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Movement-related activity dominates cortex during sensory-guided decision making

View ORCID ProfileSimon Musall, View ORCID ProfileMatthew T. Kaufman, Steven Gluf, View ORCID ProfileAnne K. Churchland
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/308288
Simon Musall
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Matthew T. Kaufman
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Steven Gluf
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Anne K. Churchland
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Abstract

An animal’s movements and internal state generate an “internal backdrop” of activity that is dynamically modulated. During behavior, this internal backdrop interacts with signals arising from incoming sensory stimuli and may have a substantial impact on task-related computations, like those underlying decision-making. To understand the joint effects of internal backdrop and task-imposed variables, we measured neural activity across the entire dorsal cortex of task-performing mice. We characterized internal backdrop using multiple measures of self-generated parameters including pupil diameter, whisking and body motion. Surprisingly, internal backdrop dominated neural activity across the entire cortex, dwarfing task-related variables and even sensory stimuli. Single neurons in frontal cortex were likewise dominated by internal backdrop. A linear model allowed us to account for multiple dimensions of internal backdrop and uncover hidden signatures of task-related activity. We show that complex, ongoing behavior fundamentally shapes neural activity throughout cortex and must be accounted for when studying decision-making.

Highlights

  1. We imaged cortex-wide neural activity during auditory and visual decisions in mice.

  2. Cortical activity was surprisingly similar during sensory-guided versus random decisions.

  3. Movement and state variables vastly outperformed task variables in predicting neural activity.

  4. A linear model revealed hidden task-related activity in brain areas and single neurons.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted May 10, 2018.
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Movement-related activity dominates cortex during sensory-guided decision making
Simon Musall, Matthew T. Kaufman, Steven Gluf, Anne K. Churchland
bioRxiv 308288; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/308288
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Movement-related activity dominates cortex during sensory-guided decision making
Simon Musall, Matthew T. Kaufman, Steven Gluf, Anne K. Churchland
bioRxiv 308288; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/308288

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