scholarly journals VIP interneurons in mouse whisker S1 exhibit sensory and action-related signals during goal-directed behavior

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepa L Ramamurthy ◽  
Andrew Chen ◽  
Patrick C Huang ◽  
Priyanka Bharghavan ◽  
Gayathri Krishna ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Activity ◽  
Inhibitory Neuron ◽  
Sensory Cortex ◽  
Related Activity ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
State Dependent ◽  
Sensory Responses ◽  
Motor Actions ◽  
First Time ◽  
Goal Directed Behavior

Vasoactive intestinal peptide-expressing (VIP) interneurons, which constitute 10-15% of the cortical inhibitory neuron population, have emerged as an important cell type for regulating excitatory cell activity based on behavioral state. VIP cells in sensory cortex are potently engaged by neuromodulatory and motor inputs during active exploratory behaviors like locomotion and whisking, which in turn promote pyramidal cell firing via disinhibition. Such state-dependent modulation of activity by VIP cells in sensory cortex has been studied widely in recent years. However, the function of VIP cells during goal-directed behavior is less well understood. It is not clear how task-related events like sensory stimuli, motor actions, or reward activate VIP cells in sensory cortex since there is often temporal overlap in the occurrence of these events. We developed a Go/NoGo whisker touch detection task which incorporates a post-stimulus delay period to separate sensory-driven activity from action- or reward-related activity during behavior. We used 2-photon calcium imaging to measure task-related signals of L2/3 VIP neurons in S1 of behaving mice. We report for the first time that VIP cells in mouse whisker S1 are activated by both whisker stimuli and goal-directed licking. Whisker- and lick-related signals were spatially organized in relation to anatomical columns in S1. Sensory responses of VIP cells were tuned to specific whiskers, whether or not they also displayed lick-related activity.

scholarly journals Sensory coding and the causal impact of mouse cortex in a visual decision

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Zatka-Haas ◽  
Nicholas A Steinmetz ◽  
Matteo Carandini ◽  
Kenneth D Harris
Keyword(s):  
Task Performance ◽  
Causal Role ◽  
Behavioral Performance ◽  
Dorsal Cortex ◽  
Related Activity ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Visual Contrast ◽  
Mouse Cortex ◽  
Causal Impact ◽  
Motor Actions

Correlates of sensory stimuli and motor actions are found in multiple cortical areas, but such correlates do not indicate whether these areas are causally relevant to task performance. We trained mice to discriminate visual contrast and report their decision by steering a wheel. Widefield calcium imaging and Neuropixels recordings in cortex revealed stimulus-related activity in visual (VIS) and frontal (MOs) areas, and widespread movement-related activity across the whole dorsal cortex. Optogenetic inactivation biased choices only when targeted at VIS and MOs,proportionally to each site's encoding of the visual stimulus, and at times corresponding to peak stimulus decoding. A neurometric model based on summing and subtracting activity in VIS and MOs successfully described behavioral performance and predicted the effect of optogenetic inactivation. Thus, sensory signals localized in visual and frontal cortex play a causal role in task performance, while widespread dorsal cortical signals correlating with movement reflect processes that do not play a causal role.

scholarly journals Motor context dominates output from Purkinje cell functional regions during reflexive visuomotor behaviours

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura D. Knogler ◽  
Andreas M. Kist ◽  
Ruben Portugues
Keyword(s):  
Purkinje Cell ◽  
Purkinje Cells ◽  
Cell Activity ◽  
Behavioral Repertoire ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Larval Zebrafish ◽  
Functional Regions ◽  
Electrophysiological Recordings ◽  
Motor Signal ◽  
Motor Actions

SUMMARYThe cerebellum integrates sensory stimuli and motor actions to enable smooth coordination and motor learning. Here we harness the innate behavioral repertoire of the larval zebrafish to characterize the spatiotemporal dynamics of feature coding across the entire Purkinje cell population during visual stimuli and the reflexive behaviors that they elicit. Population imaging reveals three spatially-clustered regions of Purkinje cell activity along the rostrocaudal axis. Complementary single-cell electrophysiological recordings assign these Purkinje cells to one of three functional phenotypes that encode a specific visual, and not motor, signal via complex spikes. In contrast, simple spike output of most Purkinje cells is strongly driven by motor-related tail and eye signals. Interactions between complex and simple spikes show heterogeneous modulation patterns across different Purkinje cells, which become temporally restricted during swimming episodes. Our findings reveal how sensorimotor information is encoded by individual Purkinje cells and organized into behavioral modules across the entire cerebellum.

scholarly journals Motor context dominates output from purkinje cell functional regions during reflexive visuomotor behaviours

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura D Knogler ◽  
Andreas M Kist ◽  
Ruben Portugues
Keyword(s):  
Purkinje Cell ◽  
Purkinje Cells ◽  
Cell Activity ◽  
Behavioral Repertoire ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Larval Zebrafish ◽  
Functional Regions ◽  
Electrophysiological Recordings ◽  
Motor Signal ◽  
Motor Actions

The cerebellum integrates sensory stimuli and motor actions to enable smooth coordination and motor learning. Here we harness the innate behavioral repertoire of the larval zebrafish to characterize the spatiotemporal dynamics of feature coding across the entire Purkinje cell population during visual stimuli and the reflexive behaviors that they elicit. Population imaging reveals three spatially-clustered regions of Purkinje cell activity along the rostrocaudal axis. Complementary single-cell electrophysiological recordings assign these Purkinje cells to one of three functional phenotypes that encode a specific visual, and not motor, signal via complex spikes. In contrast, simple spike output of most Purkinje cells is strongly driven by motor-related tail and eye signals. Interactions between complex and simple spikes show heterogeneous modulation patterns across different Purkinje cells, which become temporally restricted during swimming episodes. Our findings reveal how sensorimotor information is encoded by individual Purkinje cells and organized into behavioral modules across the entire cerebellum.

Slow Fluctuations in Attentional Control of Sensory Cortex

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 460-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia W. Y. Kam ◽  
Elizabeth Dao ◽  
James Farley ◽  
Kevin Fitzpatrick ◽  
Jonathan Smallwood ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gain Control ◽  
Sensory Cortex ◽  
Visual Spatial ◽  
State Dependent ◽  
Current Task ◽  
Random Intervals ◽  
Sensory Responses ◽  
Sensory Evoked ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
Subjective Reports

Top–down control of visual sensory cortex has long been tied to the orienting of visual spatial attention on a rapid, moment-to-moment basis. Here, we examined whether sensory responses in visual cortex are also modulated by natural and comparatively slower fluctuations in whether or not one is paying attention to the task at hand. Participants performed a simple visual discrimination task at fixation as the ERPs to task-irrelevant probes in the upper visual periphery were recorded. At random intervals, participants were stopped and asked to report on their attentional state at the time of stoppage—either “on-task” or “off-task.” ERPs to the probes immediately preceding these subjective reports were then examined as a function of whether attention was in an on-task versus off-task state. We found that sensory-evoked responses to the probes were significantly attenuated during off-task relative to on-task states, as measured by the visual P1 ERP component. In two additional experiments, we replicated this effect while (1) finding that off-task sensory attenuation extends to the auditory domain, as measured by the auditory N1 ERP component, and (2) eliminating state-dependent shifts in general arousal as a possible explanation for the effects. Collectively, our findings suggest that sensory gain control in cortex is yoked to the natural ebb and flow in how much attention we pay to the current task over time.

scholarly journals Comparison of decision-related signals in sensory and motor preparatory responses of neurons in Area LIP

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Shushruth ◽  
Mark Mazurek ◽  
Michael N. Shadlen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Related Activity ◽  
Perceptual Decision ◽  
Evidence Accumulation ◽  
Association Area ◽  
Dot Motion ◽  
Sensory Responses ◽  
Motor Actions

ABSTRACTNeurons in the lateral intraparietal area (LIP) of Macaques exhibit both sensory and oculomotor preparatory responses. During perceptual decision making, the preparatory responses have been shown to track the state of the evolving evidence leading to the decision. The sensory responses are known to reflect categorical properties of visual stimuli, but it is not known if these responses also track evolving evidence. We compared sensory and oculomotor-preparatory responses in the same neurons during a direction discrimination task when either the discriminandum (random dot motion) or an eye movement choice-target was in the neuron’s response field. Both configurations elicited task related activity, but only the motor preparatory responses reflected evidence accumulation. The results are consistent with the proposal that evolving decision processes are supported by persistent neural activity in the service of actions or intentions, as opposed to high order representations of stimulus properties.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTPerceptual decision making is the process of choosing an appropriate motor action based on perceived sensory information. Association areas of the cortex play an important role in this sensory-motor transformation. The neurons in these areas show both sensory- and motor-related activity. We show here that, in the macaque parietal association area LIP, signatures of the process of evidence accumulation that underlies the decisions are predominantly reflected in the motor-related activity. This finding supports the proposal that perceptual decision making is implemented in the brain as a process of choosing between available motor actions rather than as a process of representing the properties of the sensory stimulus.

scholarly journals Synthesis and Characterization of Exopolysaccharide Encapsulated PCL/Gelatin Skin Substitute for Full-Thickness Wound Regeneration

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 854
Author(s):  
Ahmad Hivechi ◽  
Peiman Brouki Milan ◽  
Khashayar Modabberi ◽  
Moein Amoupour ◽  
Kaveh Ebrahimzadeh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Activity ◽  
Average Diameter ◽  
Skin Substitute ◽  
Full Thickness ◽  
Skin Integrity ◽  
Hematoxylin And Eosin ◽  
First Time ◽  
Full Thickness Wound

Loss of skin integrity can lead to serious problems and even death. In this study, for the first time, the effect of exopolysaccharide (EPS) produced by cold-adapted yeast R. mucilaginosa sp. GUMS16 on a full-thickness wound in rats was evaluated. The GUMS16 strain’s EPS was precipitated by adding cold ethanol and then lyophilized. Afterward, the EPS with polycaprolactone (PCL) and gelatin was fabricated into nanofibers with two single-needle and double-needle procedures. The rats’ full-thickness wounds were treated with nanofibers and Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and Masson’s Trichrome staining was done for studying the wound healing in rats. Obtained results from SEM, DLS, FTIR, and TGA showed that EPS has a carbohydrate chemical structure with an average diameter of 40 nm. Cell viability assessments showed that the 2% EPS loaded sample exhibits the highest cell activity. Moreover, in vivo implantation of nanofiber webs on the full-thickness wound on rat models displayed a faster healing rate when EPS was loaded into a nanofiber. These results suggest that the produced EPS can be used for skin tissue engineering applications.

scholarly journals Analysis of stimulus-related activity in rat auditory cortex using complex spectral coefficients

2013 ◽  
Vol 110 (3) ◽  
pp. 621-639 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan M. Krause ◽  
Matthew I. Banks
Keyword(s):  
Low Frequency ◽  
Phase Changes ◽  
Induced Response ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Time Frequency ◽  
State Dependent ◽  
Spectral Coefficients ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Sensory Responses ◽  
Mean Variance

The neural mechanisms of sensory responses recorded from the scalp or cortical surface remain controversial. Evoked vs. induced response components (i.e., changes in mean vs. variance) are associated with bottom-up vs. top-down processing, but trial-by-trial response variability can confound this interpretation. Phase reset of ongoing oscillations has also been postulated to contribute to sensory responses. In this article, we present evidence that responses under passive listening conditions are dominated by variable evoked response components. We measured the mean, variance, and phase of complex time-frequency coefficients of epidurally recorded responses to acoustic stimuli in rats. During the stimulus, changes in mean, variance, and phase tended to co-occur. After the stimulus, there was a small, low-frequency offset response in the mean and modest, prolonged desynchronization in the alpha band. Simulations showed that trial-by-trial variability in the mean can account for most of the variance and phase changes observed during the stimulus. This variability was state dependent, with smallest variability during periods of greatest arousal. Our data suggest that cortical responses to auditory stimuli reflect variable inputs to the cortical network. These analyses suggest that caution should be exercised when interpreting variance and phase changes in terms of top-down cortical processing.

Task-related responses of monkey medullary dorsal horn neurons

1987 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 289-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. H. Duncan ◽  
M. C. Bushnell ◽  
R. Bates ◽  
R. Dubner
Keyword(s):  
Dorsal Horn ◽  
Thermal Stimulus ◽  
Behavioral Task ◽  
Related Activity ◽  
Specific Stimulus ◽  
Dorsal Horn Neurons ◽  
Medullary Dorsal Horn ◽  
Successful Execution ◽  
Individual Task ◽  
Sensory Responses

Medullary dorsal horn neurons with trigeminal sensory properties have been previously shown to have additional responses associated with cues relevant to the successful execution of a behavioral task. These “task-related” responses were evoked by environmental cues but were independent of the specific stimulus parameters. We have examined further the characteristics of task-related responses in medullary dorsal horn neurons of three monkeys. Single-unit activity was recorded while the monkeys were performing behavioral tasks that required them to discriminate thermal or visual stimuli for a liquid reward. Forty-five percent (34/75) of the medullary dorsal horn neurons studied exhibited task-related activity that was significantly correlated with the stereotypical behavioral events that occurred during the tasks. Similar events occurring outside of the task produced no response. In addition to the task-related activity of these medullary dorsal horn neurons, responses to mechanical and/or thermal stimuli presented within the neuron's receptive field were demonstrated in 28 of 34 cases. These sensory responses also were evoked by the same stimuli presented outside of the behavioral task. Fifteen of the neurons with task-related responses could be activated antidromically from thalamic stimulating electrodes. Task-related responses were categorized according to their relationship to the three phases of the behavioral trial: trial initiation, trial continuation, and trial termination. Although an individual task-related response was associated with a single behavioral event, most medullary dorsal horn neurons (30/34) exhibited a reproducible pattern of task-related responses that occurred during more than one phase of the trial. Trial-initiation task-related responses were subdivided depending on their correlation with specific events that occurred within that phase of the trial. One-third of the 18 excitatory trial-initiation responses were associated with the visual stimulus that cued the monkey to begin the trial; the remaining two-thirds were associated with the monkey's press of the button that actually initiated the trial. Trial-continuation task-related responses (observed while the monkey waited for a thermal stimulus that triggered a rewarded motor response) were shown to be independent of the actual temperature of the thermal stimulus. In addition these trial-continuation task-related responses were also noted during trials without a thermal stimulus, in which the trigger cue was the onset of a light (in a visual task).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Decoding Neural Spike Trains: Calculating the Probability That a Spike Train and an External Signal Are Related

2002 ◽  
Vol 87 (3) ◽  
pp. 1659-1663 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terence D. Sanger
Keyword(s):  
Spike Train ◽  
Cell Activity ◽  
Simulated Data ◽  
External Signal ◽  
Time Varying ◽  
Neural Firing ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Correlation Methods ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Recursive Calculation

Experimental and clinical applications of extracellular recordings of spiking cell activity frequently are used to relate the activity of a cell to externally measurable signals such as surface potentials, sensory stimuli, or movement measurements. When the external signal is time-varying, correlation methods have traditionally been used to quantify the degree of relation with the neural firing. However, in some circumstances correlation methods can give misleading results. A new algorithm is described that estimates the extent to which a spike train is related to a continuous time-varying signal. The technique calculates the probability of generating a spike train with Poisson statistics if the time-varying signal determines the Poisson rate. This is accomplished by successive division of the signal and the spike train into halves and recursive calculation of the probability of each half-signal. The performance of the new algorithm is compared with the performance of correlation methods on simulated data.

scholarly journals Awake perception is associated with dedicated neuronal assemblies in cerebral cortex

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anton Filipchuk ◽  
Alain Destexhe ◽  
Brice Bathellier
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Sensory Perception ◽  
Sensory Cortex ◽  
State Change ◽  
Ongoing Activity ◽  
Sensory Inputs ◽  
Neuronal Assemblies ◽  
Sensory Responses

AbstractNeural activity in sensory cortex combines stimulus responses and ongoing activity, but it remains unclear whether they reflect the same underlying dynamics or separate processes. Here we show that during wakefulness, the neuronal assemblies evoked by sounds in the auditory cortex and thalamus are specific to the stimulus and distinct from the assemblies observed in ongoing activity. In contrast, during anesthesia, evoked assemblies are indistinguishable from ongoing assemblies in cortex, while they remain distinct in the thalamus. A strong remapping of sensory responses accompanies this dynamical state change produced by anesthesia. Together, these results show that the awake cortex engages dedicated neuronal assemblies in response to sensory inputs, which we suggest is a network correlate of sensory perception.One-Sentence SummarySensory responses in the awake cortex engage specific neuronal assemblies that disappear under anesthesia.

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