Neural correlates of novelty detection in the primary auditory cortex of behaving monkeys
Yumei Gong1, Peirun Song2, Xinyu Du2
1Department of Anesthesiology, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, Shanghai, China; Department of Anesthesia, Women's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Precision Diagnosis and Therapy for Major Gynecological Diseases, Women's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Hangzhou Extremely Weak Magnetic Field Major Science and Technology, Infrastructure Research Institute, Hangzhou 310000, China; Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, College of Biomedical, Engineering, and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Abstract:
The neural mechanisms underlying novelty detection are not well understood, especially in relation to behavior. Here, we present single-unit responses from the primary auditory cortex (A1) from two monkeys trained to detect deviant tones amid repetitive ones. Results show that monkeys can detect deviant sounds, and there is a strong correlation between late neuronal responses (250-350 ms after deviant onset) and the monkeys' perceptual decisions. The magnitude and timing of both neuronal and behavioral responses are increased by larger frequency differences between the deviant and standard tones and by increasing the number of standard tones preceding the deviant. This suggests that A1 neurons encode novelty detection in behaving monkeys, influenced by stimulus relevance and expectations. This study provides evidence supporting aspects of predictive coding in the sensory cortex.
