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Khilkevich A, Lohse M, Low R, Orsolic I, Bozic T, Windmill P, Mrsic-Flogel TD. Brain-wide dynamics linking sensation to action during decision-making. Nature 2024:10.1038/s41586-024-07908-w. [PMID: 39261727 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07908-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 08/05/2024] [Indexed: 09/13/2024]
Abstract
Perceptual decisions rely on learned associations between sensory evidence and appropriate actions, involving the filtering and integration of relevant inputs to prepare and execute timely responses1,2. Despite the distributed nature of task-relevant representations3-10, it remains unclear how transformations between sensory input, evidence integration, motor planning and execution are orchestrated across brain areas and dimensions of neural activity. Here we addressed this question by recording brain-wide neural activity in mice learning to report changes in ambiguous visual input. After learning, evidence integration emerged across most brain areas in sparse neural populations that drive movement-preparatory activity. Visual responses evolved from transient activations in sensory areas to sustained representations in frontal-motor cortex, thalamus, basal ganglia, midbrain and cerebellum, enabling parallel evidence accumulation. In areas that accumulate evidence, shared population activity patterns encode visual evidence and movement preparation, distinct from movement-execution dynamics. Activity in movement-preparatory subspace is driven by neurons integrating evidence, which collapses at movement onset, allowing the integration process to reset. Across premotor regions, evidence-integration timescales were independent of intrinsic regional dynamics, and thus depended on task experience. In summary, learning aligns evidence accumulation to action preparation in activity dynamics across dozens of brain regions. This leads to highly distributed and parallelized sensorimotor transformations during decision-making. Our work unifies concepts from decision-making and motor control fields into a brain-wide framework for understanding how sensory evidence controls actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrei Khilkevich
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University College London, London, UK.
| | - Michael Lohse
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University College London, London, UK.
| | - Ryan Low
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University College London, London, UK
| | - Ivana Orsolic
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University College London, London, UK
| | - Tadej Bozic
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University College London, London, UK
| | - Paige Windmill
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University College London, London, UK
| | - Thomas D Mrsic-Flogel
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University College London, London, UK.
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2
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Chen J, Zhang C, Hu P, Min B, Wang L. Flexible control of sequence working memory in the macaque frontal cortex. Neuron 2024:S0896-6273(24)00569-5. [PMID: 39178858 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.07.024] [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: 10/10/2023] [Revised: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 07/29/2024] [Indexed: 08/26/2024]
Abstract
To memorize a sequence, one must serially bind each item to its rank order. How the brain controls a given input to bind its associated order in sequence working memory (SWM) remains unexplored. Here, we investigated the neural representations underlying SWM control using electrophysiological recordings in the frontal cortex of macaque monkeys performing forward and backward SWM tasks. Separate and generalizable low-dimensional subspaces for sensory and memory information were found within the same frontal circuitry, and SWM control was reflected in these neural subspaces' organized dynamics. Each item at each rank was sequentially entered into a common sensory subspace and, depending on forward or backward task requirement, flexibly and timely sent into rank-selective SWM subspaces. Neural activity in these SWM subspaces faithfully predicted the recalled item and order information in single error trials. Thus, compositional neural population codes with well-orchestrated dynamics in frontal cortex support the flexible control of SWM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingwen Chen
- Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Brain Cognition and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Technology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Cong Zhang
- Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Brain Cognition and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Technology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Peiyao Hu
- Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Brain Cognition and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Technology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Bin Min
- Lingang Laboratory, Shanghai 200031, China.
| | - Liping Wang
- Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Brain Cognition and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Technology, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China.
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3
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Seo S, Bharmauria V, Schütz A, Yan X, Wang H, Crawford JD. Multiunit Frontal Eye Field Activity Codes the Visuomotor Transformation, But Not Gaze Prediction or Retrospective Target Memory, in a Delayed Saccade Task. eNeuro 2024; 11:ENEURO.0413-23.2024. [PMID: 39054056 PMCID: PMC11373882 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0413-23.2024] [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: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 07/16/2024] [Accepted: 07/18/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Single-unit (SU) activity-action potentials isolated from one neuron-has traditionally been employed to relate neuronal activity to behavior. However, recent investigations have shown that multiunit (MU) activity-ensemble neural activity recorded within the vicinity of one microelectrode-may also contain accurate estimations of task-related neural population dynamics. Here, using an established model-fitting approach, we compared the spatial codes of SU response fields with corresponding MU response fields recorded from the frontal eye fields (FEFs) in head-unrestrained monkeys (Macaca mulatta) during a memory-guided saccade task. Overall, both SU and MU populations showed a simple visuomotor transformation: the visual response coded target-in-eye coordinates, transitioning progressively during the delay toward a future gaze-in-eye code in the saccade motor response. However, the SU population showed additional secondary codes, including a predictive gaze code in the visual response and retention of a target code in the motor response. Further, when SUs were separated into regular/fast spiking neurons, these cell types showed different spatial code progressions during the late delay period, only converging toward gaze coding during the final saccade motor response. Finally, reconstructing MU populations (by summing SU data within the same sites) failed to replicate either the SU or MU pattern. These results confirm the theoretical and practical potential of MU activity recordings as a biomarker for fundamental sensorimotor transformations (e.g., target-to-gaze coding in the oculomotor system), while also highlighting the importance of SU activity for coding more subtle (e.g., predictive/memory) aspects of sensorimotor behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Serah Seo
- Centre for Vision Research and Centre for Integrative and Applied Neuroscience, York University, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Vishal Bharmauria
- Centre for Vision Research and Centre for Integrative and Applied Neuroscience, York University, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada
- Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33606
| | - Adrian Schütz
- Department of Neurophysics, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35032 Marburg, Germany
- Center for Mind, Brain, and Behavior - CMBB, Philipps-Universität Marburg, 35032 Marburg, and Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen, Giessen, Germany
| | - Xiaogang Yan
- Centre for Vision Research and Centre for Integrative and Applied Neuroscience, York University, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Hongying Wang
- Centre for Vision Research and Centre for Integrative and Applied Neuroscience, York University, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - J Douglas Crawford
- Centre for Vision Research and Centre for Integrative and Applied Neuroscience, York University, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada
- Departments of Psychology, Biology, Kinesiology & Health Sciences, York University, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada
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4
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Zhou Z, Yan Y, Gu H, Sun R, Liao Z, Xue K, Tang C. Dopamine in the prefrontal cortex plays multiple roles in the executive function of patients with Parkinson's disease. Neural Regen Res 2024; 19:1759-1767. [PMID: 38103242 PMCID: PMC10960281 DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.389631] [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: 04/11/2023] [Revised: 08/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Parkinson's disease can affect not only motor functions but also cognitive abilities, leading to cognitive impairment. One common issue in Parkinson's disease with cognitive dysfunction is the difficulty in executive functioning. Executive functions help us plan, organize, and control our actions based on our goals. The brain area responsible for executive functions is called the prefrontal cortex. It acts as the command center for the brain, especially when it comes to regulating executive functions. The role of the prefrontal cortex in cognitive processes is influenced by a chemical messenger called dopamine. However, little is known about how dopamine affects the cognitive functions of patients with Parkinson's disease. In this article, the authors review the latest research on this topic. They start by looking at how the dopaminergic system, is altered in Parkinson's disease with executive dysfunction. Then, they explore how these changes in dopamine impact the synaptic structure, electrical activity, and connection components of the prefrontal cortex. The authors also summarize the relationship between Parkinson's disease and dopamine-related cognitive issues. This information may offer valuable insights and directions for further research and improvement in the clinical treatment of cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zihang Zhou
- Department of Neurobiology, Xuzhou Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Yalong Yan
- Department of Neurobiology, Xuzhou Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Heng Gu
- Department of Neurobiology, Xuzhou Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Ruiao Sun
- Department of Neurobiology, Xuzhou Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Zihan Liao
- Department of Neurobiology, Xuzhou Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Ke Xue
- Department of Neurobiology, Xuzhou Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Chuanxi Tang
- Department of Neurobiology, Xuzhou Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
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5
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Gilad A. Wide-field imaging in behaving mice as a tool to study cognitive function. NEUROPHOTONICS 2024; 11:033404. [PMID: 38384657 PMCID: PMC10879934 DOI: 10.1117/1.nph.11.3.033404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
Cognitive functions are mediated through coordinated and dynamic neuronal responses that involve many different areas across the brain. Therefore, it is of high interest to simultaneously record neuronal activity from as many brain areas as possible while the subject performs a cognitive behavioral task. One of the emerging tools to achieve a mesoscopic field of view is wide-field imaging of cortex-wide dynamics in mice. Wide-field imaging is cost-effective, user-friendly, and enables obtaining cortex-wide signals from mice performing complex and demanding cognitive tasks. Importantly, wide-field imaging offers an unbiased cortex-wide observation that sheds light on overlooked cortical regions and highlights parallel processing circuits. Recent wide-field imaging studies have shown that multi-area cortex-wide patterns, rather than just a single area, are involved in encoding cognitive functions. The optical properties of wide-field imaging enable imaging of different brain signals, such as layer-specific, inhibitory subtypes, or neuromodulation signals. Here, I review the main advantages of wide-field imaging in mice, review the recent literature, and discuss future directions of the field. It is expected that wide-field imaging in behaving mice will continue to gain popularity and aid in understanding the mesoscale dynamics underlying cognitive function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariel Gilad
- Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Department of Medical Neurobiology, Faculty of Medicine, Jerusalem, Israel
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6
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Ostojic S, Fusi S. Computational role of structure in neural activity and connectivity. Trends Cogn Sci 2024; 28:677-690. [PMID: 38553340 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Revised: 02/29/2024] [Accepted: 03/07/2024] [Indexed: 07/05/2024]
Abstract
One major challenge of neuroscience is identifying structure in seemingly disorganized neural activity. Different types of structure have different computational implications that can help neuroscientists understand the functional role of a particular brain area. Here, we outline a unified approach to characterize structure by inspecting the representational geometry and the modularity properties of the recorded activity and show that a similar approach can also reveal structure in connectivity. We start by setting up a general framework for determining geometry and modularity in activity and connectivity and relating these properties with computations performed by the network. We then use this framework to review the types of structure found in recent studies of model networks performing three classes of computations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Srdjan Ostojic
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Computationnelles, INSERM U960, Ecole Normale Superieure - PSL Research University, 75005 Paris, France.
| | - 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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7
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Gardères PM, Le Gal S, Rousseau C, Mamane A, Ganea DA, Haiss F. Coexistence of state, choice, and sensory integration coding in barrel cortex LII/III. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4782. [PMID: 38839747 PMCID: PMC11153558 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49129-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024] Open
Abstract
During perceptually guided decisions, correlates of choice are found as upstream as in the primary sensory areas. However, how well these choice signals align with early sensory representations, a prerequisite for their interpretation as feedforward substrates of perception, remains an open question. We designed a two alternative forced choice task (2AFC) in which male mice compared stimulation frequencies applied to two adjacent vibrissae. The optogenetic silencing of individual columns in the primary somatosensory cortex (wS1) resulted in predicted shifts of psychometric functions, demonstrating that perception depends on focal, early sensory representations. Functional imaging of layer II/III single neurons revealed mixed coding of stimuli, choices and engagement in the task. Neurons with multi-whisker suppression display improved sensory discrimination and had their activity increased during engagement in the task, enhancing selectively representation of the signals relevant to solving the task. From trial to trial, representation of stimuli and choice varied substantially, but mostly orthogonally to each other, suggesting that perceptual variability does not originate from wS1 fluctuations but rather from downstream areas. Together, our results highlight the role of primary sensory areas in forming a reliable sensory substrate that could be used for flexible downstream decision processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre-Marie Gardères
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Unit of Neural Circuits Dynamics and Decision Making, F-75015, Paris, France.
- IZKF Aachen, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, 52074, Aachen, Germany.
| | - Sébastien Le Gal
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Unit of Neural Circuits Dynamics and Decision Making, F-75015, Paris, France
| | - Charly Rousseau
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Unit of Neural Circuits Dynamics and Decision Making, F-75015, Paris, France
| | - Alexandre Mamane
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Unit of Neural Circuits Dynamics and Decision Making, F-75015, Paris, France
| | - Dan Alin Ganea
- IZKF Aachen, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, 52074, Aachen, Germany
- University of Basel, Department of Biomedicine, 4001, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Florent Haiss
- Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Unit of Neural Circuits Dynamics and Decision Making, F-75015, Paris, France.
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8
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Xie T, Adamek M, Cho H, Adamo MA, Ritaccio AL, Willie JT, Brunner P, Kubanek J. Graded decisions in the human brain. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4308. [PMID: 38773117 PMCID: PMC11109249 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48342-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Decision-makers objectively commit to a definitive choice, yet at the subjective level, human decisions appear to be associated with a degree of uncertainty. Whether decisions are definitive (i.e., concluding in all-or-none choices), or whether the underlying representations are graded, remains unclear. To answer this question, we recorded intracranial neural signals directly from the brain while human subjects made perceptual decisions. The recordings revealed that broadband gamma activity reflecting each individual's decision-making process, ramped up gradually while being graded by the accumulated decision evidence. Crucially, this grading effect persisted throughout the decision process without ever reaching a definite bound at the time of choice. This effect was most prominent in the parietal cortex, a brain region traditionally implicated in decision-making. These results provide neural evidence for a graded decision process in humans and an analog framework for flexible choice behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Xie
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- National Center for Adaptive Neurotechnologies, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Markus Adamek
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- National Center for Adaptive Neurotechnologies, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Hohyun Cho
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- National Center for Adaptive Neurotechnologies, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Matthew A Adamo
- Department of Neurosurgery, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, 12208, USA
| | - Anthony L Ritaccio
- Department of Neurology, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, 12208, USA
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, 32224, USA
| | - Jon T Willie
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- National Center for Adaptive Neurotechnologies, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Peter Brunner
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
- National Center for Adaptive Neurotechnologies, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
- Department of Neurology, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, 12208, USA.
| | - Jan Kubanek
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA.
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Saiki-Ishikawa A, Agrios M, Savya S, Forrest A, Sroussi H, Hsu S, Basrai D, Xu F, Miri A. Hierarchy between forelimb premotor and primary motor cortices and its manifestation in their firing patterns. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.09.23.559136. [PMID: 38798685 PMCID: PMC11118350 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.23.559136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Though hierarchy is commonly invoked in descriptions of motor cortical function, its presence and manifestation in firing patterns remain poorly resolved. Here we use optogenetic inactivation to demonstrate that short-latency influence between forelimb premotor and primary motor cortices is asymmetric during reaching in mice, demonstrating a partial hierarchy between the endogenous activity in each region. Multi-region recordings revealed that some activity is captured by similar but delayed patterns where either region's activity leads, with premotor activity leading more. Yet firing in each region is dominated by patterns shared between regions and is equally predictive of firing in the other region at the single-neuron level. In dual-region network models fit to data, regions differed in their dependence on across-region input, rather than the amount of such input they received. Our results indicate that motor cortical hierarchy, while present, may not be exposed when inferring interactions between populations from firing patterns alone.
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10
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Sonneborn A, Bartlett L, Olson RJ, Milton R, Abbas AI. Divergent Subregional Information Processing in Mouse Prefrontal Cortex During Working Memory. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.25.591167. [PMID: 38712304 PMCID: PMC11071486 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.25.591167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2024]
Abstract
Working memory (WM) is a critical cognitive function allowing recent information to be temporarily held in mind to inform future action. This process depends on coordination between key subregions in prefrontal cortex (PFC) and other connected brain areas. However, few studies have examined the degree of functional specialization between these subregions throughout the phases of WM using electrophysiological recordings in freely-moving animals, particularly mice. To this end, we recorded single-units in three neighboring medial PFC (mPFC) subregions in mouse - supplementary motor area (MOs), dorsomedial PFC (dmPFC), and ventromedial (vmPFC) - during a freely-behaving non-match-to-position WM task. We found divergent patterns of task-related activity across the phases of WM. The MOs is most active around task phase transitions and encodes the starting sample location most selectively. Dorsomedial PFC contains a more stable population code, including persistent sample-location-specific firing during a five second delay period. Finally, the vmPFC responds most strongly to reward-related information during the choice phase. Our results reveal anatomically and temporally segregated computation of WM task information in mPFC and motivate more precise consideration of the dynamic neural activity required for WM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex Sonneborn
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR
| | - Lowell Bartlett
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR
| | - Randall J. Olson
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR
| | - Russell Milton
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR
| | - Atheir I. Abbas
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR
- Department of Psychiatry, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR
- VA Portland Health Care System, Portland, OR
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11
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Shao Z, Tan Y, Zhan Y, He L. Modular organization of functional brain networks in patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy. Sci Rep 2024; 14:8593. [PMID: 38615051 PMCID: PMC11016091 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58764-7] [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: 11/07/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have indicated that brain functional plasticity and reorganization in patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM). However, the effects of cervical cord compression on the functional integration and separation between and/or within modules remain unclear. This study aimed to address these questions using graph theory. Functional MRI was conducted on 46 DCM patients and 35 healthy controls (HCs). The intra- and inter-modular connectivity properties of the whole-brain functional network and nodal topological properties were then calculated using theoretical graph analysis. The difference in categorical variables between groups was compared using a chi-squared test, while that between continuous variables was evaluated using a two-sample t-test. Correlation analysis was conducted between modular connectivity properties and clinical parameters. Modules interaction analyses showed that the DCM group had significantly greater inter-module connections than the HCs group (DMN-FPN: t = 2.38, p = 0.02); inversely, the DCM group had significantly lower intra-module connections than the HCs group (SMN: t = - 2.13, p = 0.036). Compared to HCs, DCM patients exhibited higher nodal topological properties in the default-mode network and frontal-parietal network. In contrast, DCM patients exhibited lower nodal topological properties in the sensorimotor network. The Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score was positively correlated with inter-module connections (r = 0.330, FDR p = 0.029) but not correlated with intra-module connections. This study reported alterations in modular connections and nodal centralities in DCM patients. Decreased nodal topological properties and intra-modular connection in the sensory-motor regions may indicate sensory-motor dysfunction. Additionally, increased nodal topological properties and inter-modular connection in the default mode network and frontal-parietal network may serve as a compensatory mechanism for sensory-motor dysfunction in DCM patients. This could provide an implicative neural basis to better understand alterations in brain networks and the patterns of changes in brain plasticity in DCM patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ziwei Shao
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China
- Clinical Research Center for Medical Imaging In Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, China
| | - Yongming Tan
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China
- Clinical Research Center for Medical Imaging In Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, China
| | - Yaru Zhan
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China
- Clinical Research Center for Medical Imaging In Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, China
| | - Laichang He
- Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China.
- Clinical Research Center for Medical Imaging In Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, China.
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12
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Lewis CM, Wunderle T, Fries P. Top-down modulation of visual cortical stimulus encoding and gamma independent of firing rates. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.11.589006. [PMID: 38645050 PMCID: PMC11030389 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.11.589006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
Neurons in primary visual cortex integrate sensory input with signals reflecting the animal's internal state to support flexible behavior. Internal variables, such as expectation, attention, or current goals, are imposed in a top-down manner via extensive feedback projections from higher-order areas. We optogenetically activated a high-order visual area, area 21a, in the lightly anesthetized cat (OptoTD), while recording from neuronal populations in V1. OptoTD induced strong, up to several fold, changes in gamma-band synchronization together with much smaller changes in firing rate, and the two effects showed no correlation. OptoTD effects showed specificity for the features of the simultaneously presented visual stimuli. OptoTD-induced changes in gamma synchronization, but not firing rates, were predictive of simultaneous changes in the amount of encoded stimulus information. Our findings suggest that one important role of top-down signals is to modulate synchronization and the information encoded by populations of sensory neurons.
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13
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Tafazoli S, Bouchacourt FM, Ardalan A, Markov NT, Uchimura M, Mattar MG, Daw ND, Buschman TJ. Building compositional tasks with shared neural subspaces. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.31.578263. [PMID: 38352540 PMCID: PMC10862921 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.31.578263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
Cognition is remarkably flexible; we are able to rapidly learn and perform many different tasks1. Theoretical modeling has shown artificial neural networks trained to perform multiple tasks will re-use representations2 and computational components3 across tasks. By composing tasks from these sub-components, an agent can flexibly switch between tasks and rapidly learn new tasks4. Yet, whether such compositionality is found in the brain is unknown. Here, we show the same subspaces of neural activity represent task-relevant information across multiple tasks, with each task compositionally combining these subspaces in a task-specific manner. We trained monkeys to switch between three compositionally related tasks. Neural recordings found task-relevant information about stimulus features and motor actions were represented in subspaces of neural activity that were shared across tasks. When monkeys performed a task, neural representations in the relevant shared sensory subspace were transformed to the relevant shared motor subspace. Subspaces were flexibly engaged as monkeys discovered the task in effect; their internal belief about the current task predicted the strength of representations in task-relevant subspaces. In sum, our findings suggest that the brain can flexibly perform multiple tasks by compositionally combining task-relevant neural representations across tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sina Tafazoli
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | | | - Adel Ardalan
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Nikola T. Markov
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Motoaki Uchimura
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | | | - Nathaniel D. Daw
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Timothy J. Buschman
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
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14
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Tomassini A, Cope TE, Zhang J, Rowe JB. Parkinson's disease impairs cortical sensori-motor decision-making cascades. Brain Commun 2024; 6:fcae065. [PMID: 38505233 PMCID: PMC10950052 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcae065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024] Open
Abstract
The transformation from perception to action requires a set of neuronal decisions about the nature of the percept, identification and selection of response options and execution of the appropriate motor response. The unfolding of such decisions is mediated by distributed representations of the decision variables-evidence and intentions-that are represented through oscillatory activity across the cortex. Here we combine magneto-electroencephalography and linear ballistic accumulator models of decision-making to reveal the impact of Parkinson's disease during the selection and execution of action. We used a visuomotor task in which we independently manipulated uncertainty in sensory and action domains. A generative accumulator model was optimized to single-trial neurophysiological correlates of human behaviour, mapping the cortical oscillatory signatures of decision-making, and relating these to separate processes accumulating sensory evidence and selecting a motor action. We confirmed the role of widespread beta oscillatory activity in shaping the feed-forward cascade of evidence accumulation from resolution of sensory inputs to selection of appropriate responses. By contrasting the spatiotemporal dynamics of evidence accumulation in age-matched healthy controls and people with Parkinson's disease, we identified disruption of the beta-mediated cascade of evidence accumulation as the hallmark of atypical decision-making in Parkinson's disease. In frontal cortical regions, there was inefficient processing and transfer of perceptual information. Our findings emphasize the intimate connection between abnormal visuomotor function and pathological oscillatory activity in neurodegenerative disease. We propose that disruption of the oscillatory mechanisms governing fast and precise information exchanges between the sensory and motor systems contributes to behavioural changes in people with Parkinson's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Tomassini
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK
| | - Thomas E Cope
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0SZ, UK
- Department of Neurology, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Jiaxiang Zhang
- Department of Computer Science, Swansea University, Swansea SA18EN, UK
| | - James B Rowe
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0SZ, UK
- Department of Neurology, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
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15
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Jahn CI, Markov NT, Morea B, Daw ND, Ebitz RB, Buschman TJ. Learning attentional templates for value-based decision-making. Cell 2024; 187:1476-1489.e21. [PMID: 38401541 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.01.041] [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: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/26/2024]
Abstract
Attention filters sensory inputs to enhance task-relevant information. It is guided by an "attentional template" that represents the stimulus features that are currently relevant. To understand how the brain learns and uses templates, we trained monkeys to perform a visual search task that required them to repeatedly learn new attentional templates. Neural recordings found that templates were represented across the prefrontal and parietal cortex in a structured manner, such that perceptually neighboring templates had similar neural representations. When the task changed, a new attentional template was learned by incrementally shifting the template toward rewarded features. Finally, we found that attentional templates transformed stimulus features into a common value representation that allowed the same decision-making mechanisms to deploy attention, regardless of the identity of the template. Altogether, our results provide insight into the neural mechanisms by which the brain learns to control attention and how attention can be flexibly deployed across tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caroline I Jahn
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA.
| | - Nikola T Markov
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
| | - Britney Morea
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
| | - Nathaniel D Daw
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA; Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
| | - R Becket Ebitz
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA; Department of Neurosciences, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - Timothy J Buschman
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA; Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA.
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16
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Chen S, Liu Y, Wang ZA, Colonell J, Liu LD, Hou H, Tien NW, Wang T, Harris T, Druckmann S, Li N, Svoboda K. Brain-wide neural activity underlying memory-guided movement. Cell 2024; 187:676-691.e16. [PMID: 38306983 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.12.035] [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: 03/03/2023] [Revised: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 12/27/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2024]
Abstract
Behavior relies on activity in structured neural circuits that are distributed across the brain, but most experiments probe neurons in a single area at a time. Using multiple Neuropixels probes, we recorded from multi-regional loops connected to the anterior lateral motor cortex (ALM), a circuit node mediating memory-guided directional licking. Neurons encoding sensory stimuli, choices, and actions were distributed across the brain. However, choice coding was concentrated in the ALM and subcortical areas receiving input from the ALM in an ALM-dependent manner. Diverse orofacial movements were encoded in the hindbrain; midbrain; and, to a lesser extent, forebrain. Choice signals were first detected in the ALM and the midbrain, followed by the thalamus and other brain areas. At movement initiation, choice-selective activity collapsed across the brain, followed by new activity patterns driving specific actions. Our experiments provide the foundation for neural circuit models of decision-making and movement initiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susu Chen
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA, USA
| | - Yi Liu
- Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | | | - Jennifer Colonell
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA, USA
| | - Liu D Liu
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA, USA; Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Han Hou
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA, USA; Allen Institute for Neural Dynamics, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Nai-Wen Tien
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA, USA
| | - Tim Wang
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA, USA; Allen Institute for Neural Dynamics, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Timothy Harris
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA, USA; Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Shaul Druckmann
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA, USA; Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA.
| | - Nuo Li
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA, USA; Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Karel Svoboda
- Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, VA, USA; Allen Institute for Neural Dynamics, Seattle, WA, USA.
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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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Li J, Shan Y, Zhao X, Shan G, Wei PH, Liu L, Wang C, Wu H, Song W, Tang Y, Zhao GG, Lu J. Structural and functional changes in the brain after chronic complete thoracic spinal cord injury. Brain Res 2024; 1823:148680. [PMID: 37977412 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2023.148680] [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: 07/28/2023] [Revised: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate whether brain anatomical structures and functional network connectivity are altered after chronic complete thoracic spinal cord injury (cctSCI) and to determine how these changes impact clinical outcomes. Structural and resting-state functional MRI was performed for 19 cctSCI patients (18 for final statistics) and 19 healthy controls. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to assess gray matter volume (GMV) with differences between cctSCI patients and controls. VBM results were used as seeds for whole-brain functional connectivity (FC) analysis. The relationship between brain changes and clinical variables was investigated. Compared with those of the control group, the left triangular inferior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, orbital inferior frontal gyrus, precuneus and parietal superior gyrus volumes of SCI patients decreased, while the left superior frontal gyrus and supplementary motor area volumes increased. Additionally, when the regions with increased GMV were used as seeds, the FC of the parahippocampus and thalamus increased. Subsequent partial correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between FC and total sensorimotor score based on the ASIA criteria (p = 0.001, r = 0.746). Overall, the structural and functional changes in the brain after cctSCI occurred in some visual and cognitive areas and sensory or motor control areas. These findings aid in improving our understanding of the underlying brain injury mechanisms and the subsequent structural and functional reorganization to reveal potential therapeutic targets and track treatment outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Li
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Brain Informatics, Beijing 100053, China
| | - Yi Shan
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Brain Informatics, Beijing 100053, China
| | - Xiaojing Zhao
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Brain Informatics, Beijing 100053, China
| | - Guixiang Shan
- Department of Rehabilitation, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China
| | - Peng-Hu Wei
- Department of Neurosurgery, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China
| | - Lin Liu
- Department of Rehabilitation, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China
| | - Changming Wang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China
| | - Hang Wu
- Department of Medical Engineering, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China
| | - Weiqun Song
- Department of Rehabilitation, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China
| | - Yi Tang
- Innovation Center for Neurological Disorders, Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China
| | - Guo-Guang Zhao
- Department of Neurosurgery, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China; Clinical Research Center for Epilepsy Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China; Beijing Municipal Geriatric Medical Research Center, Beijing 100053, China.
| | - Jie Lu
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Brain Informatics, Beijing 100053, China.
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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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Zheng Q, Gu Y. From Multisensory Integration to Multisensory Decision-Making. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2024; 1437:23-35. [PMID: 38270851 DOI: 10.1007/978-981-99-7611-9_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
Organisms live in a dynamic environment in which sensory information from multiple sources is ever changing. A conceptually complex task for the organisms is to accumulate evidence across sensory modalities and over time, a process known as multisensory decision-making. This is a new concept, in terms of that previous researches have been largely conducted in parallel disciplines. That is, much efforts have been put either in sensory integration across modalities using activity summed over a duration of time, or in decision-making with only one sensory modality that evolves over time. Recently, a few studies with neurophysiological measurements emerge to study how different sensory modality information is processed, accumulated, and integrated over time in decision-related areas such as the parietal or frontal lobes in mammals. In this review, we summarize and comment on these studies that combine the long-existed two parallel fields of multisensory integration and decision-making. We show how the new findings provide insight into our understanding about neural mechanisms mediating multisensory information processing in a more complete way.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qihao Zheng
- Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Institute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Yong Gu
- Systems Neuroscience, SInstitute of Neuroscience, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
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21
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Muhle-Karbe PS, Sheahan H, Pezzulo G, Spiers HJ, Chien S, Schuck NW, Summerfield C. Goal-seeking compresses neural codes for space in the human hippocampus and orbitofrontal cortex. Neuron 2023; 111:3885-3899.e6. [PMID: 37725981 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.08.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Revised: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
Humans can navigate flexibly to meet their goals. Here, we asked how the neural representation of allocentric space is distorted by goal-directed behavior. Participants navigated an agent to two successive goal locations in a grid world environment comprising four interlinked rooms, with a contextual cue indicating the conditional dependence of one goal location on another. Examining the neural geometry by which room and context were encoded in fMRI signals, we found that map-like representations of the environment emerged in both hippocampus and neocortex. Cognitive maps in hippocampus and orbitofrontal cortices were compressed so that locations cued as goals were coded together in neural state space, and these distortions predicted successful learning. This effect was captured by a computational model in which current and prospective locations are jointly encoded in a place code, providing a theory of how goals warp the neural representation of space in macroscopic neural signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul S Muhle-Karbe
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK; School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2SA, UK; Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2SA, UK.
| | - Hannah Sheahan
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK; Google DeepMind, London EC4A 3TW, UK
| | - Giovanni Pezzulo
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Hugo J Spiers
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Samson Chien
- Max Planck Research Group NeuroCode, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Nicolas W Schuck
- Max Planck Research Group NeuroCode, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Aging Research, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Institute of Psychology, Universität Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Christopher Summerfield
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK; Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2SA, UK.
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22
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Fooken J, Baltaretu BR, Barany DA, Diaz G, Semrau JA, Singh T, Crawford JD. Perceptual-Cognitive Integration for Goal-Directed Action in Naturalistic Environments. J Neurosci 2023; 43:7511-7522. [PMID: 37940592 PMCID: PMC10634571 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1373-23.2023] [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: 07/21/2023] [Revised: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Real-world actions require one to simultaneously perceive, think, and act on the surrounding world, requiring the integration of (bottom-up) sensory information and (top-down) cognitive and motor signals. Studying these processes involves the intellectual challenge of cutting across traditional neuroscience silos, and the technical challenge of recording data in uncontrolled natural environments. However, recent advances in techniques, such as neuroimaging, virtual reality, and motion tracking, allow one to address these issues in naturalistic environments for both healthy participants and clinical populations. In this review, we survey six topics in which naturalistic approaches have advanced both our fundamental understanding of brain function and how neurologic deficits influence goal-directed, coordinated action in naturalistic environments. The first part conveys fundamental neuroscience mechanisms related to visuospatial coding for action, adaptive eye-hand coordination, and visuomotor integration for manual interception. The second part discusses applications of such knowledge to neurologic deficits, specifically, steering in the presence of cortical blindness, impact of stroke on visual-proprioceptive integration, and impact of visual search and working memory deficits. This translational approach-extending knowledge from lab to rehab-provides new insights into the complex interplay between perceptual, motor, and cognitive control in naturalistic tasks that are relevant for both basic and clinical research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jolande Fooken
- Centre for Neuroscience, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario K7L3N6, Canada
| | - Bianca R Baltaretu
- Department of Psychology, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, 35394, Germany
| | - Deborah A Barany
- Department of Kinesiology, University of Georgia, and Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership, Athens, Georgia 30602
| | - Gabriel Diaz
- Center for Imaging Science, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York 14623
| | - Jennifer A Semrau
- Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19713
| | - Tarkeshwar Singh
- Department of Kinesiology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802
| | - J Douglas Crawford
- Centre for Integrative and Applied Neuroscience, York University, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada
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23
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Jarne C, Laje R. Exploring weight initialization, diversity of solutions, and degradation in recurrent neural networks trained for temporal and decision-making tasks. J Comput Neurosci 2023; 51:407-431. [PMID: 37561278 DOI: 10.1007/s10827-023-00857-9] [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: 10/25/2022] [Revised: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 06/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023]
Abstract
Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) are frequently used to model aspects of brain function and structure. In this work, we trained small fully-connected RNNs to perform temporal and flow control tasks with time-varying stimuli. Our results show that different RNNs can solve the same task by converging to different underlying dynamics and also how the performance gracefully degrades as either network size is decreased, interval duration is increased, or connectivity damage is induced. For the considered tasks, we explored how robust the network obtained after training can be according to task parameterization. In the process, we developed a framework that can be useful to parameterize other tasks of interest in computational neuroscience. Our results are useful to quantify different aspects of the models, which are normally used as black boxes and need to be understood in order to model the biological response of cerebral cortex areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Jarne
- Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología, Bernal, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Center for Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
| | - Rodrigo Laje
- Universidad Nacional de Quilmes, Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología, Bernal, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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24
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Ou S, Cao Y, Xie T, Jiang T, Li J, Luo W, Ma N. Effect of homeostatic pressure and circadian arousal on the storage and executive components of working memory: Evidence from EEG power spectrum. Biol Psychol 2023; 184:108721. [PMID: 37952693 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2023] [Revised: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 11/14/2023]
Abstract
Diurnal fluctuations in working memory (WM) performance, characterized by task-specific peaks and troughs, are likely attributed to the differential regulation of WM subcomponents by interactions between circadian and homeostatic processes. The current study aimed to investigate the independent effects of circadian and homeostatic processes on the storage and executive subcomponents of WM. We assessed the change in frontal-midline theta (FMT) power supporting WM executive component and posterior alpha/beta power supporting WM storage during N-back tasks in the morning, midafternoon with and without a nap from 31 healthy adults. The results suggested that when the accumulated sleep homeostasis was alleviated in the midafternoon by a daytime nap, higher ACC, less number of omissions, and a stronger increase in FMT power from the no nap to nap conditions. Compared to the morning, a stronger decrease in posterior alpha power, and posterior beta power (only in the 3-back task), was observed in the no-nap condition because of circadian arousal regulation. These findings suggest that the circadian process primarily influences the storage aspect of WM supported by posterior alpha and beta activity, while sleep homeostasis has a greater impact on the execution aspect supported by FMT activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simei Ou
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou 510631, China; Center for Sleep Research, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health & Cognitive Science, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Yixuan Cao
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou 510631, China; Center for Sleep Research, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health & Cognitive Science, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Tian Xie
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou 510631, China; Center for Sleep Research, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health & Cognitive Science, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Tianxiang Jiang
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou 510631, China; Center for Sleep Research, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health & Cognitive Science, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Jiahui Li
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou 510631, China; Center for Sleep Research, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health & Cognitive Science, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Wei Luo
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou 510631, China; Center for Sleep Research, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health & Cognitive Science, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
| | - Ning Ma
- Philosophy and Social Science Laboratory of Reading and Development in Children and Adolescents (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou 510631, China; Center for Sleep Research, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health & Cognitive Science, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China.
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25
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Xue K, Zheng Y, Rafiei F, Rahnev D. The timing of confidence computations in human prefrontal cortex. Cortex 2023; 168:167-175. [PMID: 37741132 PMCID: PMC10591908 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2023.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/25/2023]
Abstract
Knowing when confidence computations take place is critical for building a mechanistic understanding of the neural and computational bases of metacognition. Yet, even though a substantial amount of research has focused on revealing the neural correlates and computations underlying human confidence judgments, very little is known about the timing of confidence computations. To understand when confidence is computed, we delivered single pulses of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) at different times after stimulus presentation while subjects judged the orientation of a briefly presented visual stimulus and provided a confidence rating. TMS was delivered to either the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in the experimental group or to vertex in the control group. We found that TMS to right DLPFC, but not to vertex, led to increased confidence in the absence of changes to accuracy or metacognitive efficiency. Critically, equivalent levels of confidence increase occurred for TMS delivered between 200 and 500 msec after stimulus presentation. These results suggest that confidence computations occur during a broad window that begins before the perceptual decision has been fully made and thus provide important constraints for theories of confidence generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Xue
- School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA.
| | - Yunxuan Zheng
- School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Farshad Rafiei
- School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Dobromir Rahnev
- School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
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26
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Chia XW, Tan JK, Ang LF, Kamigaki T, Makino H. Emergence of cortical network motifs for short-term memory during learning. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6869. [PMID: 37898638 PMCID: PMC10613236 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42609-4] [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: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Learning of adaptive behaviors requires the refinement of coordinated activity across multiple brain regions. However, how neural communications develop during learning remains poorly understood. Here, using two-photon calcium imaging, we simultaneously recorded the activity of layer 2/3 excitatory neurons in eight regions of the mouse dorsal cortex during learning of a delayed-response task. Across learning, while global functional connectivity became sparser, there emerged a subnetwork comprising of neurons in the anterior lateral motor cortex (ALM) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC). Neurons in this subnetwork shared a similar choice code during action preparation and formed recurrent functional connectivity across learning. Suppression of PPC activity disrupted choice selectivity in ALM and impaired task performance. Recurrent neural networks reconstructed from ALM activity revealed that PPC-ALM interactions rendered choice-related attractor dynamics more stable. Thus, learning constructs cortical network motifs by recruiting specific inter-areal communication channels to promote efficient and robust sensorimotor transformation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Wei Chia
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
| | - Jian Kwang Tan
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
| | - Lee Fang Ang
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
| | - Tsukasa Kamigaki
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
| | - Hiroshi Makino
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 308232, Singapore.
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27
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Barbosa J, Proville R, Rodgers CC, DeWeese MR, Ostojic S, Boubenec Y. Early selection of task-relevant features through population gating. Nat Commun 2023; 14:6837. [PMID: 37884507 PMCID: PMC10603060 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-42519-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Brains can gracefully weed out irrelevant stimuli to guide behavior. This feat is believed to rely on a progressive selection of task-relevant stimuli across the cortical hierarchy, but the specific across-area interactions enabling stimulus selection are still unclear. Here, we propose that population gating, occurring within primary auditory cortex (A1) but controlled by top-down inputs from prelimbic region of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), can support across-area stimulus selection. Examining single-unit activity recorded while rats performed an auditory context-dependent task, we found that A1 encoded relevant and irrelevant stimuli along a common dimension of its neural space. Yet, the relevant stimulus encoding was enhanced along an extra dimension. In turn, mPFC encoded only the stimulus relevant to the ongoing context. To identify candidate mechanisms for stimulus selection within A1, we reverse-engineered low-rank RNNs trained on a similar task. Our analyses predicted that two context-modulated neural populations gated their preferred stimulus in opposite contexts, which we confirmed in further analyses of A1. Finally, we show in a two-region RNN how population gating within A1 could be controlled by top-down inputs from PFC, enabling flexible across-area communication despite fixed inter-areal connectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joao Barbosa
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Computationnelles, INSERM U960, Ecole Normale Superieure - PSL Research University, 75005, Paris, France.
| | - Rémi Proville
- Tailored Data Solutions, 192 Cours Gambetta, 84300, Cavaillon, France
| | - Chris C Rodgers
- Department of Neurosurgery, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30033, USA
| | - Michael R DeWeese
- Department of Physics, Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, and Redwood Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Srdjan Ostojic
- Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Computationnelles, INSERM U960, Ecole Normale Superieure - PSL Research University, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Yves Boubenec
- Laboratoire des Systèmes Perceptifs, Département d'Études Cognitives, École Normale Supérieure PSL Research University, CNRS, Paris, France
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28
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Guo Z, Yin L, Diaz V, Dai B, Osakada T, Lischinsky JE, Chien J, Yamaguchi T, Urtecho A, Tong X, Chen ZS, Lin D. Neural dynamics in the limbic system during male social behaviors. Neuron 2023; 111:3288-3306.e4. [PMID: 37586365 PMCID: PMC10592239 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.07.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2023] [Revised: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/18/2023]
Abstract
Sexual and aggressive behaviors are vital for species survival and individual reproductive success. Although many limbic regions have been found relevant to these behaviors, how social cues are represented across regions and how the network activity generates each behavior remains elusive. To answer these questions, we utilize multi-fiber photometry (MFP) to simultaneously record Ca2+ signals of estrogen receptor alpha (Esr1)-expressing cells from 13 limbic regions in male mice during mating and fighting. We find that conspecific sensory information and social action signals are widely distributed in the limbic system and can be decoded from the network activity. Cross-region correlation analysis reveals striking increases in the network functional connectivity during the social action initiation phase, whereas late copulation is accompanied by a "dissociated" network state. Based on the response patterns, we propose a mating-biased network (MBN) and an aggression-biased network (ABN) for mediating male sexual and aggressive behaviors, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhichao Guo
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; School of Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Luping Yin
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Veronica Diaz
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Bing Dai
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Takuya Osakada
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Julieta E Lischinsky
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Jonathan Chien
- Department of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Takashi Yamaguchi
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Ashley Urtecho
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Xiaoyu Tong
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA
| | - Zhe S Chen
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10016, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, New York, NY 11201, USA
| | - Dayu Lin
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University Grossman School of Medicine, Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10016, USA.
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29
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Sandhaeger F, Omejc N, Pape AA, Siegel M. Abstract perceptual choice signals during action-linked decisions in the human brain. PLoS Biol 2023; 21:e3002324. [PMID: 37816222 PMCID: PMC10564462 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002324] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans can make abstract choices independent of motor actions. However, in laboratory tasks, choices are typically reported with an associated action. Consequentially, knowledge about the neural representation of abstract choices is sparse, and choices are often thought to evolve as motor intentions. Here, we show that in the human brain, perceptual choices are represented in an abstract, motor-independent manner, even when they are directly linked to an action. We measured MEG signals while participants made choices with known or unknown motor response mapping. Using multivariate decoding, we quantified stimulus, perceptual choice, and motor response information with distinct cortical distributions. Choice representations were invariant to whether the response mapping was known during stimulus presentation, and they occupied a distinct representational space from motor signals. As expected from an internal decision variable, they were informed by the stimuli, and their strength predicted decision confidence and accuracy. Our results demonstrate abstract neural choice signals that generalize to action-linked decisions, suggesting a general role of an abstract choice stage in human decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Sandhaeger
- Department of Neural Dynamics and Magnetoencephalography, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- MEG Center, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Graduate Training Centre of Neuroscience, International Max Planck Research School, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Nina Omejc
- Department of Neural Dynamics and Magnetoencephalography, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- MEG Center, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Graduate Training Centre of Neuroscience, International Max Planck Research School, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Anna-Antonia Pape
- Department of Neural Dynamics and Magnetoencephalography, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- MEG Center, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Graduate Training Centre of Neuroscience, International Max Planck Research School, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Markus Siegel
- Department of Neural Dynamics and Magnetoencephalography, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- MEG Center, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), Tübingen, Germany
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30
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Vaissiere T, Michaelson S, Creson T, Goins J, Fürth D, Balazsfi D, Rojas C, Golovin R, Meletis K, Miller CA, O’Connor D, Rumbaugh G. Sensorimotor Integration Supporting Perception Requires Syngap1 Expression in Cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.09.27.559787. [PMID: 37808765 PMCID: PMC10557642 DOI: 10.1101/2023.09.27.559787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
Perception, a cognitive construct, emerges through sensorimotor integration (SMI). The molecular and cellular mechanisms that shape SMI within circuits that promote cognition are poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that expression of the autism/intellectual disability gene, Syngap1, in mouse cortical excitatory neurons promotes touch sensitivity required to elicit perceptual behaviors. Cortical Syngap1 expression enabled touch-induced feedback signals within sensorimotor loops by assembling circuits that support tactile sensitivity. These circuits also encoded correlates of attention that promoted self-generated whisker movements underlying purposeful and sustained object exploration. As Syngap1 deficient animals explored objects with whiskers, relatively weak touch signals were integrated with relatively strong motor signals. This produced a signal-to-noise deficit consistent with impaired tactile sensitivity, reduced tactile exploration, and weak tactile learning. Thus, Syngap1 expression in cortex promotes tactile perception by assembling circuits that integrate touch and whisker motor signals. Deficient Syngap1 expression likely contributes to cognitive impairment through abnormal top-down SMI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Vaissiere
- Department of Neuroscience, The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, Jupiter, FL, USA
| | - Sheldon Michaelson
- Department of Neuroscience, The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, Jupiter, FL, USA
| | - Thomas Creson
- Department of Neuroscience, The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, Jupiter, FL, USA
| | - Jessie Goins
- Department of Neuroscience, The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, Jupiter, FL, USA
| | - Daniel Fürth
- SciLifeLab, Department of Immunology, Genetics & Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Diana Balazsfi
- Department of Neuroscience, The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, Jupiter, FL, USA
| | - Camilo Rojas
- Department of Neuroscience, The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, Jupiter, FL, USA
| | - Randall Golovin
- Department of Neuroscience, The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, Jupiter, FL, USA
| | | | - Courtney A. Miller
- Department of Neuroscience, The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, Jupiter, FL, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine, UF Scripps Biomedical Research, Jupiter, FL, USA
| | - Daniel O’Connor
- Department of Neuroscience, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Gavin Rumbaugh
- Department of Neuroscience, The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, Jupiter, FL, USA
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31
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Perez-Palomar B, Erdozain AM, Erkizia-Santamaría I, Ortega JE, Meana JJ. Maternal Immune Activation Induces Cortical Catecholaminergic Hypofunction and Cognitive Impairments in Offspring. J Neuroimmune Pharmacol 2023; 18:348-365. [PMID: 37208550 PMCID: PMC10577104 DOI: 10.1007/s11481-023-10070-1] [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: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Impairment of specific cognitive domains in schizophrenia has been associated with prefrontal cortex (PFC) catecholaminergic deficits. Among other factors, prenatal exposure to infections represents an environmental risk factor for schizophrenia development in adulthood. However, it remains largely unknown whether the prenatal infection-induced changes in the brain may be associated with concrete switches in a particular neurochemical circuit, and therefore, if they could alter behavioral functions. METHODS In vitro and in vivo neurochemical evaluation of the PFC catecholaminergic systems was performed in offspring from mice undergoing maternal immune activation (MIA). The cognitive status was also evaluated. Prenatal viral infection was mimicked by polyriboinosinic-polyribocytidylic acid (poly(I:C)) administration to pregnant dams (7.5 mg/kg i.p., gestational day 9.5) and consequences were evaluated in adult offspring. RESULTS MIA-treated offspring showed disrupted recognition memory in the novel object recognition task (t = 2.30, p = 0.031). This poly(I:C)-based group displayed decreased extracellular dopamine (DA) concentrations compared to controls (t = 3.17, p = 0.0068). Potassium-evoked release of DA and noradrenaline (NA) were impaired in the poly(I:C) group (DA: Ft[10,90] = 43.33, p < 0.0001; Ftr[1,90] = 1.224, p = 0.2972; Fi[10,90] = 5.916, p < 0.0001; n = 11); (NA: Ft[10,90] = 36.27, p < 0.0001; Ftr[1,90] = 1.841, p = 0.208; Fi[10,90] = 8.686, p < 0.0001; n = 11). In the same way, amphetamine-evoked release of DA and NA were also impaired in the poly(I:C) group (DA: Ft[8,328] = 22.01, p < 0.0001; Ftr[1,328] = 4.507, p = 0.040; Fi[8,328] = 2.319, p = 0.020; n = 43); (NA: Ft[8,328] = 52.07; p < 0.0001; Ftr[1,328] = 4.322; p = 0.044; Fi[8,398] = 5.727; p < 0.0001; n = 43). This catecholamine imbalance was accompanied by increased dopamine D1 and D2 receptor expression (t = 2.64, p = 0.011 and t = 3.55, p = 0.0009; respectively), whereas tyrosine hydroxylase, DA and NA tissue content, DA and NA transporter (DAT/NET) expression and function were unaltered. CONCLUSIONS MIA induces in offspring a presynaptic catecholaminergic hypofunction in PFC with cognitive impairment. This poly(I:C)-based model reproduces catecholamine phenotypes reported in schizophrenia and represents an opportunity for the study of cognitive impairment associated to this disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Blanca Perez-Palomar
- Department of Pharmacology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Leioa, Bizkaia, E-48940, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental CIBERSAM, ISCIII, Leioa, Spain
- Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute, Bizkaia, Spain
- Department of Anesthesiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
- Department of Pharmaceutical and Administrative Sciences, University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA
| | - Amaia M Erdozain
- Department of Pharmacology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Leioa, Bizkaia, E-48940, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental CIBERSAM, ISCIII, Leioa, Spain
| | - Ines Erkizia-Santamaría
- Department of Pharmacology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Leioa, Bizkaia, E-48940, Spain
| | - Jorge E Ortega
- Department of Pharmacology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Leioa, Bizkaia, E-48940, Spain.
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental CIBERSAM, ISCIII, Leioa, Spain.
- Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute, Bizkaia, Spain.
| | - J Javier Meana
- Department of Pharmacology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Leioa, Bizkaia, E-48940, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental CIBERSAM, ISCIII, Leioa, Spain
- Biocruces Bizkaia Health Research Institute, Bizkaia, Spain
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Kleinman M, Wang T, Xiao D, Feghhi E, Lee K, Carr N, Li Y, Hadidi N, Chandrasekaran C, Kao JC. A cortical information bottleneck during decision-making. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.12.548742. [PMID: 37502862 PMCID: PMC10369960 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.12.548742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Decision-making emerges from distributed computations across multiple brain areas, but it is unclear why the brain distributes the computation. In deep learning, artificial neural networks use multiple areas (or layers) to form optimal representations of task inputs. These optimal representations are sufficient to perform the task well, but minimal so they are invariant to other irrelevant variables. We recorded single neurons and multiunits in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and dorsal premotor cortex (PMd) in monkeys during a perceptual decision-making task. We found that while DLPFC represents task-related inputs required to compute the choice, the downstream PMd contains a minimal sufficient, or optimal, representation of the choice. To identify a mechanism for how cortex may form these optimal representations, we trained a multi-area recurrent neural network (RNN) to perform the task. Remarkably, DLPFC and PMd resembling representations emerged in the early and late areas of the multi-area RNN, respectively. The DLPFC-resembling area partially orthogonalized choice information and task inputs and this choice information was preferentially propagated to downstream areas through selective alignment with inter-area connections, while remaining task information was not. Our results suggest that cortex uses multi-area computation to form minimal sufficient representations by preferential propagation of relevant information between areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Kleinman
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Tian Wang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Derek Xiao
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Ebrahim Feghhi
- Neurosciences Program, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Kenji Lee
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nicole Carr
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Yuke Li
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nima Hadidi
- Neurosciences Program, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Chandramouli Chandrasekaran
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jonathan C. Kao
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Neurosciences Program, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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33
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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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Xu H, Scholten K, Li Z, Meng E, Song D. A Library of Polymer-based Microelectrode Array Designs for Recording from the Brain of Different Animal Models. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. IEEE ENGINEERING IN MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY SOCIETY. ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2023; 2023:1-4. [PMID: 38083000 DOI: 10.1109/embc40787.2023.10340804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2023]
Abstract
Large-scale network recording technology is critical in linking neural activity to behavior. Stable, long-term recordings collected from behaving animals are the foundation for understanding neural dynamics and the plasticity of neural circuits. Penetrating microelectrode arrays (MEAs) can obtain high-resolution neural activity from different brain regions. However, ensuring the longevity of implantable devices and the consistency of neural signals over time remains one big challenge. A potential solution is to use flexible, polymer-based MEAs to minimize the foreign body response and prolong the lifetime of neural interfacing devices. Rodents and nonhuman primates (NHP) are commonly used animal models in neuroscience and neuroengineering studies. Specially designed MEAs that capture morphological features of different animal brains and various brain structures are powerful tools to simultaneously obtain neural activities from multiple brain regions. In this work, we develop a set of prototype designs of polymer MEAs that cover cortical, sub-cortical, and multiple brain regions of rodents and NHP.
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Mill RD, Cole MW. Neural representation dynamics reveal computational principles of cognitive task learning. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.06.27.546751. [PMID: 37425922 PMCID: PMC10327096 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.27.546751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/11/2023]
Abstract
During cognitive task learning, neural representations must be rapidly constructed for novel task performance, then optimized for robust practiced task performance. How the geometry of neural representations changes to enable this transition from novel to practiced performance remains unknown. We hypothesized that practice involves a shift from compositional representations (task-general activity patterns that can be flexibly reused across tasks) to conjunctive representations (task-specific activity patterns specialized for the current task). Functional MRI during learning of multiple complex tasks substantiated this dynamic shift from compositional to conjunctive representations, which was associated with reduced cross-task interference (via pattern separation) and behavioral improvement. Further, we found that conjunctions originated in subcortex (hippocampus and cerebellum) and slowly spread to cortex, extending multiple memory systems theories to encompass task representation learning. The formation of conjunctive representations hence serves as a computational signature of learning, reflecting cortical-subcortical dynamics that optimize task representations in the human brain.
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Wu YH, Podvalny E, He BJ. Spatiotemporal neural dynamics of object recognition under uncertainty in humans. eLife 2023; 12:e84797. [PMID: 37184213 PMCID: PMC10231926 DOI: 10.7554/elife.84797] [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: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023] Open
Abstract
While there is a wealth of knowledge about core object recognition-our ability to recognize clear, high-contrast object images-how the brain accomplishes object recognition tasks under increased uncertainty remains poorly understood. We investigated the spatiotemporal neural dynamics underlying object recognition under increased uncertainty by combining MEG and 7 Tesla (7T) fMRI in humans during a threshold-level object recognition task. We observed an early, parallel rise of recognition-related signals across ventral visual and frontoparietal regions that preceded the emergence of category-related information. Recognition-related signals in ventral visual regions were best explained by a two-state representational format whereby brain activity bifurcated for recognized and unrecognized images. By contrast, recognition-related signals in frontoparietal regions exhibited a reduced representational space for recognized images, yet with sharper category information. These results provide a spatiotemporally resolved view of neural activity supporting object recognition under uncertainty, revealing a pattern distinct from that underlying core object recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan-hao Wu
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of MedicineNew YorkUnited States
| | - Ella Podvalny
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of MedicineNew YorkUnited States
| | - Biyu J He
- Neuroscience Institute, New York University Grossman School of MedicineNew YorkUnited States
- Department of Neurology, New York University Grossman School of MedicineNew YorkUnited States
- Department of Neuroscience & Physiology, New York University Grossman School of MedicineNew YorkUnited States
- Department of Radiology, New York University Grossman School of MedicineNew YorkUnited States
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37
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Selen LPJ, Corneil BD, Medendorp WP. Single-Trial Dynamics of Competing Reach Plans in the Human Motor Periphery. J Neurosci 2023; 43:2782-2793. [PMID: 36898839 PMCID: PMC10089241 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1640-22.2023] [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: 08/29/2022] [Revised: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Contemporary motor control theories propose competition between multiple motor plans before the winning command is executed. While most competitions are completed before movement onset, movements are often initiated before the competition has been resolved. An example of this is saccadic averaging, wherein the eyes land at an intermediate location between two visual targets. Behavioral and neurophysiological signatures of competing motor commands have also been reported for reaching movements, but debate remains about whether such signatures attest to an unresolved competition, arise from averaging across many trials, or reflect a strategy to optimize behavior given task constraints. Here, we recorded EMG activity from an upper limb muscle (m. pectoralis) while 12 (8 female) participants performed an immediate response reach task, freely choosing between one of two identical and suddenly presented visual targets. On each trial, muscle recruitment showed two distinct phases of directionally tuned activity. In the first wave, time-locked ∼100 ms of target presentation, muscle activity was clearly influenced by the nonchosen target, reflecting a competition between reach commands that was biased in favor of the ultimately chosen target. This resulted in an initial movement intermediate between the two targets. In contrast, the second wave, time-locked to voluntary reach onset, was not biased toward the nonchosen target, showing that the competition between targets was resolved. Instead, this wave of activity compensated for the averaging induced by the first wave. Thus, single-trial analysis reveals an evolution in how the nonchosen target differentially influences the first and second wave of muscle activity.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Contemporary theories of motor control suggest that multiple motor plans compete for selection before the winning command is executed. Evidence for this is found in intermediate reach movements toward two potential target locations, but recent findings have challenged this notion by arguing that intermediate reaching movements reflect an optimal response strategy. By examining upper limb muscle recruitment during a free-choice reach task, we show early recruitment of a suboptimal averaged motor command to the two targets that subsequently transitions to a single motor command that compensates for the initially averaged motor command. Recording limb muscle activity permits single-trial resolution of the dynamic influence of the nonchosen target through time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luc P J Selen
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, 6500 HB, The Netherlands
| | - Brian D Corneil
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology
- Department of Psychology, Western University, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada
- Robarts Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5B7
| | - W Pieter Medendorp
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, 6500 HB, The Netherlands
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Nobre AC, van Ede F. Attention in flux. Neuron 2023; 111:971-986. [PMID: 37023719 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.02.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Revised: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023]
Abstract
Selective attention comprises essential infrastructural functions supporting cognition-anticipating, prioritizing, selecting, routing, integrating, and preparing signals to guide adaptive behavior. Most studies have examined its consequences, systems, and mechanisms in a static way, but attention is at the confluence of multiple sources of flux. The world advances, we operate within it, our minds change, and all resulting signals progress through multiple pathways within the dynamic networks of our brains. Our aim in this review is to raise awareness of and interest in three important facets of how timing impacts our understanding of attention. These include the challenges posed to attention by the timing of neural processing and psychological functions, the opportunities conferred to attention by various temporal structures in the environment, and how tracking the time courses of neural and behavioral modulations with continuous measures yields surprising insights into the workings and principles of attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna C Nobre
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK; Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK.
| | - Freek van Ede
- Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1081BT, the Netherlands.
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Zareian B, Lam A, Zagha E. Dorsolateral Striatum is a Bottleneck for Responding to Task-Relevant Stimuli in a Learned Whisker Detection Task in Mice. J Neurosci 2023; 43:2126-2139. [PMID: 36810226 PMCID: PMC10039746 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1506-22.2023] [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: 08/05/2022] [Revised: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023] Open
Abstract
A learned sensory-motor behavior engages multiple brain regions, including the neocortex and the basal ganglia. How a target stimulus is detected by these regions and converted to a motor response remains poorly understood. Here, we performed electrophysiological recordings and pharmacological inactivations of whisker motor cortex and dorsolateral striatum to determine the representations within, and functions of, each region during performance in a selective whisker detection task in male and female mice. From the recording experiments, we observed robust, lateralized sensory responses in both structures. We also observed bilateral choice probability and preresponse activity in both structures, with these features emerging earlier in whisker motor cortex than dorsolateral striatum. These findings establish both whisker motor cortex and dorsolateral striatum as potential contributors to the sensory-to-motor (sensorimotor) transformation. We performed pharmacological inactivation studies to determine the necessity of these brain regions for this task. We found that suppressing the dorsolateral striatum severely disrupts responding to task-relevant stimuli, without disrupting the ability to respond, whereas suppressing whisker motor cortex resulted in more subtle changes in sensory detection and response criterion. Together these data support the dorsolateral striatum as an essential node in the sensorimotor transformation of this whisker detection task.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Selecting an item in a grocery store, hailing a cab - these daily practices require us to transform sensory stimuli into motor responses. Many decades of previous research have studied goal-directed sensory-to-motor transformations within various brain structures, including the neocortex and the basal ganglia. Yet, our understanding of how these regions coordinate to perform sensory-to-motor transformations is limited because these brain structures are often studied by different researchers and through different behavioral tasks. Here, we record and perturb specific regions of the neocortex and the basal ganglia and compare their contributions during performance of a goal-directed somatosensory detection task. We find notable differences in the activities and functions of these regions, which suggests specific contributions to the sensory-to-motor transformation process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Behzad Zareian
- Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California 92521
| | - Angelina Lam
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California 92521
| | - Edward Zagha
- Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California 92521
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California 92521
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California Riverside, Riverside, California 92521
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Xue K, Zheng Y, Rafiei F, Rahnev D. The timing of confidence computations in human prefrontal cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.03.21.533662. [PMID: 36993581 PMCID: PMC10055280 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.21.533662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Knowing when confidence computations take place is critical for building mechanistic understanding of the neural and computational bases of metacognition. Yet, even though substantial amount of research has focused on revealing the neural correlates and computations underlying human confidence judgments, very little is known about the timing of confidence computations. Subjects judged the orientation of a briefly presented visual stimulus and provided a confidence rating regarding the accuracy of their decision. We delivered single pulses of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) at different times after stimulus presentation. TMS was delivered to either dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in the experimental group or to vertex in the control group. We found that TMS to DLPFC, but not to vertex, led to increased confidence in the absence of changes to accuracy or metacognitive ability. Critically, equivalent levels of confidence increase occurred for TMS delivered between 200 and 500 ms after stimulus presentation. These results suggest that confidence computations occur during a broad window that begins before the perceptual decision has been fully made and thus provide important constraints for theories of confidence generation.
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Working memory control dynamics follow principles of spatial computing. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1429. [PMID: 36918567 PMCID: PMC10015009 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36555-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Working memory (WM) allows us to remember and selectively control a limited set of items. Neural evidence suggests it is achieved by interactions between bursts of beta and gamma oscillations. However, it is not clear how oscillations, reflecting coherent activity of millions of neurons, can selectively control individual WM items. Here we propose the novel concept of spatial computing where beta and gamma interactions cause item-specific activity to flow spatially across the network during a task. This way, control-related information such as item order is stored in the spatial activity independent of the detailed recurrent connectivity supporting the item-specific activity itself. The spatial flow is in turn reflected in low-dimensional activity shared by many neurons. We verify these predictions by analyzing local field potentials and neuronal spiking. We hypothesize that spatial computing can facilitate generalization and zero-shot learning by utilizing spatial component as an additional information encoding dimension.
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Mittli D, Tukacs V, Ravasz L, Csősz É, Kozma T, Kardos J, Juhász G, Kékesi KA. LPS-induced acute neuroinflammation, involving interleukin-1 beta signaling, leads to proteomic, cellular, and network-level changes in the prefrontal cortex of mice. Brain Behav Immun Health 2023; 28:100594. [PMID: 36713475 PMCID: PMC9880243 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbih.2023.100594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuroinflammation induced by peripheral infections leads to various neuropsychiatric symptoms both in humans and laboratory animals, e.g., to the manifestation of sickness behavior that resembles some features of clinical depression. However, in addition to depression-like behavior, there are other symptoms of acute systemic inflammation that can be associated with the impairment of prefrontal cortex (PFC)-regulated cognitive functions. Thus, we investigated the electrophysiological and proteomic alterations of the PFC using brain slices and the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) model of acute peripheral infection in male mice. Based on the gene expression differences of the coreceptor (Il1rap) of interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) between neuron types in our previous single-cell sequencing dataset, we first compared the electrophysiological effects of IL-1β on PFC pyramidal cells and interneurons. We found that pyramidal cells are more responsive to IL-1β, as could be presumed from our transcriptomic data. To examine the possible circuit-level correlates of the cellular changes, frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) activity and fronto-occipital functional connectivity were analyzed in LPS-treated mice and significant changes were found in the fronto-occipital EEG correlation and coherence in the delta and high-gamma frequency bands. The upregulation of the prefrontal IL-1 system (IL-1β and its receptor) after LPS treatment was revealed by immunoassays simultaneously with the observed EEG changes. Furthermore, we investigated the LPS-induced alterations of the synaptic proteome in the PFC using 2-D differential gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry and found 48 altered proteins mainly related to cellular signaling, cytoskeletal organization, and carbohydrate/energy metabolism. Thus, our results indicate remarkable electrophysiological and molecular changes in the PFC related to acute systemic inflammation that may explain some of the concomitant behavioral and physiological symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dániel Mittli
- ELTE NAP Neuroimmunology Research Group, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- Laboratory of Proteomics, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Vanda Tukacs
- ELTE NAP Neuroimmunology Research Group, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- Laboratory of Proteomics, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Lilla Ravasz
- Laboratory of Proteomics, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- CRU Hungary Ltd., Göd, Hungary
| | - Éva Csősz
- Proteomics Core Facility, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | | | - József Kardos
- ELTE NAP Neuroimmunology Research Group, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gábor Juhász
- ELTE NAP Neuroimmunology Research Group, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- Laboratory of Proteomics, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- CRU Hungary Ltd., Göd, Hungary
- InnoScience Ltd., Mátranovák, Hungary
| | - Katalin Adrienna Kékesi
- ELTE NAP Neuroimmunology Research Group, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- Laboratory of Proteomics, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
- InnoScience Ltd., Mátranovák, Hungary
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van den Brink RL, Hagena K, Wilming N, Murphy PR, Büchel C, Donner TH. Flexible sensory-motor mapping rules manifest in correlated variability of stimulus and action codes across the brain. Neuron 2023; 111:571-584.e9. [PMID: 36476977 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.11.009] [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: 04/12/2022] [Revised: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Humans and non-human primates can flexibly switch between different arbitrary mappings from sensation to action to solve a cognitive task. It has remained unknown how the brain implements such flexible sensory-motor mapping rules. Here, we uncovered a dynamic reconfiguration of task-specific correlated variability between sensory and motor brain regions. Human participants switched between two rules for reporting visual orientation judgments during fMRI recordings. Rule switches were either signaled explicitly or inferred by the participants from ambiguous cues. We used behavioral modeling to reconstruct the time course of their belief about the active rule. In both contexts, the patterns of correlations between ongoing fluctuations in stimulus- and action-selective activity across visual- and action-related brain regions tracked participants' belief about the active rule. The rule-specific correlation patterns broke down around the time of behavioral errors. We conclude that internal beliefs about task state are instantiated in brain-wide, selective patterns of correlated variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruud L van den Brink
- Computational Cognitive Neuroscience Section, Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Keno Hagena
- Computational Cognitive Neuroscience Section, Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Niklas Wilming
- Computational Cognitive Neuroscience Section, Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Peter R Murphy
- Computational Cognitive Neuroscience Section, Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany; Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience and School of Psychology, Trinity College Dublin, D02 PN40 Dublin, Ireland; Department of Psychology, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland
| | - Christian Büchel
- Institute for Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20251 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Tobias H Donner
- Computational Cognitive Neuroscience Section, Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
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MacDowell CJ, Libby A, Jahn CI, Tafazoli S, Buschman TJ. Multiplexed Subspaces Route Neural Activity Across Brain-wide Networks. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.02.08.527772. [PMID: 36798411 PMCID: PMC9934668 DOI: 10.1101/2023.02.08.527772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/13/2023]
Abstract
Cognition is flexible. Behaviors can change on a moment-by-moment basis. Such flexibility is thought to rely on the brain's ability to route information through different networks of brain regions in order to support different cognitive computations. However, the mechanisms that determine which network of brain regions is engaged are unknown. To address this, we combined cortex-wide calcium imaging with high-density electrophysiological recordings in eight cortical and subcortical regions of mice. Different dimensions within the population activity of each brain region were functionally connected with different cortex-wide 'subspace networks' of regions. These subspace networks were multiplexed, allowing a brain region to simultaneously interact with multiple independent, yet overlapping, networks. Alignment of neural activity within a region to a specific subspace network dimension predicted how neural activity propagated between regions. Thus, changing the geometry of the neural representation within a brain region could be a mechanism to selectively engage different brain-wide networks to support cognitive flexibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camden J. MacDowell
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Washington Rd, Princeton, NJ
- Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, 125 Paterson St, New Brunswick, NJ
| | - Alexandra Libby
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Washington Rd, Princeton, NJ
| | - Caroline I. Jahn
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Washington Rd, Princeton, NJ
| | - Sina Tafazoli
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Washington Rd, Princeton, NJ
| | - Timothy J. Buschman
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Washington Rd, Princeton, NJ
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Washington Rd, Princeton, NJ
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Abstract
Neural mechanisms of perceptual decision making have been extensively studied in experimental settings that mimic stable environments with repeating stimuli, fixed rules, and payoffs. In contrast, we live in an ever-changing environment and have varying goals and behavioral demands. To accommodate variability, our brain flexibly adjusts decision-making processes depending on context. Here, we review a growing body of research that explores the neural mechanisms underlying this flexibility. We highlight diverse forms of context dependency in decision making implemented through a variety of neural computations. Context-dependent neural activity is observed in a distributed network of brain structures, including posterior parietal, sensory, motor, and subcortical regions, as well as the prefrontal areas classically implicated in cognitive control. We propose that investigating the distributed network underlying flexible decisions is key to advancing our understanding and discuss a path forward for experimental and theoretical investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gouki Okazawa
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA;
- Institute of Neuroscience, Key Laboratory of Primate Neurobiology, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Roozbeh Kiani
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY, USA;
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
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46
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The effect of temporal expectation on the correlations of frontal neural activity with alpha oscillation and sensory-motor latency. Sci Rep 2023; 13:2012. [PMID: 36737634 PMCID: PMC9898494 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-29310-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 02/02/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
In a dynamic environment, we seek to enhance behavioral responses by anticipating future events. Previous studies have shown that the probability distribution of the timing of future events could shape our expectation of event timing; furthermore, the modulation of alpha oscillation is known to be a critical neural factor. However, a link between the modulation of alpha oscillation by temporal expectation and single neural activity is missing. In this study, we investigated how temporal expectation modulated frontal neural activities and behavioral reaction time by recording neural activity from the frontal eye field smooth pursuit eye movement region of monkeys while they performed a smooth pursuit eye movement task. We found that the temporal expectation reduced the coherence between the neural spiking and alpha frequency of the local field potential, along with the trial-by-trial correlation between the neural spiking activity and pursuit latency. This result suggests that the desynchronization of alpha oscillation by temporal expectation would be related to the decorrelation of population neural activity, which could be the neural source of reaction time enhancement by temporal expectation.
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47
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Different eigenvalue distributions encode the same temporal tasks in recurrent neural networks. Cogn Neurodyn 2023; 17:257-275. [PMID: 35469119 PMCID: PMC9020562 DOI: 10.1007/s11571-022-09802-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Revised: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Different brain areas, such as the cortex and, more specifically, the prefrontal cortex, show great recurrence in their connections, even in early sensory areas. Several approaches and methods based on trained networks have been proposed to model and describe these regions. It is essential to understand the dynamics behind the models because they are used to build different hypotheses about the functioning of brain areas and to explain experimental results. The main contribution here is the description of the dynamics through the classification and interpretation carried out with a set of numerical simulations. This study sheds light on the multiplicity of solutions obtained for the same tasks and shows the link between the spectra of linearized trained networks and the dynamics of the counterparts. The patterns in the distribution of the eigenvalues of the recurrent weight matrix were studied and properly related to the dynamics in each task. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11571-022-09802-5.
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48
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Mahmood A, Steindler J, Germaine H, Miller P, Katz DB. Coupled Dynamics of Stimulus-Evoked Gustatory Cortical and Basolateral Amygdalar Activity. J Neurosci 2023; 43:386-404. [PMID: 36443002 PMCID: PMC9864615 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1412-22.2022] [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: 07/20/2022] [Revised: 11/12/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Gustatory cortical (GC) single-neuron taste responses reflect taste quality and palatability in successive epochs. Ensemble analyses reveal epoch-to-epoch firing-rate changes in these responses to be sudden, coherent transitions. Such nonlinear dynamics suggest that GC is part of a recurrent network, producing these dynamics in concert with other structures. Basolateral amygdala (BLA), which is reciprocally connected to GC and central to hedonic processing, is a strong candidate partner for GC, in that BLA taste responses evolve on the same general clock as GC and because inhibition of activity in the BLA→GC pathway degrades the sharpness of GC transitions. These facts motivate, but do not test, our overarching hypothesis that BLA and GC act as a single, comodulated network during taste processing. Here, we provide just this test of simultaneous (BLA and GC) extracellular taste responses in female rats, probing the multiregional dynamics of activity to directly test whether BLA and GC responses contain coupled dynamics. We show that BLA and GC response magnitudes covary across trials and within single responses, and that changes in BLA-GC local field potential phase coherence are epoch specific. Such classic coherence analyses, however, obscure the most salient facet of BLA-GC coupling: sudden transitions in and out of the epoch known to be involved in driving gaping behavior happen near simultaneously in the two regions, despite huge trial-to-trial variability in transition latencies. This novel form of inter-regional coupling, which we show is easily replicated in model networks, suggests collective processing in a distributed neural network.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT There has been little investigation into real-time communication between brain regions during taste processing, a fact reflecting the dominant belief that taste circuitry is largely feedforward. Here, we perform an in-depth analysis of real-time interactions between GC and BLA in response to passive taste deliveries, using both conventional coherence metrics and a novel methodology that explicitly considers trial-to-trial variability and fast single-trial dynamics in evoked responses. Our results demonstrate that BLA-GC coherence changes as the taste response unfolds, and that BLA and GC specifically couple for the sudden transition into (and out of) the behaviorally relevant neural response epoch, suggesting (although not proving) that: (1) recurrent interactions subserve the function of the dyad as (2) a putative attractor network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abuzar Mahmood
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02453
| | | | - Hannah Germaine
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02453
| | - Paul Miller
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02453
- Biology, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02453
- Volen Center for Complex Systems, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02453
| | - Donald B Katz
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02453
- Departments of Psychology
- Volen Center for Complex Systems, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02453
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49
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Orlandi JG, Abdolrahmani M, Aoki R, Lyamzin DR, Benucci A. Distributed context-dependent choice information in mouse posterior cortex. Nat Commun 2023; 14:192. [PMID: 36635318 PMCID: PMC9837177 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-35824-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Choice information appears in multi-area brain networks mixed with sensory, motor, and cognitive variables. In the posterior cortex-traditionally implicated in decision computations-the presence, strength, and area specificity of choice signals are highly variable, limiting a cohesive understanding of their computational significance. Examining the mesoscale activity in the mouse posterior cortex during a visual task, we found that choice signals defined a decision variable in a low-dimensional embedding space with a prominent contribution along the ventral visual stream. Their subspace was near-orthogonal to concurrently represented sensory and motor-related activations, with modulations by task difficulty and by the animals' attention state. A recurrent neural network trained with animals' choices revealed an equivalent decision variable whose context-dependent dynamics agreed with that of the neural data. Our results demonstrated an independent, multi-area decision variable in the posterior cortex, controlled by task features and cognitive demands, possibly linked to contextual inference computations in dynamic animal-environment interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier G Orlandi
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan.,Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada
| | | | - Ryo Aoki
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan
| | - Dmitry R Lyamzin
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan
| | - Andrea Benucci
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan. .,University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Department of Mathematical Informatics, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo City, Tokyo, 113-0032, Japan.
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50
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Varley TF, Sporns O, Schaffelhofer S, Scherberger H, Dann B. Information-processing dynamics in neural networks of macaque cerebral cortex reflect cognitive state and behavior. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2207677120. [PMID: 36603032 PMCID: PMC9926243 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2207677120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
One of the essential functions of biological neural networks is the processing of information. This includes everything from processing sensory information to perceive the environment, up to processing motor information to interact with the environment. Due to methodological limitations, it has been historically unclear how information processing changes during different cognitive or behavioral states and to what extent information is processed within or between the network of neurons in different brain areas. In this study, we leverage recent advances in the calculation of information dynamics to explore neural-level processing within and between the frontoparietal areas AIP, F5, and M1 during a delayed grasping task performed by three macaque monkeys. While information processing was high within all areas during all cognitive and behavioral states of the task, interareal processing varied widely: During visuomotor transformation, AIP and F5 formed a reciprocally connected processing unit, while no processing was present between areas during the memory period. Movement execution was processed globally across all areas with predominance of processing in the feedback direction. Furthermore, the fine-scale network structure reconfigured at the neuron level in response to different grasping conditions, despite no differences in the overall amount of information present. These results suggest that areas dynamically form higher-order processing units according to the cognitive or behavioral demand and that the information-processing network is hierarchically organized at the neuron level, with the coarse network structure determining the behavioral state and finer changes reflecting different conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas F. Varley
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University47405-7007, Bloomington, IN
- School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, Indiana University47405-7007, Bloomington, IN
| | - Olaf Sporns
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University47405-7007, Bloomington, IN
| | - Stefan Schaffelhofer
- Neurobiology Laboratory, German Primate Center37077, Goettingen, Germany
- Faculty of Biology and Psychology, University of Goettingen37073, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Hansjörg Scherberger
- Neurobiology Laboratory, German Primate Center37077, Goettingen, Germany
- Faculty of Biology and Psychology, University of Goettingen37073, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Benjamin Dann
- Neurobiology Laboratory, German Primate Center37077, Goettingen, Germany
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