage remains poorly understood1-8. Moreover, it is unknown how existing motor memories are maintained as new motor skills are continuously acquired. Here we tracked neural representation of learned actions throughout a significant portion of the lifespan of a mouse and show that learned actions are stably retained in combination with context, which protects existing memories from erasure during new motor learning. We established a continual learning paradigm in which mice learned to perform directional licking in different task contexts while we tracked motor cortex activity for up to six months using two-photon imaging. Within the same task context, activity driving directional licking was stable over time with little representational drift. When learning new task contexts, new preparatory activity emerged to drive the same licking actions. Learning created parallel new motor memories instead of modifying existing representations. Re-learning to make the same actions in the previous task context re-activated the previous preparatory activity, even months later. Continual learning of new task contexts kept creating new preparatory activity patterns. Context-specific memories, as we observed in the motor system, may provide a solution for stable memory storage throughout continual learning.

A posture subspace in primary motor cortex

To generate movements, the brain must combine information about movement goal and body posture. Motor cortex (M1) is a key node for the convergence of these information streams. How are posture and goal information organized within M1's activity to permit the flexible generation of movement commands? To answer this question, we recorded M1 activity while monkeys performed a variety of tasks with the forearm in a range of postures. We found that posture- and goal-related components of neural population activity were separable and resided in nearly orthogonal subspaces. The posture subspace was stable across tasks. Within each task, neural trajectories for each goal had similar shapes across postures. Our results reveal a simpler organization of posture information in M1 than previously recognized. The compartmentalization of posture and goal information might allow the two to be flexibly combined in the service of our broad repertoire of actions.

De novo motor learning creates structure in neural activity that shapes adaptation

Animals can quickly adapt learned movements to external perturbations, and their existing motor repertoire likely influences their ease of adaptation. Long-term learning causes lasting changes in neural connectivity, which shapes the activity patterns that can be produced during adaptation. Here, we examined how a neural population's existing activity patterns, acquired through de novo learning, affect subsequent adaptation by modeling motor cortical neural population dynamics with recurrent neural networks. We trained networks on different motor repertoires comprising varying numbers of movements, which they acquired following various learning experiences. Networks with multiple movements had more constrained and robust dynamics, which were associated with more defined neural 'structure'-organization in the available population activity patterns. This structure facilitated adaptation, but only when the changes imposed by the perturbation were congruent with the organization of the inputs and the structure in neural activity acquired during de novo learning. These results highlight trade-offs in skill acquisition and demonstrate how different learning experiences can shape the geometrical properties of neural population activity and subsequent adaptation.

Neuroscience: Memory modification without catastrophe

Adaptive behaviour is supported by changes in neuronal networks. Insight into maintaining these memories - preventing their catastrophic loss - despite further network changes occurring due to novel learning is provided in a new study.