The sensory representation of causally controlled objects.

ABSTRACT: Intentional control over external objects is informed by our sensory experience of them. To study how causal relationships are learned and effected, we devised a brain machine interface (BMI) task using wide-field calcium signals. Mice learned to entrain activity patterns in arbitrary pairs of cortical regions to guide a visual cursor to a target location for reward. Brain areas that were normally correlated could be rapidly reconfigured to exert control over the cursor in a sensory-feedback-dependent manner. Higher visual cortex was more engaged when expert but not naive animals controlled the cursor. Individual neurons in higher visual cortex responded more strongly to the cursor when mice controlled it than when they passively viewed it, with the greatest response boosting as the cursor

SUBMITTER: Clancy KB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7889580 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature