To improve future decisions, people should seek information based on the value of information ( VOI ), which depends on the current evidence and the reward structure of the upcoming decision. When additional evidence is supplied, people should update VOI to adjust subsequent information seeking, but the neurocognitive mechanisms of this updating process remain unknown. We used a modified beads task to examine how the VOI is represented and updated in the human brain of both sexes. We theoretically derived, and empirically verified, a normative prediction that the VOI depends on decision evidence and is biased by reward asymmetry. Using fMRI, we found that the subjective VOI is represented in right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Critically, this VOI representation was updated when additional evidence was supplied, showing that DLPFC dynamically tracks the up-to-date VOI over time. These results provide new insights into how humans adaptively seek information in the service of decision making. SIGN...

Spontaneous action potential discharge (spAP) is both ubiquitous and functionally relevant during neural development. spAP remains a prominent feature of supraspinal networks in maturity, even during unconsciousness. Evidence suggests that spAP persists in mature spinal networks during wakefulness, and one function of spAP in this context could be maintenance of a ‘ready state’ to execute behaviors. The extent to which spAP persists in mature spinal networks during unconsciousness remains unclear, and its function(s), if any, are likewise unresolved. Here, we attempt to reconcile some of the questions and contradictions that emerge from the disintegrated picture of adult spinal spAP currently available. We recorded simultaneously from large populations of spinal interneurons in vivo in male rats, characterizing the spatial distribution of spAP in the lumbar enlargement and identifying subgroups of spontaneously active neurons. We find (1) concurrent spAP throughout the dorso-ventral extent of the gray matt...

Despite many observations of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) activity related to cognition and affect in humans and nonhuman animals, little is known about the causal role of the ACC in psychological processes. Here, we investigate the ACC’s causal role in affective responding to threat in rhesus monkeys ( Macaca mulatta ), a species with an ACC largely homologous to humans in structure and connectivity. Male adult monkeys received bilateral ibotenate axon-sparing lesions to the ACC (sulcus and gyrus of areas 24, 32, and 25) and were tested in two classic tasks of monkey threat processing, the human intruder and object responsiveness tasks. Monkeys with ACC lesions did not significantly differ from controls in their overall mean reactivity towards threatening or novel stimuli. However, while control monkeys maintained their reactivity across test days, monkeys with ACC lesions reduced their reactivity towards stimuli as days advanced. Critically, this attenuated reactivity was found even when the stimuli p...

Throughout development, neuronal identity is controlled by key transcription factors that determine the unique properties of a cell. During embryogenesis, the transcription factor Prox1 regulates VIP-positive cortical interneuron migration, survival, and connectivity. Here, we explore the role of Prox1 as a regulator of genetic programs that guide the final specification of VIP interneuron subtypes in early postnatal life. Synaptic in vitro electrophysiology in male and female mice shows that postnatal Prox1 removal differentially affects the dynamics of excitatory inputs onto VIP bipolar and multipolar subtypes. RNA sequencing reveals that one of the downstream targets of Prox1 is the postsynaptic protein Elfn1, a constitutive regulator of presynaptic release probability. Further genetic, pharmacological and electrophysiological experiments demonstrate that removing Prox1 reduces Elfn1 function in VIP multipolar but not in bipolar cells. Finally, overexpression experiments and analysis of native Elfn1 mRN...

When listening to speech, low-frequency cortical activity tracks the speech envelope. It remains controversial, however, whether such envelope-tracking neural activity reflects entrainment of neural oscillations or superposition of transient responses evoked by sound features. Recently, it is suggested that the phase of envelope-tracking activity can potentially distinguish entrained oscillations and evoked responses. Here, we analyze the phase of envelope-tracking in humans during passive listening, and observe that the phase lag between cortical activity and speech envelope tends to change linearly across frequency in the theta band (4-8 Hz), suggesting that the theta-band envelope-tracking activity can be readily modeled by evoked responses. Significance Statement During speech listening, cortical activity tracks the speech envelope, which is a critical cue for speech recognition. It is debated, however, what is the neural mechanism generating the envelope-tracking responses. Previous work has shown ...

Full-band DC recordings enable recording of slow electrical brain signals that are severely compromised during conventional AC recordings. However, full-band DC recordings may be limited by the amplifier’s dynamic input range and the loss of small amplitude high-frequency signals. Recently, Neuralynx has proposed full-band recordings with inverse filtering for signal reconstruction based on hybrid AC/DC-divider RRC filters that enable only partial suppression of DC signals. However, the quality of signal reconstruction for biological signals has not yet been assessed. Here, we propose a novel digital inverse filter based on a mathematical model describing RRC filter properties, which provides high computational accuracy and versatility. Second, we propose procedures for the evaluation of the inverse filter coefficients, adapted for each recording channel to minimize the error caused by the deviation of the real values of the RRC filter elements from their nominal values. We demonstrate that this approach e...

JNeurosci is publishing an Expression of Concern for the article, “TGFβ Signaling Regulates the Timing of CNS Myelination by Modulating Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cell Cycle Exit through SMAD3/4/FoxO1/Sp1,” by Javier Palazuelos, Michael Klingener, and Adan Aguirre, which appeared on pages [7917

The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and hippocampus share striking cognitive and functional similarities. As a result, both structures have been proposed to encode “cognitive maps” that provide useful scaffolds for planning complex behaviors. However, while this function has been exemplified by spatial coding in neurons of hippocampal regions—particularly place and grid cells—spatial representations in the OFC have been investigated far less. Here we sought to address this by recording OFC neurons from male rats engaged in an open-field foraging task like that originally developed to characterize place fields in rodent hippocampal neurons. Single-unit activity was recorded as rats searched for food pellets scattered randomly throughout a large enclosure. In some sessions, particular flavors of food occurred more frequently in particular parts of the enclosure; in others, only a single flavor was used. OFC neurons showed spatially localized firing fields in both conditions, and representations changed between fl...

Human listeners achieve quick and effortless speech comprehension through computations of conditional probability using Bayes rule. However, the neural implementation of Bayesian perceptual inference remains unclear. Competitive-selection accounts (e.g., TRACE) propose that word recognition is achieved through direct inhibitory connections between units representing candidate words that share segments (e.g., hygiene and hijack share /haidʒ/). Manipulations that increase lexical uncertainty should increase neural responses associated with word recognition when words cannot be uniquely identified. In contrast, predictive-selection accounts (e.g., Predictive-Coding) propose that spoken word recognition involves comparing heard and predicted speech sounds and using prediction error to update lexical representations. Increased lexical uncertainty in words, such as hygiene and hijack , will increase prediction error and hence neural activity only at later time points when different segments are predicted. We col...

Our current understanding of synergistic muscle control is based on the analysis of muscle activities. Modules (synergies) in muscle coordination are extracted from electromyographic (EMG) signal envelopes. Each envelope indirectly reflects the neural drive received by a muscle; therefore, it carries information on the overall activity of the innervating motor neurons. However, it is not known whether the output of spinal motor neurons, whose number is orders of magnitude greater than the muscles they innervate, is organized in a low-dimensional fashion when performing complex tasks. Here, we hypothesized that motor neuron activities exhibit a synergistic organization in complex tasks and therefore that the common input to motor neurons results in a large dimensionality reduction in motor neuron outputs. To test this hypothesis, we factorized the output spike trains of motor neurons innervating 14 intrinsic and extrinsic hand muscles and analyzed the dimensionality of control when healthy individuals exert...