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A thalamus-brainstem attractor network drives history-biased decisions
Shan Zhao1,2, Heying Shan1,2, Xiao Liu3
1Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Brain Cognition and Brain-inspired Intelligence Technology, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Nature
|June 10, 2026
Summary
Scientists discovered a brain circuit in zebrafish that uses past information to bias decisions. This hierarchical circuit, involving the dorsal thalamus and hindbrain, helps animals make adaptive choices based on recent experiences.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Computational Neuroscience
- Animal Behavior
Background:
- Natural environments require adaptive decision-making based on past experiences.
- Serial dependence, a bias towards recent information, is common in decision-making across species.
- The neural circuits underlying history-dependent computations remain largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the neural mechanisms of history-biased decisions in zebrafish.
- To identify specific brain circuits responsible for maintaining and utilizing past information.
- To understand how neural computations integrate past experiences with current sensory input.
Main Methods:
- Whole-brain, cellular-resolution imaging in zebrafish during memory-guided evasive maneuvers.
- Optogenetic manipulation of specific brain regions (dorsal thalamus).
- Construction of a whole-brain computational model using a zebrafish brain atlas.
Main Results:
- Identified a hierarchical circuit comprising dorsal thalamus and hindbrain integrator.
- Dorsal thalamus exhibits attractor dynamics, encoding recent obstacle positions with persistent activity (10-20s).
- Optogenetic disruption of the dorsal thalamus altered serial bias; hindbrain integrator combined thalamic input with sensory cues.
Conclusions:
- A hierarchical attractor-integrator architecture supports history-biased decision-making.
- This circuit enables robust memory retention and flexible sensory integration.
- Heterogeneous inhibitory subtypes play a role in state transitions within this decision-making architecture.
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