Stable encoding of task structure coexists with flexible coding of task events in sensorimotor striatum

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Behavioral Science
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• The sensorimotor striatum is implicated in habit formation and behavioral fixity.
• Neural activity stability in this region is linked to normal habits, addiction, and clinical syndromes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the stability of neuronal activity in the sensorimotor striatum during procedural learning.
• To determine if acquired neural activity patterns remain stable despite alterations in sensory cues.

Main Methods:

• Neuronal activity was recorded in the sensorimotor striatum of mice during a procedural learning task.
• Sensory stimuli triggering habitual behavior were systematically altered.

Main Results:

• Contrary to expectations, both stable and flexible neuronal activity patterns were observed.
• A global representation of the acquired behavior remained stable across cue changes.
• A fine-grain representation of task events demonstrated rapid adjustment.

Conclusions:

• The sensorimotor striatum exhibits dual forms of neural representation during habit learning.
• These dual representations may enable motor and cognitive flexibility alongside habitual performance.