Brain-wide analysis reveals movement encoding structured across and within brain areas.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Computational Neuroscience
• Systems Neuroscience

Background:

• Movement-related neural activity is widespread but its precise distribution and computational role remain unclear.
• Understanding how the brain encodes movement is crucial for deciphering motor control and decision-making.
• Previous studies have not comprehensively mapped movement signals across the entire brain in relation to behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To map the distribution of movement-related neural activity across the mouse brain.
• To investigate how movement signals relate to neural computation during a decision-making task.
• To identify the impact of uninstructed movements on neural activity and behavioral choices.

Main Methods:

• Brain-wide neural recordings from over 50,000 neurons in mice.
• Application of multiple machine learning algorithms to predict neural activity from videography.
• Analysis of single-trial behavior using video-based predictions to assess neural modulation.

Main Results:

• Movement-related signals varied significantly across brain regions, with stronger signals near motor areas.
• Fine-scale sensory and motor encoding structures were revealed by delineating predictive and follow-up movement activity.
• Uninstructed movements were found to modulate neural activity, impacting choice-related analyses.

Conclusions:

• A comprehensive map of movement encoding across the brain has been established.
• New approaches are provided for linking neural activity, spontaneous movements, and decision-making.
• This research offers insights into the neural basis of movement control and cognitive tasks.