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SUMMARY:Sensory and metasensory responses during sequence learning in the m
 ouse somatosensory cortex
DESCRIPTION:View the seminar recording here (Imperial College members) or 
 contact k.hobson@imperial.ac.uk to request access.\nCentre for Neurotech
 nology seminar from Miguel Maravall\nProfessor of Neuroscience | Universit
 y of Sussex\nSensory and metasensory responses during sequence learning in
  the mouse somatosensory cortex\nAbstract: Sequential temporal ordering an
 d patterning are key features of natural signals\, used by the brain to de
 code stimuli and perceive them as sensory objects. Touch is one sensory mo
 dality where temporal patterning carries key information\, and the rodent 
 whisker system is a prominent model for understanding neuronal coding and 
 plasticity underlying touch sensation. Neurons in this system are precise 
 encoders of fluctuations in whisker dynamics down to a timescale of millis
 econds\, but it is not clear whether they can refine their encoding abilit
 ies as a result of learning patterned stimuli. For example\, can they enha
 nce temporal integration to become better at distinguishing sequences? To 
 explore how cortical coding plasticity underpins sequence discrimination\,
  we developed a task in which mice distinguished between tactile ‘word
 ’ sequences constructed from distinct vibrations delivered to the whiske
 rs\, assembled in different orders. Animals licked to report the presence 
 of the target sequence. Optogenetic inactivation showed that the somatosen
 sory cortex was necessary for sequence discrimination. Two-photon imaging 
 in layer 2/3 of the primary somatosensory “barrel” cortex (S1bf) revea
 led that\, in well-trained animals\, neurons had heterogeneous selectivity
  to multiple task variables including not just sensory input but also the 
 animal’s action decision and the trial outcome (presence or absence of t
 he predicted reward). Many neurons were activated preceding goal-directed 
 licking\, thus reflecting the animal’s learnt action in response to the 
 target sequence\; these neurons were found as soon as mice learned to asso
 ciate the rewarded sequence with licking. In contrast\, learning evoked sm
 aller changes in sensory response tuning: neurons responding to stimulus f
 eatures were already found in naïve mice\, and training did not generate 
 neurons with enhanced temporal integration or categorical responses. There
 fore\, in S1bf sequence learning results in neurons whose activity reflect
 s the learnt association between target sequence and licking\, rather than
  a refined representation of sensory features. Taken together with results
  from other laboratories\, our findings suggest that neurons in sensory co
 rtex are involved in task-specific processing and that an animal does not 
 sense the world independently of what it needs to feel in order to guide b
 ehaviour.\nBio: My background is in Physics (PhD with Robert Shrock\, SUNY
  Stony Brook\, 1998). I switched to a career in experimental systems neuro
 science as a postdoc with Karel Svoboda (Cold Spring Harbor Lab\, 1999-200
 2)\, and learned in vivo sensory neurophysiology with Mathew Diamond (SISS
 A\, 2002-2004). I opened my lab at the Instituto de Neurociencias in Alica
 nte in 2004 and moved to Sussex in 2015. Since 2019 I direct the Sussex Ne
 uroscience research programme together with Louise Serpell and Jamie Ward.
 \n\nThe seminar will take place via Microsoft Teams. Advance registration 
 is required. A link and instructions on how to access the event are provid
 ed in your registration confirmation email and a reminder will be sent bef
 ore the event.\nThere is no need to download the Microsoft Teams app if ac
 cessing the seminar via desktop or laptop as you can join via a browser\, 
 however if using a mobile device\, you will need to download the Teams ap
 p in advance.
URL:https://www.imperial.ac.uk/events/130448/sensory-and-metasensory-respon
 ses-during-sequence-learning-in-the-mouse-somatosensory-cortex/
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