Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: Neurons in the posterior parietal cortex contribute to the execution of goal-directed navigation 1 and other decision-making tasks 2–4 . Although molecular studies have catalogued more than 50 cortical cell types 5 , it remains unclear what distinct functions they have in this area. Here we identified a molecularly defined subset of somatostatin (Sst) inhibitory neurons that, in the mouse posterior parietal cortex, carry a cell-type-specific error-correction signal for navigation. We obtained repeatable experimental access to these cells using an adeno-associated virus in which gene expression is driven by an enhancer that functions specifically in a subset of Sst cells 6 . We found that during goal-directed navigation in a virtual environment, this subset of Sst neurons activates in a synchronous pattern that is distinct from the activity of surrounding neurons, including other Sst neurons. Using in vivo two-photon photostimulation and ex vivo paired patch-clamp recordings, we show that nearby cells of this Sst subtype excite each other through gap junctions, revealing a self-excitation circuit motif that contributes to the synchronous activity of this cell type. These cells selectively activate as mice execute course corrections for deviations in their virtual heading during navigation towards a reward location, for both self-induced and experimentally induced deviations. We propose that this subtype of Sst neurons provides a self-reinforcing and cell-type-specific error-correction signal in the posterior parietal cortex that may help with the execution and learning of accurate goal-directed navigation trajectories.
Source: Nature
Institutions: Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Language: English
Topic: Memory and Neural Mechanisms
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $11,690
Awards: Toward mechanistic cognitive neuroscience: cell types, connectivity, and patterned perturbations, Next Generation Cell-Type-Specific Viral Vectors for Non-Neuronal Brain Cell Types, Studying perceptual decision-making across cortex by combining population imaging, connectomics, and computational modeling, HMS/BCH Center for Neuroscience Research, Parietal Cortex Networks for Sensorimotor Processing During Navigation, Electrical Stimulation of Immediate Early Genes, Optical measurement of causal functional connectivity in posterior parietal cortex, Boston Children's Hospital/HMS Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, CORE GRANT FOR VISION RESEARCH
OpenAlex ID: W4384820554