Evaluating Visual Cues Modulates Their Representation in Mouse Visual and Cingulate Cortex.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Sensory Processing

Background:

• Cognitive processes like evaluation and prediction influence sensory perception.
• Studying cognitive modulation of sensory signals in mice is difficult due to confounding motor activity.
• Previous research has not fully isolated the impact of task demands on neural responses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To isolate the impact of cognitive task demands on neural responses in the mouse cerebral cortex.
• To investigate how visual cue evaluation modulates neural activity in primary visual cortex (V1) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).
• To characterize distinct neural signatures of cue evaluation in V1 and ACC.

Main Methods:

• Developed a head-fixed mouse task requiring evaluation of visual cues signaling reward.
• Recorded neural activity in V1 and ACC during cue evaluation.
• Conducted sensory control measurements to differentiate task-driven modulations from passive visual responses.
• Accounted for eye movement variations during neural recordings.

Main Results:

• Approximately 30% of V1 neurons exhibited cue selectivity, balanced across the population, emerging only during the task.
• ACC showed stronger cue selectivity than V1, with preferences biased towards the reward-predicting cue.
• Neural selectivity in V1 was dependent on behavioral demands, not solely on visual stimulation.
• Eye position variations could obscure observed modulations in V1 neurons.

Conclusions:

• Task demands significantly modulate neural responses in early sensory areas like V1.
• Distinct neural signatures of cue evaluation exist in V1 and ACC, indicating hierarchical processing.
• The biased selectivity in ACC suggests a transition towards representing task-relevant, reward-associated information.