Anatomically distributed neural representations of instincts in the hypothalamus.

ABSTRACT: Artificial activation of anatomically localized, genetically defined hypothalamic neuron populations is known to trigger distinct innate behaviors, suggesting a hypothalamic nucleus-centered organization of behavior control. To assess whether the encoding of behavior is similarly anatomically confined, we performed simultaneous neuron recordings across twenty hypothalamic regions in freely moving animals. Here we show that distinct but anatomically distributed neuron ensembles encode the social and fear behavior classes, primarily through mixed selectivity. While behavior class-encoding ensembles were spatially distributed, individual ensembles exhibited strong localization bias. Encoding models identified that behavior actions, but not motion-related variables, explained a large fraction

SUBMITTER: Stagkourakis S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10690204 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature