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Top-down modulation of sensory processing and mismatch in the mouse posterior parietal cortex
Constanze Raltschev1, Sergej Kasavica1, Benjamin Leonardon1
1Department of Physiology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Nature Communications
|May 7, 2025
Summary
This study reveals how the secondary motor cortex (M2) influences the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) to process sensory prediction errors. M2 neurons help update expectations by signaling mismatches in learned auditory-tactile stimulus sequences.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Sensory processing
- Cognitive function
Background:
- The neocortex compares sensory input with internal predictions to update expectations.
- Mechanisms of sensory mismatch detection and prediction formation are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neural mechanisms underlying sensory prediction and mismatch responses.
- To explore the role of the secondary motor cortex (M2) in modulating sensory processing in the posterior parietal cortex (PPC).
Main Methods:
- A learned auditory-tactile stimulus association was created in awake head-fixed mice.
- Mismatches were introduced by altering or omitting predicted whisker stimuli.
- Neural activity in layer 2/3 PPC neurons was recorded.
- The effect of inhibiting M2 neurons projecting to the PPC was examined.
Main Results:
- Posterior parietal cortex (PPC) neurons exhibited neural correlates of expectation and reported stimulus sequence mismatches.
- Inhibition of M2 projections to the PPC suppressed these neural correlates and population mismatch responses.
- Evidence suggests M2 influences sensory processing in the PPC.
Conclusions:
- The secondary motor cortex (M2) plays a role in predicting sensory feedback based on learned associations.
- M2 influences sensory processing in the PPC, contributing to the detection and reporting of prediction errors.
- Findings shed light on the neural basis of expectation updating through sensory-predictive mechanisms.
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