Abstract
The ability to associate reward-predicting stimuli with adaptive behavior is frequently attributed to the prefrontal cortex, but the stimulus-specificity, spatial distribution, and stability of neural cue-reward associations are unresolved. We trained headfixed mice on an olfactory Pavlovian conditioning task and measured the coding properties of individual neurons across space (prefrontal, olfactory, and motor cortices) and time (multiple days). Neurons encoding cues and licks were most common in olfactory and motor cortex, respectively. By classifying cueencoding neurons according to their responses to the six odor cues, we unexpectedly found value coding, including coding of trial-by-trial reward history, in all regions we sampled. We further found that prefrontal cue and lick codes were preserved across days. Our results demonstrate that individual prefrontal neurons stably encode components of cue-reward learning within a larger spatial gradient of coding properties.
Competing Interest Statement
The authors have declared no competing interest.
