Neuron
Volume 109, Issue 11, 2 June 2021, Pages 1861-1875.e10
Journal home page for Neuron

Article
Mesoscale cortical dynamics reflect the interaction of sensory evidence and temporal expectation during perceptual decision-making

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2021.03.031Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • Mice performed a visual change detection task based on uncertain sensory evidence

  • Task design separated the processes of deliberation and action execution

  • Sensory evidence modulated secondary motor cortex in absence of movement

  • These responses were selective, sustained, and modulated by temporal expectation

Summary

How sensory evidence is transformed across multiple brain regions to influence behavior remains poorly understood. We trained mice in a visual change detection task designed to separate the covert antecedents of choices from activity associated with their execution. Wide-field calcium imaging across the dorsal cortex revealed fundamentally different dynamics of activity underlying these processes. Although signals related to execution of choice were widespread, fluctuations in sensory evidence in the absence of overt motor responses triggered a confined activity cascade, beginning with transient modulation of visual cortex and followed by sustained recruitment of the secondary and primary motor cortex. Activation of the motor cortex by sensory evidence was modulated by animals’ expectation of when the stimulus was likely to change. These results reveal distinct activation timescales of specific cortical areas by sensory evidence during decision-making and show that recruitment of the motor cortex depends on the interaction of sensory evidence and temporal expectation.

Keywords

decision-making
sensory processing
temporal expectation
wide-field calcium imaging
premotor cortex
secondary motor cortex
visual cortex
mouse behavior

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