小柯机器人

美国索尔克生物研究所Xin Jin研究小组揭示二级听觉皮层介导行动计时的感觉运动机制。相关论文于2022年3月7日在线发表于国际学术期刊《自然—神经科学》。

研究人员在小鼠中使用一种新的、自定节奏的行动计时任务，发现剥夺听觉，而不是剥夺体感或视觉输入，会破坏学习到的行动计时。听觉效应取决于来自动物自身行动的听觉反馈，而不是被动的环境线索。第二听觉皮层的神经元活动被发现与学习行动时间的正确执行相关，并且是必要的。对第二听觉皮层中与任务相关的特定神经元群进行闭环、行动依赖的光遗传刺激，挽救了听觉剥夺下学习行动计时的关键特征。这些结果揭示了一个以前未被重视的感觉运动机制，其中第二听觉皮层通过自我产生的听觉运动反馈来控制行动时间。

据介绍，准确确定何时执行一个动作的能力是一项基本的大脑功能，对适应性行为至关重要。然而，行动计时的行为机制和神经回路在很大程度上仍然是未知的。

附：英文原文

Title: Secondary auditory cortex mediates a sensorimotor mechanism for action timing

Author: Cook, Jonathan R., Li, Hao, Nguyen, Bella, Huang, Hsiang-Hsuan, Mahdavian, Payaam, Kirchgessner, Megan A., Strassmann, Patrick, Engelhardt, Max, Callaway, Edward M., Jin, Xin

Issue&Volume: 2022-03-07

Abstract: The ability to accurately determine when to perform an action is a fundamental brain function and vital to adaptive behavior. The behavioral mechanism and neural circuit for action timing, however, remain largely unknown. Using a new, self-paced action timing task in mice, we found that deprivation of auditory, but not somatosensory or visual input, disrupts learned action timing. The hearing effect was dependent on the auditory feedback derived from the animal’s own actions, rather than passive environmental cues. Neuronal activity in the secondary auditory cortex was found to be both correlated with and necessary for the proper execution of learned action timing. Closed-loop, action-dependent optogenetic stimulation of the specific task-related neuronal population within the secondary auditory cortex rescued the key features of learned action timing under auditory deprivation. These results unveil a previously underappreciated sensorimotor mechanism in which the secondary auditory cortex transduces self-generated audiomotor feedback to control action timing. By applying operant conditioning, behavioral manipulation, in vivo electrophysiology, computational modeling, and closed-loop optogenetics, the authors reveal a mechanism for action timing in mice mediated by the secondary auditory cortex.

DOI: 10.1038/s41593-022-01025-5

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-022-01025-5

Nature Neuroscience：《自然—神经科学》，创刊于1998年。隶属于施普林格·自然出版集团，最新IF：28.771
官方网址：https://www.nature.com/neuro/
投稿链接：https://mts-nn.nature.com/cgi-bin/main.plex