Summary
Numerous cognitive functions including attention and learning are influenced by the dynamic patterns of acetylcholine release across the brain. How acetylcholine mediates these functions in cortex remains unclear, as the relationship between cortical acetylcholine and behavioral events has not been precisely measured across task learning. To dissect this relationship, we quantified motor behavior and sub-second acetylcholine dynamics in primary somatosensory and auditory cortex during rewarded sensory detection and discrimination tasks. We found that acetylcholine dynamics were directly attributable to goal-directed actions (whisker motion and licking), rather than delivery of sensory cues or rewards. As task performance improved across training, acetylcholine release associated with the first lick in a trial was strongly and specifically potentiated. These results show that acetylcholine dynamics in sensory cortex are driven by directed motor actions to gather information and act upon it.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
Footnotes
We added new authors, data, and analyses to address feedback on the manuscript. In particular, new imaging of A1 during behavior shows generalization of the findings to multiple regions of sensory cortex, and a GLM allows more precise dissection of the features that drive acetylcholine dynamics.
