RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Preserved neural population dynamics across animals performing similar behaviour
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2022.09.26.509498
DO 10.1101/2022.09.26.509498
A1 Mostafa Safaie
A1 Joanna C. Chang
A1 Junchol Park
A1 Lee E. Miller
A1 Joshua T. Dudman
A1 Matthew G. Perich
A1 Juan A. Gallego
YR 2022
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/09/27/2022.09.26.509498.abstract
AB Animals of the same species often exhibit similar behaviours that are advantageously adapted to their body and their environment. These behaviours are shaped by selection pressures over evolutionary timescales at the species level, yet each individual produces these behaviours using a different, uniquely constructed brain. It remains unclear how these common behavioural adaptations emerge from the idiosyncratic neural circuitry of a given individual. Here, we hypothesised that the adaptive behaviour of a species requires specific neural population ‘latent dynamics’. These latent dynamics should thus be preserved and identifiable across individuals within a species, regardless of the idiosyncratic aspects of each individual’s brain. Using recordings of neural populations from monkey and mouse motor cortex, we show that individuals from the same species share surprisingly similar neural dynamics when they perform the same behaviour. The similarity in neural population dynamics extends beyond cortical regions to the dorsal striatum, an evolutionarily older structure, and also holds when animals con-sciously plan future movements without overt behaviour. These preserved dynamics are behaviourally-relevant, allowing decoding of intended and ongoing movements across individuals. We posit that these emergent neural population dynamics result from evolutionarily-imposed constraints on brain development, and reflect a fundamental property of the neural basis of behaviour.Competing Interest StatementJ.A.G. receives funding from Meta Platform Technologies, LLC.