1
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Insanally MN, Albanna BF, Toth J, DePasquale B, Fadaei SS, Gupta T, Lombardi O, Kuchibhotla K, Rajan K, Froemke RC. Contributions of cortical neuron firing patterns, synaptic connectivity, and plasticity to task performance. Nat Commun 2024; 15:6023. [PMID: 39019848 PMCID: PMC11255273 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49895-6] [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: 05/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Neuronal responses during behavior are diverse, ranging from highly reliable 'classical' responses to irregular 'non-classically responsive' firing. While a continuum of response properties is observed across neural systems, little is known about the synaptic origins and contributions of diverse responses to network function, perception, and behavior. To capture the heterogeneous responses measured from auditory cortex of rodents performing a frequency recognition task, we use a novel task-performing spiking recurrent neural network incorporating spike-timing-dependent plasticity. Reliable and irregular units contribute differentially to task performance via output and recurrent connections, respectively. Excitatory plasticity shifts the response distribution while inhibition constrains its diversity. Together both improve task performance with full network engagement. The same local patterns of synaptic inputs predict spiking response properties of network units and auditory cortical neurons from in vivo whole-cell recordings during behavior. Thus, diverse neural responses contribute to network function and emerge from synaptic plasticity rules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michele N Insanally
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
- Pittsburgh Hearing Research Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
| | - Badr F Albanna
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
| | - Jade Toth
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
- Pittsburgh Hearing Research Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
| | - Brian DePasquale
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Saba Shokat Fadaei
- Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
- Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
- Department of Physiology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Trisha Gupta
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
- Pittsburgh Hearing Research Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
| | - Olivia Lombardi
- Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
- Pittsburgh Hearing Research Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
| | - Kishore Kuchibhotla
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | - Kanaka Rajan
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
- Kempner Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Robert C Froemke
- Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
- Department of Otolaryngology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
- Department of Neuroscience, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
- Department of Physiology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA.
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2
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Tye KM, Miller EK, Taschbach FH, Benna MK, Rigotti M, Fusi S. Mixed selectivity: Cellular computations for complexity. Neuron 2024; 112:2289-2303. [PMID: 38729151 PMCID: PMC11257803 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.04.017] [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: 12/11/2023] [Revised: 03/08/2024] [Accepted: 04/12/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024]
Abstract
The property of mixed selectivity has been discussed at a computational level and offers a strategy to maximize computational power by adding versatility to the functional role of each neuron. Here, we offer a biologically grounded implementational-level mechanistic explanation for mixed selectivity in neural circuits. We define pure, linear, and nonlinear mixed selectivity and discuss how these response properties can be obtained in simple neural circuits. Neurons that respond to multiple, statistically independent variables display mixed selectivity. If their activity can be expressed as a weighted sum, then they exhibit linear mixed selectivity; otherwise, they exhibit nonlinear mixed selectivity. Neural representations based on diverse nonlinear mixed selectivity are high dimensional; hence, they confer enormous flexibility to a simple downstream readout neural circuit. However, a simple neural circuit cannot possibly encode all possible mixtures of variables simultaneously, as this would require a combinatorially large number of mixed selectivity neurons. Gating mechanisms like oscillations and neuromodulation can solve this problem by dynamically selecting which variables are mixed and transmitted to the readout.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kay M Tye
- Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, La Jolla, CA; Department of Neurobiology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind, San Diego, CA, USA.
| | - Earl K Miller
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
| | - Felix H Taschbach
- Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA; Biological Science Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; Department of Neurobiology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
| | - Marcus K Benna
- Department of Neurobiology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
| | | | - Stefano Fusi
- Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Kavli Institute for Brain Science, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
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3
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Hajnal MA, Tran D, Szabó Z, Albert A, Safaryan K, Einstein M, Vallejo Martelo M, Polack PO, Golshani P, Orbán G. Shifts in attention drive context-dependent subspace encoding in anterior cingulate cortex in mice during decision making. Nat Commun 2024; 15:5559. [PMID: 38956080 PMCID: PMC11220070 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49845-2] [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: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Attention supports decision making by selecting the features that are relevant for decisions. Selective enhancement of the relevant features and inhibition of distractors has been proposed as potential neural mechanisms driving this selection process. Yet, how attention operates when relevance cannot be directly determined, and the attention signal needs to be internally constructed is less understood. Here we recorded from populations of neurons in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) of mice in an attention-shifting task where relevance of stimulus modalities changed across blocks of trials. In contrast with V1 recordings, decoding of the irrelevant modality gradually declined in ACC after an initial transient. Our analytical proof and a recurrent neural network model of the task revealed mutually inhibiting connections that produced context-gated suppression as observed in mice. Using this RNN model we predicted a correlation between contextual modulation of individual neurons and their stimulus drive, which we confirmed in ACC but not in V1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Márton Albert Hajnal
- Department of Computational Sciences, HUN-REN Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Duy Tran
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Zsombor Szabó
- Department of Computational Sciences, HUN-REN Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Andrea Albert
- Department of Computational Sciences, HUN-REN Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Karen Safaryan
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Michael Einstein
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Mauricio Vallejo Martelo
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Pierre-Olivier Polack
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - Peyman Golshani
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Gergő Orbán
- Department of Computational Sciences, HUN-REN Wigner Research Centre for Physics, Budapest, Hungary.
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4
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Ullsperger M. Beyond peaks and troughs: Multiplexed performance monitoring signals in the EEG. Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14553. [PMID: 38415791 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14553] [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: 12/07/2023] [Revised: 02/08/2024] [Accepted: 02/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
With the discovery of event-related potentials elicited by errors more than 30 years ago, a new avenue of research on performance monitoring, cognitive control, and decision making emerged. Since then, the field has developed and expanded fulminantly. After a brief overview on the EEG correlates of performance monitoring, this article reviews recent advancements based on single-trial analyses using independent component analysis, multiple regression, and multivariate pattern classification. Given the close interconnection between performance monitoring and reinforcement learning, computational modeling and model-based EEG analyses have made a particularly strong impact. The reviewed findings demonstrate that error- and feedback-related EEG dynamics represent variables reflecting how performance-monitoring signals are weighted and transformed into an adaptation signal that guides future decisions and actions. The model-based single-trial analysis approach goes far beyond conventional peak-and-trough analyses of event-related potentials and enables testing mechanistic theories of performance monitoring, cognitive control, and decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Ullsperger
- Department of Neuropsychology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
- Center for Behavioral Brain Sciences, Magdeburg, Germany
- German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), partner site Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
- Center for Intervention and Research on adaptive and maladaptive brain Circuits underlying mental health (C-I-R-C), Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Germany
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5
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Stroud JP, Duncan J, Lengyel M. The computational foundations of dynamic coding in working memory. Trends Cogn Sci 2024; 28:614-627. [PMID: 38580528 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.02.011] [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: 12/11/2023] [Revised: 02/29/2024] [Accepted: 02/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024]
Abstract
Working memory (WM) is a fundamental aspect of cognition. WM maintenance is classically thought to rely on stable patterns of neural activities. However, recent evidence shows that neural population activities during WM maintenance undergo dynamic variations before settling into a stable pattern. Although this has been difficult to explain theoretically, neural network models optimized for WM typically also exhibit such dynamics. Here, we examine stable versus dynamic coding in neural data, classical models, and task-optimized networks. We review principled mathematical reasons for why classical models do not, while task-optimized models naturally do exhibit dynamic coding. We suggest an update to our understanding of WM maintenance, in which dynamic coding is a fundamental computational feature rather than an epiphenomenon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jake P Stroud
- Computational and Biological Learning Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| | - John Duncan
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Máté Lengyel
- Computational and Biological Learning Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Center for Cognitive Computation, Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary
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6
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Combrisson E, Basanisi R, Gueguen MCM, Rheims S, Kahane P, Bastin J, Brovelli A. Neural interactions in the human frontal cortex dissociate reward and punishment learning. eLife 2024; 12:RP92938. [PMID: 38941238 PMCID: PMC11213568 DOI: 10.7554/elife.92938] [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: 06/30/2024] Open
Abstract
How human prefrontal and insular regions interact while maximizing rewards and minimizing punishments is unknown. Capitalizing on human intracranial recordings, we demonstrate that the functional specificity toward reward or punishment learning is better disentangled by interactions compared to local representations. Prefrontal and insular cortices display non-selective neural populations to rewards and punishments. Non-selective responses, however, give rise to context-specific interareal interactions. We identify a reward subsystem with redundant interactions between the orbitofrontal and ventromedial prefrontal cortices, with a driving role of the latter. In addition, we find a punishment subsystem with redundant interactions between the insular and dorsolateral cortices, with a driving role of the insula. Finally, switching between reward and punishment learning is mediated by synergistic interactions between the two subsystems. These results provide a unifying explanation of distributed cortical representations and interactions supporting reward and punishment learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Etienne Combrisson
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, Aix Marseille UniversitéMarseilleFrance
| | - Ruggero Basanisi
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, Aix Marseille UniversitéMarseilleFrance
| | - Maelle CM Gueguen
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, U1216, Grenoble Institut NeurosciencesGrenobleFrance
| | - Sylvain Rheims
- Department of Functional Neurology and Epileptology, Hospices Civils de Lyon and University of LyonLyonFrance
| | - Philippe Kahane
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, U1216, CHU Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble Institut NeurosciencesGrenobleFrance
| | - Julien Bastin
- Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, U1216, Grenoble Institut NeurosciencesGrenobleFrance
| | - Andrea Brovelli
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, Aix Marseille UniversitéMarseilleFrance
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7
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Cushing CA, Lau H, Hofmann SG, LeDoux JE, Taschereau-Dumouchel V. Metacognition as a window into subjective affective experience. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2024. [PMID: 38884177 DOI: 10.1111/pcn.13683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2024] [Revised: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024]
Abstract
When patients seek professional help for mental disorders, they often do so because of troubling subjective affective experiences. While these subjective states are at the center of the patient's symptomatology, scientific tools for studying them and their cognitive antecedents are limited. Here, we explore the use of concepts and analytic tools from the science of consciousness, a field of research that has faced similar challenges in having to develop robust empirical methods for addressing a phenomenon that has been considered difficult to pin down experimentally. One important strand is the operationalization of some relevant processes in terms of metacognition and confidence ratings, which can be rigorously studied in both humans and animals. By assessing subjective experience with similar approaches, we hope to develop new scientific approaches for studying affective processes and promoting psychological resilience in the face of debilitating emotional experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cody A Cushing
- Department of Psychology, UCLA, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Hakwan Lau
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wako, Japan
| | - Stefan G Hofmann
- Department of Psychology, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Joseph E LeDoux
- Center for Neural Science and Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, New York, USA
- Emotional Brain Institute, Nathan Kline Institute, Orangeburg, New York, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, and Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical School, New York, New York, USA
- Max-Planck-NYU Center for Language, Music, and Emotion (CLaME), New York University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Vincent Taschereau-Dumouchel
- Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
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8
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Scott DN, Mukherjee A, Nassar MR, Halassa MM. Thalamocortical architectures for flexible cognition and efficient learning. Trends Cogn Sci 2024:S1364-6613(24)00119-0. [PMID: 38886139 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.05.006] [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: 10/14/2023] [Revised: 05/12/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024]
Abstract
The brain exhibits a remarkable ability to learn and execute context-appropriate behaviors. How it achieves such flexibility, without sacrificing learning efficiency, is an important open question. Neuroscience, psychology, and engineering suggest that reusing and repurposing computations are part of the answer. Here, we review evidence that thalamocortical architectures may have evolved to facilitate these objectives of flexibility and efficiency by coordinating distributed computations. Recent work suggests that distributed prefrontal cortical networks compute with flexible codes, and that the mediodorsal thalamus provides regularization to promote efficient reuse. Thalamocortical interactions resemble hierarchical Bayesian computations, and their network implementation can be related to existing gating, synchronization, and hub theories of thalamic function. By reviewing recent findings and providing a novel synthesis, we highlight key research horizons integrating computation, cognition, and systems neuroscience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel N Scott
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA; Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
| | - Arghya Mukherjee
- Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Matthew R Nassar
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA; Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Michael M Halassa
- Department of Neuroscience, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
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9
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Manley J, Lu S, Barber K, Demas J, Kim H, Meyer D, Traub FM, Vaziri A. Simultaneous, cortex-wide dynamics of up to 1 million neurons reveal unbounded scaling of dimensionality with neuron number. Neuron 2024; 112:1694-1709.e5. [PMID: 38452763 PMCID: PMC11098699 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.02.011] [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: 11/23/2022] [Revised: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
The brain's remarkable properties arise from the collective activity of millions of neurons. Widespread application of dimensionality reduction to multi-neuron recordings implies that neural dynamics can be approximated by low-dimensional "latent" signals reflecting neural computations. However, can such low-dimensional representations truly explain the vast range of brain activity, and if not, what is the appropriate resolution and scale of recording to capture them? Imaging neural activity at cellular resolution and near-simultaneously across the mouse cortex, we demonstrate an unbounded scaling of dimensionality with neuron number in populations up to 1 million neurons. Although half of the neural variance is contained within sixteen dimensions correlated with behavior, our discovered scaling of dimensionality corresponds to an ever-increasing number of neuronal ensembles without immediate behavioral or sensory correlates. The activity patterns underlying these higher dimensions are fine grained and cortex wide, highlighting that large-scale, cellular-resolution recording is required to uncover the full substrates of neuronal computations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason Manley
- Laboratory of Neurotechnology and Biophysics, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA; The Kavli Neural Systems Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Sihao Lu
- Laboratory of Neurotechnology and Biophysics, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Kevin Barber
- Laboratory of Neurotechnology and Biophysics, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Jeffrey Demas
- Laboratory of Neurotechnology and Biophysics, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA; The Kavli Neural Systems Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Hyewon Kim
- Laboratory of Neurotechnology and Biophysics, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - David Meyer
- Laboratory of Neurotechnology and Biophysics, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Francisca Martínez Traub
- Laboratory of Neurotechnology and Biophysics, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Alipasha Vaziri
- Laboratory of Neurotechnology and Biophysics, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA; The Kavli Neural Systems Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA.
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10
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Wang T, Chen Y, Zhang Y, Cui H. Multiplicative joint coding in preparatory activity for reaching sequence in macaque motor cortex. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3153. [PMID: 38605030 PMCID: PMC11009282 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47511-1] [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: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Although the motor cortex has been found to be modulated by sensory or cognitive sequences, the linkage between multiple movement elements and sequence-related responses is not yet understood. Here, we recorded neuronal activity from the motor cortex with implanted micro-electrode arrays and single electrodes while monkeys performed a double-reach task that was instructed by simultaneously presented memorized cues. We found that there existed a substantial multiplicative component jointly tuned to impending and subsequent reaches during preparation, then the coding mechanism transferred to an additive manner during execution. This multiplicative joint coding, which also spontaneously emerged in recurrent neural networks trained for double reach, enriches neural patterns for sequential movement, and might explain the linear readout of elemental movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianwei Wang
- Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, 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
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, 102206, China
| | - Yun Chen
- Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, 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
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, 102206, China
| | - Yiheng Zhang
- Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, 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
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, 102206, China
| | - He Cui
- Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, 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.
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, 102206, China.
- Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-inspired Technology, Shanghai, 200031, China.
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11
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Riddle J, McPherson T, Sheikh A, Shin H, Hadar E, Frohlich F. Internal Representations Are Prioritized by Frontoparietal Theta Connectivity and Suppressed by alpha Oscillation Dynamics: Evidence from Concurrent Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation EEG and Invasive EEG. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e1381232024. [PMID: 38395616 PMCID: PMC11007311 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1381-23.2024] [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: 07/21/2023] [Revised: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Control over internal representations requires the prioritization of relevant information and suppression of irrelevant information. The frontoparietal network exhibits prominent neural oscillations during these distinct cognitive processes. Yet, the causal role of this network-scale activity is unclear. Here, we targeted theta-frequency frontoparietal coherence and dynamic alpha oscillations in the posterior parietal cortex using online rhythmic transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in women and men while they prioritized or suppressed internally maintained working memory (WM) representations. Using concurrent high-density EEG, we provided evidence that we acutely drove the targeted neural oscillation and TMS improved WM capacity only when the evoked activity corresponded with the desired cognitive process. To suppress an internal representation, we increased the amplitude of lateralized alpha oscillations in the posterior parietal cortex contralateral to the irrelevant visual field. For prioritization, we found that TMS to the prefrontal cortex increased theta-frequency connectivity in the prefrontoparietal network contralateral to the relevant visual field. To understand the spatial specificity of these effects, we administered the WM task to participants with implanted electrodes. We found that theta connectivity during prioritization was directed from the lateral prefrontal to the superior posterior parietal cortex. Together, these findings provide causal evidence in support of a model where a frontoparietal theta network prioritizes internally maintained representations and alpha oscillations in the posterior parietal cortex suppress irrelevant representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin Riddle
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida 32304
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599
- Carolina Center for Neurostimulation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599
| | - Trevor McPherson
- Carolina Center for Neurostimulation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California 92161
| | - Atif Sheikh
- Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599
| | - Haewon Shin
- Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599
- Department of Neurology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87106
| | - Eldad Hadar
- Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599
| | - Flavio Frohlich
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599
- Carolina Center for Neurostimulation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599
- Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599
- Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599
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12
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Bellet ME, Gay M, Bellet J, Jarraya B, Dehaene S, van Kerkoerle T, Panagiotaropoulos TI. Spontaneously emerging internal models of visual sequences combine abstract and event-specific information in the prefrontal cortex. Cell Rep 2024; 43:113952. [PMID: 38483904 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.113952] [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: 09/09/2022] [Revised: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
When exposed to sensory sequences, do macaque monkeys spontaneously form abstract internal models that generalize to novel experiences? Here, we show that neuronal populations in macaque ventrolateral prefrontal cortex jointly encode visual sequences by separate codes for the specific pictures presented and for their abstract sequential structure. We recorded prefrontal neurons while macaque monkeys passively viewed visual sequences and sequence mismatches in the local-global paradigm. Even without any overt task or response requirements, prefrontal populations spontaneously form representations of sequence structure, serial order, and image identity within distinct but superimposed neuronal subspaces. Representations of sequence structure rapidly update following single exposure to a mismatch sequence, while distinct populations represent mismatches for sequences of different complexity. Finally, those representations generalize across sequences following the same repetition structure but comprising different images. These results suggest that prefrontal populations spontaneously encode rich internal models of visual sequences reflecting both content-specific and abstract information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie E Bellet
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
| | - Marion Gay
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Joachim Bellet
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Bechir Jarraya
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, Gif-sur-Yvette, France; Université Paris-Saclay, UVSQ, Versailles, France; Neuromodulation Pole, Foch Hospital, Suresnes, France
| | - Stanislas Dehaene
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, Gif-sur-Yvette, France; Collège de France, Université Paris-Sciences-Lettres (PSL), Paris, France
| | - Timo van Kerkoerle
- Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit, INSERM, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, NeuroSpin Center, Gif-sur-Yvette, France; Department of Neurophysics, Donders Center for Neuroscience, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Department of Neurobiology and Aging, Biomedical Primate Research Center, Rijswijk, the Netherlands
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13
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Jackson JB, Rich AN, Moerel D, Teichmann L, Duncan J, Woolgar A. Domain general frontoparietal regions show modality-dependent coding of auditory and visual rules. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.04.583318. [PMID: 38903119 PMCID: PMC11188079 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.04.583318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/22/2024]
Abstract
A defining feature of human cognition is our ability to respond flexibly to what we see and hear, changing how we respond depending on our current goals. In fact, we can rapidly associate almost any input stimulus with any arbitrary behavioural response. This remarkable ability is thought to depend on a frontoparietal "multiple demand" circuit which is engaged by many types of cognitive demand and widely referred to as domain general. However, it is not clear how responses to multiple input modalities are structured within this system. Domain generality could be achieved by holding information in an abstract form that generalises over input modality, or in a modality-tagged form, which uses similar resources but produces unique codes to represent the information in each modality. We used a stimulus-response task, with conceptually identical rules in two sensory modalities (visual and auditory), to distinguish between these possibilities. Multivariate decoding of functional magnetic resonance imaging data showed that representations of visual and auditory rules recruited overlapping neural resources but were expressed in modality-tagged non-generalisable neural codes. Our data suggest that this frontoparietal system may draw on the same or similar resources to solve multiple tasks, but does not create modality-general representations of task rules, even when those rules are conceptually identical between domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. B. Jackson
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - A. N. Rich
- Perception in Action Research Centre & School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Australia
| | - D. Moerel
- School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - L. Teichmann
- Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - J. Duncan
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - A. Woolgar
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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14
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Mendoza-Halliday D, Xu H, Azevedo FAC, Desimone R. Dissociable neuronal substrates of visual feature attention and working memory. Neuron 2024; 112:850-863.e6. [PMID: 38228138 PMCID: PMC10939754 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024]
Abstract
Attention and working memory (WM) are distinct cognitive functions, yet given their close interactions, it is often assumed that they share the same neuronal mechanisms. We show that in macaques performing a WM-guided feature attention task, the activity of most neurons in areas middle temporal (MT), medial superior temporal (MST), lateral intraparietal (LIP), and posterior lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC-p) displays attentional modulation or WM coding and not both. One area thought to play a role in both functions is LPFC-p. To test this, we optogenetically inactivated LPFC-p bilaterally during different task periods. Attention period inactivation reduced attentional modulation in LPFC-p, MST, and LIP neurons and impaired task performance. In contrast, WM period inactivation did not affect attentional modulation or performance and minimally affected WM coding. Our results suggest that feature attention and WM have dissociable neuronal substrates and that LPFC-p plays a critical role in feature attention, but not in WM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Mendoza-Halliday
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Haoran Xu
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Frederico A C Azevedo
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Robert Desimone
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
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15
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Karami B, Schwiedrzik CM. Visual perceptual learning of feature conjunctions leverages non-linear mixed selectivity. NPJ SCIENCE OF LEARNING 2024; 9:13. [PMID: 38429339 PMCID: PMC10907723 DOI: 10.1038/s41539-024-00226-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 03/03/2024]
Abstract
Visual objects are often defined by multiple features. Therefore, learning novel objects entails learning feature conjunctions. Visual cortex is organized into distinct anatomical compartments, each of which is devoted to processing a single feature. A prime example are neurons purely selective to color and orientation, respectively. However, neurons that jointly encode multiple features (mixed selectivity) also exist across the brain and play critical roles in a multitude of tasks. Here, we sought to uncover the optimal policy that our brain adapts to achieve conjunction learning using these available resources. 59 human subjects practiced orientation-color conjunction learning in four psychophysical experiments designed to nudge the visual system towards using one or the other resource. We find that conjunction learning is possible by linear mixing of pure color and orientation information, but that more and faster learning takes place when both pure and mixed selectivity representations are involved. We also find that learning with mixed selectivity confers advantages in performing an untrained "exclusive or" (XOR) task several months after learning the original conjunction task. This study sheds light on possible mechanisms underlying conjunction learning and highlights the importance of learning by mixed selectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Behnam Karami
- Neural Circuits and Cognition Lab, European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen - A Joint Initiative of the University Medical Center Göttingen and the Max Planck Society, Grisebachstraße 5, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
- Perception and Plasticity Group, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Caspar M Schwiedrzik
- Neural Circuits and Cognition Lab, European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen - A Joint Initiative of the University Medical Center Göttingen and the Max Planck Society, Grisebachstraße 5, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
- Perception and Plasticity Group, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Kellnerweg 4, 37077, Göttingen, Germany.
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16
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Viswanathan P, Stein AM, Nieder A. Sequential neuronal processing of number values, abstract decision, and action in the primate prefrontal cortex. PLoS Biol 2024; 22:e3002520. [PMID: 38364194 PMCID: PMC10871863 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Decision-making requires processing of sensory information, comparing the gathered evidence to make a judgment, and performing the action to communicate it. How neuronal representations transform during this cascade of representations remains a matter of debate. Here, we studied the succession of neuronal representations in the primate prefrontal cortex (PFC). We trained monkeys to judge whether a pair of sequentially presented displays had the same number of items. We used a combination of single neuron and population-level analyses and discovered a sequential transformation of represented information with trial progression. While numerical values were initially represented with high precision and in conjunction with detailed information such as order, the decision was encoded in a low-dimensional subspace of neural activity. This decision encoding was invariant to both retrospective numerical values and prospective motor plans, representing only the binary judgment of "same number" versus "different number," thus facilitating the generalization of decisions to novel number pairs. We conclude that this transformation of neuronal codes within the prefrontal cortex supports cognitive flexibility and generalizability of decisions to new conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pooja Viswanathan
- Animal Physiology, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Anna M. Stein
- Animal Physiology, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Andreas Nieder
- Animal Physiology, Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
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17
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Weber J, Solbakk AK, Blenkmann AO, Llorens A, Funderud I, Leske S, Larsson PG, Ivanovic J, Knight RT, Endestad T, Helfrich RF. Ramping dynamics and theta oscillations reflect dissociable signatures during rule-guided human behavior. Nat Commun 2024; 15:637. [PMID: 38245516 PMCID: PMC10799948 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44571-7] [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: 02/12/2022] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Contextual cues and prior evidence guide human goal-directed behavior. The neurophysiological mechanisms that implement contextual priors to guide subsequent actions in the human brain remain unclear. Using intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG), we demonstrate that increasing uncertainty introduces a shift from a purely oscillatory to a mixed processing regime with an additional ramping component. Oscillatory and ramping dynamics reflect dissociable signatures, which likely differentially contribute to the encoding and transfer of different cognitive variables in a cue-guided motor task. The results support the idea that prefrontal activity encodes rules and ensuing actions in distinct coding subspaces, while theta oscillations synchronize the prefrontal-motor network, possibly to guide action execution. Collectively, our results reveal how two key features of large-scale neural population activity, namely continuous ramping dynamics and oscillatory synchrony, jointly support rule-guided human behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Weber
- Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Center for Neurology, University Medical Center Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for the Mechanisms of Mental Function and Dysfunction, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Anne-Kristin Solbakk
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Neurosurgery, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Neuropsychology, Helgeland Hospital, Mosjøen, Norway
| | - Alejandro O Blenkmann
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Anais Llorens
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Ingrid Funderud
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Neuropsychology, Helgeland Hospital, Mosjøen, Norway
| | - Sabine Leske
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Musicology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | | | | | - Robert T Knight
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Psychology, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Tor Endestad
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Randolph F Helfrich
- Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Center for Neurology, University Medical Center Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
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18
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Manley J, Demas J, Kim H, Traub FM, Vaziri A. Simultaneous, cortex-wide and cellular-resolution neuronal population dynamics reveal an unbounded scaling of dimensionality with neuron number. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.15.575721. [PMID: 38293036 PMCID: PMC10827059 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.15.575721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
The brain's remarkable properties arise from collective activity of millions of neurons. Widespread application of dimensionality reduction to multi-neuron recordings implies that neural dynamics can be approximated by low-dimensional "latent" signals reflecting neural computations. However, what would be the biological utility of such a redundant and metabolically costly encoding scheme and what is the appropriate resolution and scale of neural recording to understand brain function? Imaging the activity of one million neurons at cellular resolution and near-simultaneously across mouse cortex, we demonstrate an unbounded scaling of dimensionality with neuron number. While half of the neural variance lies within sixteen behavior-related dimensions, we find this unbounded scaling of dimensionality to correspond to an ever-increasing number of internal variables without immediate behavioral correlates. The activity patterns underlying these higher dimensions are fine-grained and cortex-wide, highlighting that large-scale recording is required to uncover the full neural substrates of internal and potentially cognitive processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason Manley
- Laboratory of Neurotechnology and Biophysics, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
- The Kavli Neural Systems Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Jeffrey Demas
- Laboratory of Neurotechnology and Biophysics, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
- The Kavli Neural Systems Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Hyewon Kim
- Laboratory of Neurotechnology and Biophysics, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Francisca Martínez Traub
- Laboratory of Neurotechnology and Biophysics, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Alipasha Vaziri
- Laboratory of Neurotechnology and Biophysics, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
- The Kavli Neural Systems Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
- Lead Contact
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19
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Yiling Y, Klon-Lipok J, Singer W. Joint encoding of stimulus and decision in monkey primary visual cortex. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhad420. [PMID: 37955641 PMCID: PMC10793581 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2023] [Revised: 10/15/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023] Open
Abstract
We investigated whether neurons in monkey primary visual cortex (V1) exhibit mixed selectivity for sensory input and behavioral choice. Parallel multisite spiking activity was recorded from area V1 of awake monkeys performing a delayed match-to-sample task. The monkeys had to make a forced choice decision of whether the test stimulus matched the preceding sample stimulus. The population responses evoked by the test stimulus contained information about both the identity of the stimulus and with some delay but before the onset of the motor response the forthcoming choice. The results of subspace identification analysis indicate that stimulus-specific and decision-related information coexists in separate subspaces of the high-dimensional population activity, and latency considerations suggest that the decision-related information is conveyed by top-down projections.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Yiling
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Deutschordenstraße 46, 60528 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Johanna Klon-Lipok
- Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Max-von-Laue-Str. 4, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Wolf Singer
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Deutschordenstraße 46, 60528 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Max-von-Laue-Str. 4, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, Ruth-Moufang-Str. 1, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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20
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Lin XX, Nieder A, Jacob SN. The neuronal implementation of representational geometry in primate prefrontal cortex. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadh8685. [PMID: 38091404 PMCID: PMC10848744 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adh8685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023]
Abstract
Modern neuroscience has seen the rise of a population-doctrine that represents cognitive variables using geometrical structures in activity space. Representational geometry does not, however, account for how individual neurons implement these representations. Leveraging the principle of sparse coding, we present a framework to dissect representational geometry into biologically interpretable components that retain links to single neurons. Applied to extracellular recordings from the primate prefrontal cortex in a working memory task with interference, the identified components revealed disentangled and sequential memory representations including the recovery of memory content after distraction, signals hidden to conventional analyses. Each component was contributed by small subpopulations of neurons with distinct spiking properties and response dynamics. Modeling showed that such sparse implementations are supported by recurrently connected circuits as in prefrontal cortex. The perspective of neuronal implementation links representational geometries to their cellular constituents, providing mechanistic insights into how neural systems encode and process information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Xiong Lin
- Translational Neurotechnology Laboratory, Department of Neurosurgery, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Germany
- Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany
| | | | - Simon N. Jacob
- Translational Neurotechnology Laboratory, Department of Neurosurgery, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technical University of Munich, Germany
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21
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Ceccarelli F, Ferrucci L, Londei F, Ramawat S, Brunamonti E, Genovesio A. Static and dynamic coding in distinct cell types during associative learning in the prefrontal cortex. Nat Commun 2023; 14:8325. [PMID: 38097560 PMCID: PMC10721651 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43712-2] [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: 03/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex maintains information in memory through static or dynamic population codes depending on task demands, but whether the population coding schemes used are learning-dependent and differ between cell types is currently unknown. We investigate the population coding properties and temporal stability of neurons recorded from male macaques in two mapping tasks during and after stimulus-response associative learning, and then we use a Strategy task with the same stimuli and responses as control. We identify a heterogeneous population coding for stimuli, responses, and novel associations: static for putative pyramidal cells and dynamic for putative interneurons that show the strongest selectivity for all the variables. The population coding of learned associations shows overall the highest stability driven by cell types, with interneurons changing from dynamic to static coding after successful learning. The results support that prefrontal microcircuitry expresses mixed population coding governed by cell types and changes its stability during associative learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Ceccarelli
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Ferrucci
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Londei
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, 00185, Rome, Italy
- PhD program in Behavioral Neuroscience, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Surabhi Ramawat
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Emiliano Brunamonti
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Aldo Genovesio
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, 00185, Rome, Italy.
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22
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Stroud JP, Watanabe K, Suzuki T, Stokes MG, Lengyel M. Optimal information loading into working memory explains dynamic coding in the prefrontal cortex. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2307991120. [PMID: 37983510 PMCID: PMC10691340 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2307991120] [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: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Working memory involves the short-term maintenance of information and is critical in many tasks. The neural circuit dynamics underlying working memory remain poorly understood, with different aspects of prefrontal cortical (PFC) responses explained by different putative mechanisms. By mathematical analysis, numerical simulations, and using recordings from monkey PFC, we investigate a critical but hitherto ignored aspect of working memory dynamics: information loading. We find that, contrary to common assumptions, optimal loading of information into working memory involves inputs that are largely orthogonal, rather than similar, to the late delay activities observed during memory maintenance, naturally leading to the widely observed phenomenon of dynamic coding in PFC. Using a theoretically principled metric, we show that PFC exhibits the hallmarks of optimal information loading. We also find that optimal information loading emerges as a general dynamical strategy in task-optimized recurrent neural networks. Our theory unifies previous, seemingly conflicting theories of memory maintenance based on attractor or purely sequential dynamics and reveals a normative principle underlying dynamic coding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jake P. Stroud
- Computational and Biological Learning Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 1PZ, United Kingdom
| | - Kei Watanabe
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Osaka565-0871, Japan
| | - Takafumi Suzuki
- Center for Information and Neural Networks, National Institute of Communication and Information Technology, Osaka565-0871, Japan
| | - Mark G. Stokes
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OxfordOX2 6GG, United Kingdom
- Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, OxfordOX3 9DU, United Kingdom
| | - Máté Lengyel
- Computational and Biological Learning Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 1PZ, United Kingdom
- Center for Cognitive Computation, Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University, BudapestH-1051, Hungary
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23
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Xu Y. Parietal-driven visual working memory representation in occipito-temporal cortex. Curr Biol 2023; 33:4516-4523.e5. [PMID: 37741281 PMCID: PMC10615870 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.08.080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Revised: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/25/2023]
Abstract
Human fMRI studies have documented extensively that the content of visual working memory (VWM) can be reliably decoded from fMRI voxel response patterns during the delay period in both the occipito-temporal cortex (OTC), including early visual areas (EVC), and the posterior parietal cortex (PPC).1,2,3,4 Further work has revealed that VWM signal in OTC is largely sustained by feedback from associative areas such as prefrontal cortex (PFC) and PPC.4,5,6,7,8,9 It is unclear, however, if feedback during VWM simply restores sensory representations initially formed in OTC or if it can reshape the representational content of OTC during VWM delay. Taking advantage of a recent finding showing that object representational geometry differs between OTC and PPC in perception,10 here we find that, during VWM delay, the object representational geometry in OTC becomes more aligned with that of PPC during perception than with itself during perception. This finding supports the role of feedback in shaping the content of VWM in OTC, with the VWM content of OTC more determined by information retained in PPC than by the sensory information initially encoded in OTC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaoda Xu
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, 100 College Street, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
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24
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Hajnal MA, Tran D, Szabó Z, Albert A, Safaryan K, Einstein M, Martelo MV, Polack PO, Golshani P, Orbán G. Shifts in attention drive context-dependent subspace encoding in anterior cingulate cortex during decision making. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.10.10.561737. [PMID: 37873364 PMCID: PMC10592791 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.10.561737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
Attention is a cognitive faculty that selects part of a larger set of percepts, driven by cues such as stimulus saliency, internal goals or priors. The enhancement of the attended representation and inhibition of distractors have been proposed as potential neural mechanisms driving this selection process. Yet, how attention operates when the cue has to be internally constructed from conflicting stimuli, decision rules, and reward contingencies, is less understood. Here we recorded from populations of neurons in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), an area implicated in ongoing error monitoring and correction during decision conflicts, in a challenging attention-shifting task. In this task, mice had to attend to the rewarded modality when presented identical auditory and visual stimuli in two contexts without direct external cues. In the ACC, the irrelevant stimulus continuously became less decodable than the relevant stimulus as the trial progressed to the decision point. This contrasted strongly with our previous findings in V1 where both relevant and irrelevant stimuli were equally decodable throughout the trial. Using analytical tools and a recurrent neural network (RNN) model, we found that the linearly independent representation of stimulus modalities in ACC was well suited to context-gated suppression of a stimulus modality. We demonstrated that the feedback structure of lateral connections in the RNN consisted of excitatory interactions between cell ensembles representing the same modality and mutual inhibition between cell ensembles representing distinct stimulus modalities. Using this RNN model showing signatures of context-gated suppression, we predicted that the level of contextual modulation of individual neurons should be correlated with their relative responsiveness to the two stimulus modalities used in the task. We verified this prediction in recordings from ACC neurons but not from recordings from V1 neurons. Therefore, ACC effectively operates on low-dimensional neuronal subspaces to combine stimulus related information with internal cues to drive actions under conflict.
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Affiliation(s)
- Márton Albert Hajnal
- Department of Computational Sciences, Wigner Research Center for Physics, Budapest, 1121, Hungary
| | - Duy Tran
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY 10461, United States
| | - Zsombor Szabó
- Department of Computational Sciences, Wigner Research Center for Physics, Budapest, 1121, Hungary
| | - Andrea Albert
- Department of Computational Sciences, Wigner Research Center for Physics, Budapest, 1121, Hungary
| | - Karen Safaryan
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
| | - Michael Einstein
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
| | - Mauricio Vallejo Martelo
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
| | - Pierre-Olivier Polack
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ 07102, United States
| | - Peyman Golshani
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
- Integrative Center for Learning and Memory, Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
- West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, CA 90073 Los Angeles, United States
| | - Gergő Orbán
- Department of Computational Sciences, Wigner Research Center for Physics, Budapest, 1121, Hungary
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25
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Tan PK, Tang C, Herikstad R, Pillay A, Libedinsky C. Distinct Lateral Prefrontal Regions Are Organized in an Anterior-Posterior Functional Gradient. J Neurosci 2023; 43:6564-6572. [PMID: 37607819 PMCID: PMC10513068 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0007-23.2023] [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: 01/03/2023] [Revised: 08/13/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) is composed of multiple anatomically defined regions involved in higher-order cognitive processes, including working memory and selective attention. It is organized in an anterior-posterior global gradient where posterior regions track changes in the environment, whereas anterior regions support abstract neural representations. However, it remains unknown if such a global gradient results from a smooth gradient that spans regions or an emergent property arising from functionally distinct regions, that is, an areal gradient. Here, we recorded single neurons in the dlPFC of nonhuman primates trained to perform a memory-guided saccade task with an interfering distractor and analyzed their physiological properties along the anterior-posterior axis. We found that these physiological properties were best described by an areal gradient. Further, population analyses revealed that there is a distributed representation of spatial information across the dlPFC. Our results validate the functional boundaries between anatomically defined dlPFC regions and highlight the distributed nature of computations underlying working memory across the dlPFC.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Activity of frontal lobe regions is known to possess an anterior-posterior functional gradient. However, it is not known whether this gradient is the result of individual brain regions organized in a gradient (like a staircase), or a smooth gradient that spans regions (like a slide). Analysis of physiological properties of individual neurons in the primate frontal regions suggest that individual regions are organized as a gradient, rather than a smooth gradient. At the population level, working memory was more prominent in posterior regions, although it was also present in anterior regions. This is consistent with the functional segregation of brain regions that is also observed in other systems (i.e., the visual system).
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Affiliation(s)
- Pin Kwang Tan
- Institute of Neuroscience, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712
| | - Cheng Tang
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
| | - Roger Herikstad
- The N1 Institute for Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117456
| | - Arunika Pillay
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham TW20 OEX, United Kingdom
| | - Camilo Libedinsky
- The N1 Institute for Health, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117456
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117570
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, National University of Singapore, Singapore 138632
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26
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Li HH, Curtis CE. Neural population dynamics of human working memory. Curr Biol 2023; 33:3775-3784.e4. [PMID: 37595590 PMCID: PMC10528783 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.07.067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/20/2023]
Abstract
The activity of neurons in macaque prefrontal cortex (PFC) persists during working memory (WM) delays, providing a mechanism for memory.1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11 Although theory,11,12 including formal network models,13,14 assumes that WM codes are stable over time, PFC neurons exhibit dynamics inconsistent with these assumptions.15,16,17,18,19 Recently, multivariate reanalyses revealed the coexistence of both stable and dynamic WM codes in macaque PFC.20,21,22,23 Human EEG studies also suggest that WM might contain dynamics.24,25 Nonetheless, how WM dynamics vary across the cortical hierarchy and which factors drive dynamics remain unknown. To elucidate WM dynamics in humans, we decoded WM content from fMRI responses across multiple cortical visual field maps.26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48 We found coexisting stable and dynamic neural representations of WM during a memory-guided saccade task. Geometric analyses of neural subspaces revealed that early visual cortex exhibited stronger dynamics than high-level visual and frontoparietal cortex. Leveraging models of population receptive fields, we visualized and made the neural dynamics interpretable. We found that during WM delays, V1 population initially encoded a narrowly tuned bump of activation centered on the peripheral memory target. Remarkably, this bump then spread inward toward foveal locations, forming a vector along the trajectory of the forthcoming memory-guided saccade. In other words, the neural code transformed into an abstraction of the stimulus more proximal to memory-guided behavior. Therefore, theories of WM must consider both sensory features and their task-relevant abstractions because changes in the format of memoranda naturally drive neural dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsin-Hung Li
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Clayton E Curtis
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA; Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
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27
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van den Boom BJG, Elhazaz-Fernandez A, Rasmussen PA, van Beest EH, Parthasarathy A, Denys D, Willuhn I. Unraveling the mechanisms of deep-brain stimulation of the internal capsule in a mouse model. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5385. [PMID: 37666830 PMCID: PMC10477328 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41026-x] [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: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Deep-brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective treatment for patients suffering from otherwise therapy-resistant psychiatric disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder. Modulation of cortico-striatal circuits has been suggested as a mechanism of action. To gain mechanistic insight, we monitored neuronal activity in cortico-striatal regions in a mouse model for compulsive behavior, while systematically varying clinically-relevant parameters of internal-capsule DBS. DBS showed dose-dependent effects on both brain and behavior: An increasing, yet balanced, number of excited and inhibited neurons was recruited, scattered throughout cortico-striatal regions, while excessive grooming decreased. Such neuronal recruitment did not alter basic brain function such as resting-state activity, and only occurred in awake animals, indicating a dependency on network activity. In addition to these widespread effects, we observed specific involvement of the medial orbitofrontal cortex in therapeutic outcomes, which was corroborated by optogenetic stimulation. Together, our findings provide mechanistic insight into how DBS exerts its therapeutic effects on compulsive behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bastijn J G van den Boom
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Alfredo Elhazaz-Fernandez
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Peter A Rasmussen
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Enny H van Beest
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Aishwarya Parthasarathy
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Damiaan Denys
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ingo Willuhn
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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28
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Weber J, Iwama G, Solbakk AK, Blenkmann AO, Larsson PG, Ivanovic J, Knight RT, Endestad T, Helfrich R. Subspace partitioning in the human prefrontal cortex resolves cognitive interference. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2220523120. [PMID: 37399398 PMCID: PMC10334727 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2220523120] [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: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 07/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The human prefrontal cortex (PFC) constitutes the structural basis underlying flexible cognitive control, where mixed-selective neural populations encode multiple task features to guide subsequent behavior. The mechanisms by which the brain simultaneously encodes multiple task-relevant variables while minimizing interference from task-irrelevant features remain unknown. Leveraging intracranial recordings from the human PFC, we first demonstrate that competition between coexisting representations of past and present task variables incurs a behavioral switch cost. Our results reveal that this interference between past and present states in the PFC is resolved through coding partitioning into distinct low-dimensional neural states; thereby strongly attenuating behavioral switch costs. In sum, these findings uncover a fundamental coding mechanism that constitutes a central building block of flexible cognitive control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Weber
- Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Center for Neurology, University Medical Center Tübingen, 72076Tübingen, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for the Mechanisms of Mental Function and Dysfunction, University of Tübingen, 72076Tübingen, Germany
| | - Gabriela Iwama
- Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Center for Neurology, University Medical Center Tübingen, 72076Tübingen, Germany
- International Max Planck Research School for the Mechanisms of Mental Function and Dysfunction, University of Tübingen, 72076Tübingen, Germany
| | - Anne-Kristin Solbakk
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, 0373Oslo, Norway
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, 0373Oslo, Norway
- Department of Neurosurgery, Oslo University Hospital, 0372Oslo, Norway
- Department of Neuropsychology, Helgeland Hospital, 8657Mosjøen, Norway
| | - Alejandro O. Blenkmann
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, 0373Oslo, Norway
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, 0373Oslo, Norway
| | - Pal G. Larsson
- Department of Neurosurgery, Oslo University Hospital, 0372Oslo, Norway
| | - Jugoslav Ivanovic
- Department of Neurosurgery, Oslo University Hospital, 0372Oslo, Norway
| | - Robert T. Knight
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA94720
- Department of Psychology, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA94720
| | - Tor Endestad
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, 0373Oslo, Norway
- RITMO Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Rhythm, Time and Motion, University of Oslo, 0373Oslo, Norway
| | - Randolph Helfrich
- Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Center for Neurology, University Medical Center Tübingen, 72076Tübingen, Germany
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29
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Fine JM, Maisson DJN, Yoo SBM, Cash-Padgett TV, Wang MZ, Zimmermann J, Hayden BY. Abstract Value Encoding in Neural Populations But Not Single Neurons. J Neurosci 2023; 43:4650-4663. [PMID: 37208178 PMCID: PMC10286943 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1954-22.2023] [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: 10/18/2022] [Revised: 05/07/2023] [Accepted: 05/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023] Open
Abstract
An important open question in neuroeconomics is how the brain represents the value of offers in a way that is both abstract (allowing for comparison) and concrete (preserving the details of the factors that influence value). Here, we examine neuronal responses to risky and safe options in five brain regions that putatively encode value in male macaques. Surprisingly, we find no detectable overlap in the neural codes used for risky and safe options, even when the options have identical subjective values (as revealed by preference) in any of the regions. Indeed, responses are weakly correlated and occupy distinct (semi-orthogonal) encoding subspaces. Notably, however, these subspaces are linked through a linear transform of their constituent encodings, a property that allows for comparison of dissimilar option types. This encoding scheme allows these regions to multiplex decision related processes: they can encode the detailed factors that influence offer value (here, risky and safety) but also directly compare dissimilar offer types. Together these results suggest a neuronal basis for the qualitatively different psychological properties of risky and safe options and highlight the power of population geometry to resolve outstanding problems in neural coding.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT To make economic choices, we must have some mechanism for comparing dissimilar offers. We propose that the brain uses distinct neural codes for risky and safe offers, but that these codes are linearly transformable. This encoding scheme has the dual advantage of allowing for comparison across offer types while preserving information about offer type, which in turn allows for flexibility in changing circumstances. We show that responses to risky and safe offers exhibit these predicted properties in five different reward-sensitive regions. Together, these results highlight the power of population coding principles for solving representation problems in economic choice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin M Fine
- Department of Neuroscience and Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
| | - David J-N Maisson
- Department of Neuroscience and Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
| | - Seng Bum Michael Yoo
- Department of Neuroscience and Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
| | - Tyler V Cash-Padgett
- Department of Neuroscience and Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
| | - Maya Zhe Wang
- Department of Neuroscience and Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
| | - Jan Zimmermann
- Department of Neuroscience and Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
| | - Benjamin Y Hayden
- Department of Neuroscience and Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455
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30
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Ma X, Wang Z, Lou S, Guo H, Yang Y. Prelimbic neuron assemblies with delayed activation encode the economic decision-making process in a bandit game. Behav Brain Res 2023; 447:114419. [PMID: 37023860 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2023.114419] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2023] [Revised: 03/05/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023]
Abstract
The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is critical to an animal's value-based decision-making process. However, due to heterogeneity of local mPFC neurons, which neuron group and how it contributes to the alteration of the animal's decision is yet to be explored. And the effect of empty reward in this process is often neglected. Here, we adopted a two-port bandit game paradigm for mice and applied synchronized calcium imaging to the prelimbic area of the mPFC. The results showed that neurons recruited in the bandit game exhibit three distinct firing patterns. Specially, neurons with delayed activation (deA neurons1) carried exclusive information on reward type and changes of choice value. We demonstrated that these deA neurons were essential for the construction of choice-outcome correlation and the trial-to-trial modification of decision. Additionally, we found that in a long-term gambling game, members of the deA neuron assembly were dynamically shifting while maintaining the function, and the importance of empty reward feedbacks were gradually elevated to the same level as reward. Together, these results revealed a vital role for prelimbic deA neurons in the gambling tasks and a new perspective on the encoding of economic decision-making.
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31
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Bergoin R, Torcini A, Deco G, Quoy M, Zamora-López G. Inhibitory neurons control the consolidation of neural assemblies via adaptation to selective stimuli. Sci Rep 2023; 13:6949. [PMID: 37117236 PMCID: PMC10147639 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34165-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 04/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Brain circuits display modular architecture at different scales of organization. Such neural assemblies are typically associated to functional specialization but the mechanisms leading to their emergence and consolidation still remain elusive. In this paper we investigate the role of inhibition in structuring new neural assemblies driven by the entrainment to various inputs. In particular, we focus on the role of partially synchronized dynamics for the creation and maintenance of structural modules in neural circuits by considering a network of excitatory and inhibitory [Formula: see text]-neurons with plastic Hebbian synapses. The learning process consists of an entrainment to temporally alternating stimuli that are applied to separate regions of the network. This entrainment leads to the emergence of modular structures. Contrary to common practice in artificial neural networks-where the acquired weights are typically frozen after the learning session-we allow for synaptic adaptation even after the learning phase. We find that the presence of inhibitory neurons in the network is crucial for the emergence and the post-learning consolidation of the modular structures. Indeed networks made of purely excitatory neurons or of neurons not respecting Dale's principle are unable to form or to maintain the modular architecture induced by the stimuli. We also demonstrate that the number of inhibitory neurons in the network is directly related to the maximal number of neural assemblies that can be consolidated, supporting the idea that inhibition has a direct impact on the memory capacity of the neural network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raphaël Bergoin
- ETIS, UMR 8051, ENSEA, CY Cergy Paris Université, CNRS, 6 Av. du Ponceau, 95000, Cergy-Pontoise, France.
- Center for Brain and Cognition, Department of Information and Communications Technologies, Pompeu Fabra University, Carrer Ramón Trias i Fargas 25-27, 08005, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Alessandro Torcini
- Laboratoire de Physique Théorique et Modélisation, UMR 8089, CY Cergy Paris Université, CNRS, 2 Av. Adolphe Chauvin, 95032, Cergy-Pontoise, France
| | - Gustavo Deco
- Center for Brain and Cognition, Department of Information and Communications Technologies, Pompeu Fabra University, Carrer Ramón Trias i Fargas 25-27, 08005, Barcelona, Spain
- Instituciò Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Passeig Lluis Companys 23, 08010, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mathias Quoy
- ETIS, UMR 8051, ENSEA, CY Cergy Paris Université, CNRS, 6 Av. du Ponceau, 95000, Cergy-Pontoise, France
- IPAL, CNRS, 1 Fusionopolis Way #21-01 Connexis (South Tower), Singapore, 138632, Singapore
| | - Gorka Zamora-López
- Center for Brain and Cognition, Department of Information and Communications Technologies, Pompeu Fabra University, Carrer Ramón Trias i Fargas 25-27, 08005, Barcelona, Spain
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32
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Domanski APF, Kucewicz MT, Russo E, Tricklebank MD, Robinson ESJ, Durstewitz D, Jones MW. Distinct hippocampal-prefrontal neural assemblies coordinate memory encoding, maintenance, and recall. Curr Biol 2023; 33:1220-1236.e4. [PMID: 36898372 PMCID: PMC10728550 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.02.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023]
Abstract
Short-term memory enables incorporation of recent experience into subsequent decision-making. This processing recruits both the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, where neurons encode task cues, rules, and outcomes. However, precisely which information is carried when, and by which neurons, remains unclear. Using population decoding of activity in rat medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and dorsal hippocampal CA1, we confirm that mPFC populations lead in maintaining sample information across delays of an operant non-match to sample task, despite individual neurons firing only transiently. During sample encoding, distinct mPFC subpopulations joined distributed CA1-mPFC cell assemblies hallmarked by 4-5 Hz rhythmic modulation; CA1-mPFC assemblies re-emerged during choice episodes but were not 4-5 Hz modulated. Delay-dependent errors arose when attenuated rhythmic assembly activity heralded collapse of sustained mPFC encoding. Our results map component processes of memory-guided decisions onto heterogeneous CA1-mPFC subpopulations and the dynamics of physiologically distinct, distributed cell assemblies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksander P F Domanski
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, UK; The Alan Turing Institute, British Library, 96 Euston Rd, London, UK; The Francis Crick Institute, 1 Midland Road, London, UK
| | - Michal T Kucewicz
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, UK; BioTechMed Center, Brain & Mind Electrophysiology Laboratory, Multimedia Systems Department, Faculty of Electronics, Telecommunications and Informatics, Gdansk University of Technology, 80-233 Gdansk, Poland.
| | - Eleonora Russo
- Department of Theoretical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159 Mannheim, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University, 55131 Mainz, Germany
| | - Mark D Tricklebank
- Centre for Neuroimaging Science, King's College London, Denmark Hill, London SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Emma S J Robinson
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, UK
| | - Daniel Durstewitz
- Department of Theoretical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Matt W Jones
- School of Physiology, Pharmacology & Neuroscience, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Bristol, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TD, UK
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33
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Libedinsky C. Comparing representations and computations in single neurons versus neural networks. Trends Cogn Sci 2023; 27:517-527. [PMID: 37005114 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Revised: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 03/10/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
Abstract
Single-neuron-level explanations have been the gold standard in neuroscience for decades. Recently, however, neural-network-level explanations have become increasingly popular. This increase in popularity is driven by the fact that the analysis of neural networks can solve problems that cannot be addressed by analyzing neurons independently. In this opinion article, I argue that while both frameworks employ the same general logic to link physical and mental phenomena, in many cases the neural network framework provides better explanatory objects to understand representations and computations related to mental phenomena. I discuss what constitutes a mechanistic explanation in neural systems, provide examples, and conclude by highlighting a number of the challenges and considerations associated with the use of analyses of neural networks to study brain function.
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34
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Flesch T, Saxe A, Summerfield C. Continual task learning in natural and artificial agents. Trends Neurosci 2023; 46:199-210. [PMID: 36682991 PMCID: PMC10914671 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2022.12.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2022] [Revised: 12/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
How do humans and other animals learn new tasks? A wave of brain recording studies has investigated how neural representations change during task learning, with a focus on how tasks can be acquired and coded in ways that minimise mutual interference. We review recent work that has explored the geometry and dimensionality of neural task representations in neocortex, and computational models that have exploited these findings to understand how the brain may partition knowledge between tasks. We discuss how ideas from machine learning, including those that combine supervised and unsupervised learning, are helping neuroscientists understand how natural tasks are learned and coded in biological brains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timo Flesch
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Andrew Saxe
- Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit & Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, UCL, London, UK.
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35
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Lingering Neural Representations of Past Task Features Adversely Affect Future Behavior. J Neurosci 2023; 43:282-292. [PMID: 36639905 PMCID: PMC9838716 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0464-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2022] [Revised: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
During goal-directed behavior, humans purportedly form and retrieve so-called event files, conjunctive representations that link context-specific information about stimuli, their associated actions, and the expected action outcomes. The automatic formation, and later retrieval, of such conjunctive representations can substantially facilitate efficient action selection. However, recent behavioral work suggests that these event files may also adversely affect future behavior, especially when action requirements have changed between successive instances of the same task context (e.g., during task switching). Here, we directly tested this hypothesis with a recently developed method for measuring the strength of the neural representations of context-specific stimulus-action conjunctions (i.e., event files). Thirty-five male and female adult humans performed a task switching paradigm while undergoing EEG recordings. Replicating previous behavioral work, we found that changes in action requirements between two spaced repetitions of the same task incurred a significant reaction time cost. By combining multivariate pattern analysis and representational similarity analysis of the EEG recordings with linear mixed-effects modeling of trial-to-trial behavior, we then found that the magnitude of this behavioral cost was directly proportional to the strength of the conjunctive representation formed during the most recent previous exposure to the same task, that is, the most recent event file. This confirms that the formation of conjunctive representations of specific task contexts, stimuli, and actions in the brain can indeed adversely affect future behavior. Moreover, these findings demonstrate the potential of neural decoding of complex task set representations toward the prediction of behavior beyond the current trial.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Understanding how the human brain organizes individual components of complex tasks is paramount for understanding higher-order cognition. During complex tasks, the brain forms conjunctive representations that link individual task features (contexts, stimuli, actions), which aids future performance of the same task. However, this can have adverse effects when the required sequence of actions within a task changes. We decoded conjunctive representations from electroencephalographic recordings during a task that included frequent changes to the rules determining the response. Indeed, stronger initial conjunctive representations predicted significant future response-time costs when task contexts repeated with changed response requirements. Showing that the formation of conjunctive task representations can have negative future effects generates novel insights into complex behavior and cognition, including task switching, planning, and problem solving.
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36
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Kozachkov L, Tauber J, Lundqvist M, Brincat SL, Slotine JJ, Miller EK. Robust and brain-like working memory through short-term synaptic plasticity. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1010776. [PMID: 36574424 PMCID: PMC9829165 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Revised: 01/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Working memory has long been thought to arise from sustained spiking/attractor dynamics. However, recent work has suggested that short-term synaptic plasticity (STSP) may help maintain attractor states over gaps in time with little or no spiking. To determine if STSP endows additional functional advantages, we trained artificial recurrent neural networks (RNNs) with and without STSP to perform an object working memory task. We found that RNNs with and without STSP were able to maintain memories despite distractors presented in the middle of the memory delay. However, RNNs with STSP showed activity that was similar to that seen in the cortex of a non-human primate (NHP) performing the same task. By contrast, RNNs without STSP showed activity that was less brain-like. Further, RNNs with STSP were more robust to network degradation than RNNs without STSP. These results show that STSP can not only help maintain working memories, it also makes neural networks more robust and brain-like.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leo Kozachkov
- The Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Nonlinear Systems Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - John Tauber
- The Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Mikael Lundqvist
- The Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Scott L. Brincat
- The Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Jean-Jacques Slotine
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Nonlinear Systems Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Earl K. Miller
- The Picower Institute for Learning & Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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37
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Courtney SM. 'Working memory is a distributed dynamic process'. Cogn Neurosci 2022; 13:208-209. [PMID: 36200905 DOI: 10.1080/17588928.2022.2131747] [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: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
I propose working memory be considered, not as a process for static maintenance in a particular set of brain regions, but rather as a dynamic process unfolding to serve future needs. Brain regions such as the hippocampus, or sensory and motor regions, may be necessarily recruited during this process, depending on task demands. Information stored in working memory is thus a distributed representation reflected in the structural and functional state of multiple brain areas and the trajectory of that state over time. Recent research is discussed in support of this view.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan M Courtney
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
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38
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Vaccari FE, Diomedi S, Filippini M, Hadjidimitrakis K, Fattori P. New insights on single-neuron selectivity in the era of population-level approaches. Front Integr Neurosci 2022; 16:929052. [PMID: 36249900 PMCID: PMC9554653 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2022.929052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In the past, neuroscience was focused on individual neurons seen as the functional units of the nervous system, but this approach fell short over time to account for new experimental evidence, especially for what concerns associative and motor cortices. For this reason and thanks to great technological advances, a part of modern research has shifted the focus from the responses of single neurons to the activity of neural ensembles, now considered the real functional units of the system. However, on a microscale, individual neurons remain the computational components of these networks, thus the study of population dynamics cannot prescind from studying also individual neurons which represent their natural substrate. In this new framework, ideas such as the capability of single cells to encode a specific stimulus (neural selectivity) may become obsolete and need to be profoundly revised. One step in this direction was made by introducing the concept of “mixed selectivity,” the capacity of single cells to integrate multiple variables in a flexible way, allowing individual neurons to participate in different networks. In this review, we outline the most important features of mixed selectivity and we also present recent works demonstrating its presence in the associative areas of the posterior parietal cortex. Finally, in discussing these findings, we present some open questions that could be addressed by future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Stefano Diomedi
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Matteo Filippini
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Alma Mater Research Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- *Correspondence: Patrizia Fattori
| | | | - Patrizia Fattori
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Alma Mater Research Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Matteo Filippini
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39
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Padilla-Coreano N, Tye KM, Zelikowsky M. Dynamic influences on the neural encoding of social valence. Nat Rev Neurosci 2022; 23:535-550. [PMID: 35831442 PMCID: PMC9997616 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-022-00609-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Social signals can serve as potent emotional triggers with powerful impacts on processes from cognition to valence processing. How are social signals dynamically and flexibly associated with positive or negative valence? How do our past social experiences and present social standing shape our motivation to seek or avoid social contact? We discuss a model in which social attributes, social history, social memory, social rank and social isolation can flexibly influence valence assignment to social stimuli, termed here as 'social valence'. We emphasize how the brain encodes each of these four factors and highlight the neural circuits and mechanisms that play a part in the perception of social attributes, social memory and social rank, as well as how these factors affect valence systems associated with social stimuli. We highlight the impact of social isolation, dissecting the neural and behavioural mechanisms that mediate the effects of acute versus prolonged periods of social isolation. Importantly, we discuss conceptual models that may account for the potential shift in valence of social stimuli from positive to negative as the period of isolation extends in time. Collectively, this Review identifies factors that control the formation and attribution of social valence - integrating diverse areas of research and emphasizing their unique contributions to the categorization of social stimuli as positive or negative.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nancy Padilla-Coreano
- Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Kay M Tye
- HHMI-Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA.
| | - Moriel Zelikowsky
- Department of Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
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40
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Digital computing through randomness and order in neural networks. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2115335119. [PMID: 35947616 PMCID: PMC9388095 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2115335119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
We propose that coding and decoding in the brain are achieved through digital computation using three principles: relative ordinal coding of inputs, random connections between neurons, and belief voting. Due to randomization and despite the coarseness of the relative codes, we show that these principles are sufficient for coding and decoding sequences with error-free reconstruction. In particular, the number of neurons needed grows linearly with the size of the input repertoire growing exponentially. We illustrate our model by reconstructing sequences with repertoires on the order of a billion items. From this, we derive the Shannon equations for the capacity limit to learn and transfer information in the neural population, which is then generalized to any type of neural network. Following the maximum entropy principle of efficient coding, we show that random connections serve to decorrelate redundant information in incoming signals, creating more compact codes for neurons and therefore, conveying a larger amount of information. Henceforth, despite the unreliability of the relative codes, few neurons become necessary to discriminate the original signal without error. Finally, we discuss the significance of this digital computation model regarding neurobiological findings in the brain and more generally with artificial intelligence algorithms, with a view toward a neural information theory and the design of digital neural networks.
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41
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Wan Q, Menendez JA, Postle BR. Priority-based transformations of stimulus representation in visual working memory. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1009062. [PMID: 35653404 PMCID: PMC9197029 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Revised: 06/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
How does the brain prioritize among the contents of working memory (WM) to appropriately guide behavior? Previous work, employing inverted encoding modeling (IEM) of electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) datasets, has shown that unprioritized memory items (UMI) are actively represented in the brain, but in a “flipped”, or opposite, format compared to prioritized memory items (PMI). To acquire independent evidence for such a priority-based representational transformation, and to explore underlying mechanisms, we trained recurrent neural networks (RNNs) with a long short-term memory (LSTM) architecture to perform a 2-back WM task. Visualization of LSTM hidden layer activity using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) confirmed that stimulus representations undergo a representational transformation–consistent with a flip—while transitioning from the functional status of UMI to PMI. Demixed (d)PCA of the same data identified two representational trajectories, one each within a UMI subspace and a PMI subspace, both undergoing a reversal of stimulus coding axes. dPCA of data from an EEG dataset also provided evidence for priority-based transformations of the representational code, albeit with some differences. This type of transformation could allow for retention of unprioritized information in WM while preventing it from interfering with concurrent behavior. The results from this initial exploration suggest that the algorithmic details of how this transformation is carried out by RNNs, versus by the human brain, may differ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quan Wan
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Jorge A. Menendez
- Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Bradley R. Postle
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, United States of America
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42
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Miller CT, Gire D, Hoke K, Huk AC, Kelley D, Leopold DA, Smear MC, Theunissen F, Yartsev M, Niell CM. Natural behavior is the language of the brain. Curr Biol 2022; 32:R482-R493. [PMID: 35609550 PMCID: PMC10082559 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.03.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The breadth and complexity of natural behaviors inspires awe. Understanding how our perceptions, actions, and internal thoughts arise from evolved circuits in the brain has motivated neuroscientists for generations. Researchers have traditionally approached this question by focusing on stereotyped behaviors, either natural or trained, in a limited number of model species. This approach has allowed for the isolation and systematic study of specific brain operations, which has greatly advanced our understanding of the circuits involved. At the same time, the emphasis on experimental reductionism has left most aspects of the natural behaviors that have shaped the evolution of the brain largely unexplored. However, emerging technologies and analytical tools make it possible to comprehensively link natural behaviors to neural activity across a broad range of ethological contexts and timescales, heralding new modes of neuroscience focused on natural behaviors. Here we describe a three-part roadmap that aims to leverage the wealth of behaviors in their naturally occurring distributions, linking their variance with that of underlying neural processes to understand how the brain is able to successfully navigate the everyday challenges of animals' social and ecological landscapes. To achieve this aim, experimenters must harness one challenge faced by all neurobiological systems, namely variability, in order to gain new insights into the language of the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cory T Miller
- Cortical Systems and Behavior Laboratory, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92039, USA.
| | - David Gire
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Guthrie Hall, Seattle, WA 98105, USA
| | - Kim Hoke
- Department of Biology, Colorado State University, 1878 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA
| | - Alexander C Huk
- Center for Perceptual Systems, Departments of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Texas at Austin, 116 Inner Campus Drive, Austin, TX 78712, USA
| | - Darcy Kelley
- Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, 1212 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - David A Leopold
- Section of Cognitive Neurophysiology and Imaging, National Institute of Mental Health, 49 Convent Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Matthew C Smear
- Department of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, 1227 University Street, Eugene, OR 97403, USA
| | - Frederic Theunissen
- Department of Psychology, University of California Berkeley, 2121 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Michael Yartsev
- Department of Bioengineering, University of California Berkeley, 306 Stanley Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Cristopher M Niell
- Department of Biology and Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, 222 Huestis Hall, Eugene, OR 97403, USA.
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43
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Sheng J, Zhang L, Liu C, Liu J, Feng J, Zhou Y, Hu H, Xue G. Higher-dimensional neural representations predict better episodic memory. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabm3829. [PMID: 35442734 PMCID: PMC9020666 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abm3829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Episodic memory enables humans to encode and later vividly retrieve information about our rich experiences, yet the neural representations that support this mental capacity are poorly understood. Using a large fMRI dataset (n = 468) of face-name associative memory tasks and principal component analysis to examine neural representational dimensionality (RD), we found that the human brain maintained a high-dimensional representation of faces through hierarchical representation within and beyond the face-selective regions. Critically, greater RD was associated with better subsequent memory performance both within and across participants, and this association was specific to episodic memory but not general cognitive abilities. Furthermore, the frontoparietal activities could suppress the shared low-dimensional fluctuations and reduce the correlations of local neural responses, resulting in greater RD. RD was not associated with the degree of item-specific pattern similarity, and it made complementary contributions to episodic memory. These results provide a mechanistic understanding of the role of RD in supporting accurate episodic memory.
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44
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Jovanovic V, Fishbein AR, de la Mothe L, Lee KF, Miller CT. Behavioral context affects social signal representations within single primate prefrontal cortex neurons. Neuron 2022; 110:1318-1326.e4. [PMID: 35108498 PMCID: PMC10064486 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.01.020] [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: 11/01/2021] [Revised: 12/19/2021] [Accepted: 01/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
We tested whether social signal processing in more traditional, head-restrained contexts is representative of the putative natural analog-social communication-by comparing responses to vocalizations within individual neurons in marmoset prefrontal cortex (PFC) across a series of behavioral contexts ranging from traditional to naturalistic. Although vocalization-responsive neurons were evident in all contexts, cross-context consistency was notably limited. A response to these social signals when subjects were head-restrained was not predictive of a comparable neural response to the identical vocalizations during natural communication. This pattern was evident both within individual neurons and at a population level, as PFC activity could be reliably decoded for the behavioral context in which vocalizations were heard. These results suggest that neural representations of social signals in primate PFC are not static but highly flexible and likely reflect how nuances of the dynamic behavioral contexts affect the perception of these signals and what they communicate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladimir Jovanovic
- Cortical Systems and Behavior Laboratory, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Adam Ryan Fishbein
- Cortical Systems and Behavior Laboratory, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Lisa de la Mothe
- Department of Psychology, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN 37209, USA
| | - Kuo-Fen Lee
- Laboratory for Peptide Biology, Salk Institute, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
| | - Cory Thomas Miller
- Cortical Systems and Behavior Laboratory, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA; Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
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45
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Wang T, Chen Y, Cui H. From Parametric Representation to Dynamical System: Shifting Views of the Motor Cortex in Motor Control. Neurosci Bull 2022; 38:796-808. [PMID: 35298779 PMCID: PMC9276910 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-022-00832-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/01/2022] Open
Abstract
In contrast to traditional representational perspectives in which the motor cortex is involved in motor control via neuronal preference for kinetics and kinematics, a dynamical system perspective emerging in the last decade views the motor cortex as a dynamical machine that generates motor commands by autonomous temporal evolution. In this review, we first look back at the history of the representational and dynamical perspectives and discuss their explanatory power and controversy from both empirical and computational points of view. Here, we aim to reconcile the above perspectives, and evaluate their theoretical impact, future direction, and potential applications in brain-machine interfaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianwei Wang
- Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligent Technology, Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.,Shanghai Center for Brain and Brain-inspired Intelligence Technology, Shanghai, 200031, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Yun Chen
- Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligent Technology, Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.,Shanghai Center for Brain and Brain-inspired Intelligence Technology, Shanghai, 200031, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - He Cui
- Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligent Technology, Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China. .,Shanghai Center for Brain and Brain-inspired Intelligence Technology, Shanghai, 200031, China. .,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
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46
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Dang W, Li S, Pu S, Qi XL, Constantinidis C. More Prominent Nonlinear Mixed Selectivity in the Dorsolateral Prefrontal than Posterior Parietal Cortex. eNeuro 2022; 9:ENEURO.0517-21.2022. [PMID: 35422418 PMCID: PMC9045476 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0517-21.2022] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Revised: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurons in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC) are activated by different cognitive tasks and respond differently to the same stimuli depending on task. The conjunctive representations of multiple tasks in nonlinear fashion in single neuron activity, is known as nonlinear mixed selectivity (NMS). Here, we compared NMS in a working memory task in areas 8a and 46 of the dlPFC and 7a and lateral intraparietal cortex (LIP) of the PPC in macaque monkeys. NMS neurons were more frequent in dlPFC than in PPC and this was attributed to more cells gaining selectivity in the course of a trial. Additionally, in our task, the subjects' behavioral performance improved within a behavioral session as they learned the session-specific statistics of the task. The magnitude of NMS in the dlPFC also increased as a function of time within a single session. On the other hand, we observed minimal rotation of population responses and no appreciable differences in NMS between correct and error trials in either area. Our results provide direct evidence demonstrating a specialization in NMS between dlPFC and PPC and reveal mechanisms of neural selectivity in areas recruited in working memory tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenhao Dang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235
| | - Sihai Li
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157
| | - Shusen Pu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235
| | - Xue-Lian Qi
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157
| | - Christos Constantinidis
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235
- Neuroscience Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232
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47
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Kikumoto A, Sameshima T, Mayr U. The Role of Conjunctive Representations in Stopping Actions. Psychol Sci 2022; 33:325-338. [PMID: 35108148 PMCID: PMC9096461 DOI: 10.1177/09567976211034505] [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: 12/11/2020] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Action selection appears to rely on conjunctive representations that nonlinearly integrate task-relevant features. Here, we tested a corollary of this hypothesis: that such representations are also intricately involved during attempts to stop an action-a key aspect of action regulation. We tracked both conjunctive representations and those of constituent rule, stimulus, or response features through trial-by-trial representational similarity analysis of the electroencephalogram signal in a combined rule-selection and stop-signal paradigm. Across two experiments with student participants (N = 57), we found (a) that the strength of decoded conjunctive representations prior to the stop signal uniquely predicted trial-by-trial stopping success (Experiment 1) and (b) that these representations were selectively suppressed following the onset of the stop signal (Experiments 1 and 2). We conclude that conjunctive representations are key to successful action execution and therefore need to be suppressed when an intended action is no longer appropriate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Atsushi Kikumoto
- Department of Cognitive,
Linguistic & Psychological Sciences, Brown University
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science,
Saitama, Japan
| | | | - Ulrich Mayr
- Department of Psychology,
University of Oregon
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48
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Rezayat E, Clark K, Dehaqani MRA, Noudoost B. Dependence of Working Memory on Coordinated Activity Across Brain Areas. Front Syst Neurosci 2022; 15:787316. [PMID: 35095433 PMCID: PMC8792503 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2021.787316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Neural signatures of working memory (WM) have been reported in numerous brain areas, suggesting a distributed neural substrate for memory maintenance. In the current manuscript we provide an updated review of the literature focusing on intracranial neurophysiological recordings during WM in primates. Such signatures of WM include changes in firing rate or local oscillatory power within an area, along with measures of coordinated activity between areas based on synchronization between oscillations. In comparing the ability of various neural signatures in any brain area to predict behavioral performance, we observe that synchrony between areas is more frequently and robustly correlated with WM performance than any of the within-area neural signatures. We further review the evidence for alteration of inter-areal synchrony in brain disorders, consistent with an important role for such synchrony during behavior. Additionally, results of causal studies indicate that manipulating synchrony across areas is especially effective at influencing WM task performance. Each of these lines of research supports the critical role of inter-areal synchrony in WM. Finally, we propose a framework for interactions between prefrontal and sensory areas during WM, incorporating a range of experimental findings and offering an explanation for the observed link between intra-areal measures and WM performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ehsan Rezayat
- School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Tehran, Iran
| | - Kelsey Clark
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
| | - Mohammad-Reza A. Dehaqani
- School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Tehran, Iran
- Cognitive Systems Laboratory, Control and Intelligent Processing Center of Excellence (CIPCE), School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Behrad Noudoost
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
- *Correspondence: Behrad Noudoost,
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49
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Abstract
Working memory (WM) is the ability to maintain and manipulate information in the conscious mind over a timescale of seconds. This ability is thought to be maintained through the persistent discharges of neurons in a network of brain areas centered on the prefrontal cortex, as evidenced by neurophysiological recordings in nonhuman primates, though both the localization and the neural basis of WM has been a matter of debate in recent years. Neural correlates of WM are evident in species other than primates, including rodents and corvids. A specialized network of excitatory and inhibitory neurons, aided by neuromodulatory influences of dopamine, is critical for the maintenance of neuronal activity. Limitations in WM capacity and duration, as well as its enhancement during development, can be attributed to properties of neural activity and circuits. Changes in these factors can be observed through training-induced improvements and in pathological impairments. WM thus provides a prototypical cognitive function whose properties can be tied to the spiking activity of brain neurons. © 2021 American Physiological Society. Compr Physiol 11:1-41, 2021.
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Affiliation(s)
- Russell J Jaffe
- Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
| | - Christos Constantinidis
- Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Neuroscience Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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50
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Zhou Y, Rosen MC, Swaminathan SK, Masse NY, Zhu O, Freedman DJ. Distributed functions of prefrontal and parietal cortices during sequential categorical decisions. eLife 2021; 10:e58782. [PMID: 34491201 PMCID: PMC8423442 DOI: 10.7554/elife.58782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2020] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Comparing sequential stimuli is crucial for guiding complex behaviors. To understand mechanisms underlying sequential decisions, we compared neuronal responses in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), the lateral intraparietal (LIP), and medial intraparietal (MIP) areas in monkeys trained to decide whether sequentially presented stimuli were from matching (M) or nonmatching (NM) categories. We found that PFC leads M/NM decisions, whereas LIP and MIP appear more involved in stimulus evaluation and motor planning, respectively. Compared to LIP, PFC showed greater nonlinear integration of currently visible and remembered stimuli, which correlated with the monkeys' M/NM decisions. Furthermore, multi-module recurrent networks trained on the same task exhibited key features of PFC and LIP encoding, including nonlinear integration in the PFC-like module, which was causally involved in the networks' decisions. Network analysis found that nonlinear units have stronger and more widespread connections with input, output, and within-area units, indicating putative circuit-level mechanisms for sequential decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Zhou
- Department of Neurobiology, The University of ChicagoChicagoUnited States
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Matthew C Rosen
- Department of Neurobiology, The University of ChicagoChicagoUnited States
| | | | - Nicolas Y Masse
- Department of Neurobiology, The University of ChicagoChicagoUnited States
| | - Ou Zhu
- Department of Neurobiology, The University of ChicagoChicagoUnited States
| | - David J Freedman
- Department of Neurobiology, The University of ChicagoChicagoUnited States
- Neuroscience Institute, The University of ChicagoChicagoUnited States
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