Using perceptual decision-making to understand the role of selective inhibitory activity in cortical computation

大脑皮层回路执行计算，以根据不同的 感官输入这些计算是动物保持健康和长期- 长期生存。这种类型的计算的一个例子是知觉决策任务 动物必须权衡感官证据来选择一个能引起奖励的行为。 经典的决策电路模型只关注循环的影响， 兴奋，将抑制性神经元视为兴奋性神经元之间竞争的不可知促进剂， 亚群然而，这种抑制性神经元的观点与实验结果不一致 显示了跨皮层的中间神经元调谐和连接的多样性， 决策背景。我提议开发新的大脑皮层决策回路模型 其参数化兴奋性神经元内的亚群之间的连接的选择性， 和抑制种群，以了解选择性如何塑造吸引子动力学 潜在的决策以及这些动态如何代表动物的选择。基于 通过分析这些模型，我将建立一个更新的神经回路理论框架 决策行为的机制，更充分地考虑了复杂的皮层 电路结构和更充分地代表神经元细胞类型的多样性。的作用 在促进任务学习的抑制选择性将使用人工神经网络 网络代理最后，单细胞分辨率钙活性将从 标记的抑制细胞类型。这项工作将解决如何电路结构和细胞类型的形状 决策背后的群体动力学以及局部皮层过程如何产生 有意义的行为。

Cortical circuits perform computations to generate appropriate behaviors based upon diverse sensory inputs. These computations are central to an animal maintaining its health and long- term survival. An example of this type of computation are perceptual decision-making tasks where an animal must weigh sensory evidence to choose a behavior which will elicit a reward. The classical circuit models of decision-making focus solely on the effects of recurrent excitation, treating inhibitory neurons as agnostic facilitators of competition between excitatory subpopulations. However, this view of inhibitory neurons is at odds with experiment results which show a diversity of interneuron tuning and connectivity across the cortex, recently in the decision-making context. I propose to develop new models of cortical decision-making circuits which parameterizes selectivity of connections between subpopulations within the excitatory and inhibitory populations to understand how selectivity shapes the attractor dynamics underlying decision-making and how these dynamics represent animal choice. Based on the analysis of these models, I will establish an updated theoretical framework for the neural circuit mechanisms of decision-making behaviors which more fully account the intricacies of cortical circuit structure and more fully represent the diversity of neuronal cell-types. The role of inhibitory selectivity in facilitating task learning will be investigated using artificial neural networks as a proxy. Finally, single cell resolution calcium activity will be measured from a labeled inhibitory cell-type. This work will address how circuit structure and cell-type shape population dynamics underlying decision-making and how local cortical processes generate meaningful behaviors.