A Spatial Code for Temporal Information is Necessary for Efficient Sensory Learning

Overview

Journal Sci Adv

Specialties Biology
Science

Date 2025 Jan 8

PMID 39772691

Authors

Sophie Bagur

Jacques Bourg

Alexandre Kempf

Thibault Tarpin

Khalil Bergaoui

Yin Guo

Sebastian Ceballo

Joanna Schwenkgrub

Antonin Verdier

Jean Luc Puel

Jerome Bourien

Brice Bathellier

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The temporal structure of sensory inputs contains essential information for their interpretation. Sensory cortex represents these temporal cues through two codes: the temporal sequences of neuronal activity and the spatial patterns of neuronal firing rate. However, it is unknown which of these coexisting codes causally drives sensory decisions. To separate their contributions, we generated in the mouse auditory cortex optogenetically driven activity patterns differing exclusively along their temporal or spatial dimensions. Mice could rapidly learn to behaviorally discriminate spatial but not temporal patterns. Moreover, large-scale neuronal recordings across the auditory system revealed that the auditory cortex is the first region in which spatial patterns efficiently represent temporal cues on the timescale of several hundred milliseconds. This feature is shared by the deep layers of neural networks categorizing time-varying sounds. Therefore, the emergence of a spatial code for temporal sensory cues is a necessary condition to efficiently associate temporally structured stimuli with decisions.

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