The medial prefrontal cortex encodes procedural rules as sequential neuronal activity dynamics.

ABSTRACT: The prefrontal cortex plays a crucial role in procedural rule learning; however, the specific neuronal mechanism through which it represents rules is unknown. We hypothesized that sequential neuronal activities in the prefrontal cortex encode these rules. To investigate this, we recorded neuronal activities in the medial prefrontal cortex of mice during rule learning using Ca²⁺ imaging. We utilized a method based on convolutional negative matrix factorization, iSeq, to automatically detect temporal neuronal sequences in the recorded data. As rule learning advanced, these neuronal sequences began to encode critical information for rule execution. In mice that had mastered the rule, the dynamics of neuronal sequences could predict success and failure of reward acquisition. Further

SUBMITTER: Ohno S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12220469 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature