Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

Task-dependent representations of stimulus and choice in mouse parietal cortex

View ORCID ProfileGerald N. Pho, View ORCID ProfileMichael J. Goard, Jonathan Woodson, Benjamin Crawford, Mriganka Sur
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/144592
Gerald N. Pho
1Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
2Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
5Co-first author
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Gerald N. Pho
Michael J. Goard
1Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
2Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
3Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
4Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA
5Co-first author
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Michael J. Goard
Jonathan Woodson
1Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
2Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Benjamin Crawford
1Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
2Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Mriganka Sur
1Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
2Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Preview PDF
Loading

Abstract

The posterior parietal cortex (PPC) has been implicated in perceptual decisions, but whether its role is specific to sensory processing or sensorimotor transformation is not well understood. To distinguish these possibilities, we trained mice of either sex to perform a visual discrimination task and imaged the activity of PPC populations during both engaged behavior and passive viewing. Unlike neurons in primary visual cortex (V1), which responded robustly to stimuli in both conditions, most neurons in PPC responded exclusively during task engagement. However, PPC responses were heterogeneous, with a smaller subset of neurons exhibiting stimulus-driven, contrast-dependent responses in both conditions. Neurons in PPC also exhibit stronger modulation by noise correlations relative to V1, as illustrated by a generalized linear model that takes into account both task variables and between-neuron correlations. To test whether PPC responses primarily encoded the stimulus or the learned sensorimotor contingency, we imaged the same neurons before and after re-training mice on a reversed task contingency. Unlike V1 neurons, most PPC neurons exhibited a dramatic shift in selectivity after re-training and reflected the new sensorimotor contingency, while a smaller subset of neurons preserved their stimulus selectivity. Mouse PPC is therefore strongly task-dependent, contains heterogeneous populations sensitive to stimulus and choice, and may play an important role in the flexible transformation of sensory inputs into motor commands.

Significance Statement Perceptual decision making involves both processing of sensory information and mapping that information onto appropriate motor commands via learned sensorimotor associations. While visual cortex (V1) is known to be critical for sensory processing, it is unclear what circuits are involved in the process of sensorimotor transformation. While the mouse posterior parietal cortex (PPC) has been implicated in visual decisions, its specific role has been controversial. By imaging population activity while manipulating task engagement and sensorimotor contingencies, we demonstrate that PPC, unlike V1, is highly task-dependent, heterogeneous, and sensitive to the learned task demands. Our results suggest that PPC is more than a visual area, and may instead be involved in the flexible mapping of visual information onto appropriate motor actions.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted May 31, 2017.
Download PDF
Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Task-dependent representations of stimulus and choice in mouse parietal cortex
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
Task-dependent representations of stimulus and choice in mouse parietal cortex
Gerald N. Pho, Michael J. Goard, Jonathan Woodson, Benjamin Crawford, Mriganka Sur
bioRxiv 144592; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/144592
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Task-dependent representations of stimulus and choice in mouse parietal cortex
Gerald N. Pho, Michael J. Goard, Jonathan Woodson, Benjamin Crawford, Mriganka Sur
bioRxiv 144592; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/144592

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Neuroscience
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (3504)
  • Biochemistry (7346)
  • Bioengineering (5321)
  • Bioinformatics (20259)
  • Biophysics (10013)
  • Cancer Biology (7742)
  • Cell Biology (11298)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (6437)
  • Ecology (9950)
  • Epidemiology (2065)
  • Evolutionary Biology (13318)
  • Genetics (9360)
  • Genomics (12581)
  • Immunology (7700)
  • Microbiology (19016)
  • Molecular Biology (7439)
  • Neuroscience (41029)
  • Paleontology (300)
  • Pathology (1229)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (2135)
  • Physiology (3157)
  • Plant Biology (6860)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (1272)
  • Synthetic Biology (1895)
  • Systems Biology (5311)
  • Zoology (1089)