Existing function in primary visual cortex is not perturbed by new skill acquisition of a non-matched sensory task

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science
• Systems Neuroscience

Background:

• Skill acquisition can potentially alter established neural network functions.
• Understanding how new learning impacts existing cortical representations is crucial for cognitive neuroscience.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether acquiring new skills disrupts previously established cortical function.
• To assess the stability of stimulus representation in the primary visual cortex (V1) during and after learning.

Main Methods:

• Mice were trained on an abstract task using a visual brain-computer interface targeting primary visual cortex (V1) neurons.
• Longitudinal 2-photon calcium imaging recorded excitatory neuron activity during task performance.
• Stimulus tuning and encoding were assessed both during and outside the trained context.

Main Results:

• Significant changes in local neural activity were observed during task performance.
• Stimulus tuning properties and encoding remained stable outside the trained context.
• Visual discrimination training increased representational drift but did not disrupt stimulus tuning.

Conclusions:

• New skill learning does not inherently disrupt the quality of stimulus representation in the adult primary visual cortex.
• While individual neuron contributions may change, overall stimulus representation quality is maintained.