Metastable attractors explain the variable timing of stable behavioral action sequences.

ABSTRACT: The timing of self-initiated actions shows large variability even when they are executed in stable, well-learned sequences. Could this mix of reliability and stochasticity arise within the same neural circuit? We trained rats to perform a stereotyped sequence of self-initiated actions and recorded neural ensemble activity in secondary motor cortex (M2), which is known to reflect trial-by-trial action-timing fluctuations. Using hidden Markov models, we established a dictionary between activity patterns and actions. We then showed that metastable attractors, representing activity patterns with a reliable sequential structure and large transition timing variability, could be produced by reciprocally coupling a high-dimensional recurrent network and a low-dimensional feedforward one. Transitio

SUBMITTER: Recanatesi S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9194601 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature