Origins of choice-related activity in mouse somatosensory cortex

Hongdian Yang; Sung E. Kwon; Kyle S. Severson; Daniel H. O'Connor

doi:10.1038/nn.4183

Origins of choice-related activity in mouse somatosensory cortex

Hongdian Yang, Sung E. Kwon, Kyle S. Severson, Daniel H. O'Connor

School of Medicine

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

76 Scopus citations

Abstract

During perceptual decisions about faint or ambiguous sensory stimuli, even identical stimuli can produce different choices. Spike trains from sensory cortex neurons can predict trial-to-trial variability in choice. Choice-related spiking is widely studied as a way to link cortical activity to perception, but its origins remain unclear. Using imaging and electrophysiology, we found that mouse primary somatosensory cortex neurons showed robust choice-related activity during a tactile detection task. Spike trains from primary mechanoreceptive neurons did not predict choices about identical stimuli. Spike trains from thalamic relay neurons showed highly transient, weak choice-related activity. Intracellular recordings in cortex revealed a prolonged choice-related depolarization in most neurons that was not accounted for by feed-forward thalamic input. Top-down axons projecting from secondary to primary somatosensory cortex signaled choice. An intracellular measure of stimulus sensitivity determined which neurons converted choice-related depolarization into spiking. Our results reveal how choice-related spiking emerges across neural circuits and within single neurons.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	127-134
Number of pages	8
Journal	Nature neuroscience
Volume	19
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4183
State	Published - Dec 29 2015

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Neuroscience(all)

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title = "Origins of choice-related activity in mouse somatosensory cortex",

abstract = "During perceptual decisions about faint or ambiguous sensory stimuli, even identical stimuli can produce different choices. Spike trains from sensory cortex neurons can predict trial-to-trial variability in choice. Choice-related spiking is widely studied as a way to link cortical activity to perception, but its origins remain unclear. Using imaging and electrophysiology, we found that mouse primary somatosensory cortex neurons showed robust choice-related activity during a tactile detection task. Spike trains from primary mechanoreceptive neurons did not predict choices about identical stimuli. Spike trains from thalamic relay neurons showed highly transient, weak choice-related activity. Intracellular recordings in cortex revealed a prolonged choice-related depolarization in most neurons that was not accounted for by feed-forward thalamic input. Top-down axons projecting from secondary to primary somatosensory cortex signaled choice. An intracellular measure of stimulus sensitivity determined which neurons converted choice-related depolarization into spiking. Our results reveal how choice-related spiking emerges across neural circuits and within single neurons.",

author = "Hongdian Yang and Kwon, {Sung E.} and Severson, {Kyle S.} and O'Connor, {Daniel H.}",

note = "Funding Information: optrode construction; T. Shelley for instrument fabrication. We thank J. Cohen, G. Minamisawa, W. Shew, K. Svoboda and S. Yu for comments on the manuscript. This work was supported by the Whitehall Foundation, Klingenstein Fund and the US National Institutes of Health (R01NS089652 (D.H.O.), P30NS050274). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2016 Nature America, Inc.",

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N2 - During perceptual decisions about faint or ambiguous sensory stimuli, even identical stimuli can produce different choices. Spike trains from sensory cortex neurons can predict trial-to-trial variability in choice. Choice-related spiking is widely studied as a way to link cortical activity to perception, but its origins remain unclear. Using imaging and electrophysiology, we found that mouse primary somatosensory cortex neurons showed robust choice-related activity during a tactile detection task. Spike trains from primary mechanoreceptive neurons did not predict choices about identical stimuli. Spike trains from thalamic relay neurons showed highly transient, weak choice-related activity. Intracellular recordings in cortex revealed a prolonged choice-related depolarization in most neurons that was not accounted for by feed-forward thalamic input. Top-down axons projecting from secondary to primary somatosensory cortex signaled choice. An intracellular measure of stimulus sensitivity determined which neurons converted choice-related depolarization into spiking. Our results reveal how choice-related spiking emerges across neural circuits and within single neurons.

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Origins of choice-related activity in mouse somatosensory cortex

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