Novel Functions of Feedback in Electrosensory Processing

Hofmann, Volker; Chacron, Maurice J.

doi:10.3389/fnint.2019.00052

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 119 publications

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“…In order to study the correlation structures at a population level beyond two neurons, we combined the activities of subsets of neurons. Specifically, we divided our dataset into two subpopulations and considered correlations between the summed (either equal-weight or weighted) activities of both subpopulations 34 (see “ Materials and methods ”). We found that, for equal-weight, signal and noise correlations were both predominantly positive (Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synergistic population coding of natural communication stimuli by hindbrain electrosensory neurons

Wang

Chacron

2021

Sci Rep

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Understanding how neural populations encode natural stimuli with complex spatiotemporal structure to give rise to perception remains a central problem in neuroscience. Here we investigated population coding of natural communication stimuli by hindbrain neurons within the electrosensory system of weakly electric fish Apteronotus leptorhynchus. Overall, we found that simultaneously recorded neural activities were correlated: signal but not noise correlations were variable depending on the stimulus waveform as well as the distance between neurons. Combining the neural activities using an equal-weight sum gave rise to discrimination performance between different stimulus waveforms that was limited by redundancy introduced by noise correlations. However, using an evolutionary algorithm to assign different weights to individual neurons before combining their activities (i.e., a weighted sum) gave rise to increased discrimination performance by revealing synergistic interactions between neural activities. Our results thus demonstrate that correlations between the neural activities of hindbrain electrosensory neurons can enhance information about the structure of natural communication stimuli that allow for reliable discrimination between different waveforms by downstream brain areas.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synergistic population coding of natural communication stimuli by hindbrain electrosensory neurons

Wang

Chacron

2021

Sci Rep

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“…We were able to retrogradely label from the nP putative cholinergic projections in the isthmic region, the nI and nLV. The nP is a key feedback nucleus of the electrosensory system: it resides upstream of the ELL and regulates, through several feedback projections, the response properties of ELL pyramidal neurons (Bell & Maler, 2005; Hofmann & Chacron, 2019). Thus, our results imply that cholinergic pathways are involved in central modulatory processes in the higher‐order regions of the electrosensory system.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution of the cholinergic nuclei in the brain of the weakly electric fish, Apteronotus leptorhynchus: Implications for sensory processing

Toscano-Márquez

Oboti

Harvey‐Girard

et al. 2020

J of Comparative Neurology

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Acetylcholine acts as a neurotransmitter/neuromodulator of many central nervous system processes such as learning and memory, attention, motor control, and sensory processing. The present study describes the spatial distribution of cholinergic neurons throughout the brain of the weakly electric fish, Apteronotus leptorhynchus, using in situ hybridization of choline acetyltransferase mRNA. Distinct groups of cholinergic cells were observed in the telencephalon, diencephalon, mesencephalon, and hindbrain. These included cholinergic cell groups typically identified in other vertebrate brains, for example, motor neurons. Using both in vitro and ex vivo neuronal tracing methods, we identified two new cholinergic connections leading to novel hypotheses on their functional significance. Projections to the nucleus praeeminentialis (nP) arise from isthmic nuclei, possibly including the nucleus lateralis valvulae (nLV) and the isthmic nucleus (nI). The nP is a central component of all electrosensory feedback pathways to the electrosensory lateral line lobe (ELL). We have previously shown that some neurons in nP, TS, and tectum express muscarinic receptors. We hypothesize Abbreviations: cELL, commissure of the electrosensory lateral line lobe; CC, crista cerebellaris; CCb, corpus cerebelli; CLS, centrolateral segment of the ELL; CMS, centromedial segment of the ELL; DD, dorsodorsal telencephalon; DFI, lateral subdivision of the diffuse nucleus of the inferior lobe; DL, dorsolateral telencephalon; DLv, dorsolateral telencephalon ventral subdivision; DM2v/d, dorsomedial division of the telencephalon (dorsal and ventral); Dp, dorsal posterior telencephalon; DPI, lateral subdivision of the caudal DP; DPm, medial subdivision of the caudal DP;

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“…The experimentally obtained detection range of ELL units reported here likely underestimates the natural sensitivity of ELL units. This is because, among other factors, the ELL sensitivity likely depends on feedback (Chacron et al, 2005;Sawtell and Bell, 2008;Clarke and Maler, 2017;Enikolopov et al, 2018;Hofmann and Chacron, 2019) as well as feedforward mechanisms and natural behavior. Furthermore, population activity is likely a better determinant of perception and behavior than the activity of single neurons (Pitkow and Angelaki, 2017;Runyan et al, 2017;Ni et al, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Task-Related Sensorimotor Adjustments Increase the Sensory Range in Electrolocation

et al. 2019

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Perception and motor control traditionally are studied separately. However, motor activity can serve as a scaffold to shape the sensory flow. This tight link between motor actions and sensing is particularly evident in active sensory systems. Here, we investigate how the weakly electric mormyrid fish Gnathonemus petersii of undetermined sex structure their sensing and motor behavior while learning a perceptual task. We find systematic adjustments of the motor behavior that correlate with an increased performance. Using a model to compute the electrosensory input, we show that these behavioral adjustments improve the sensory input. As we find low neuronal detection thresholds at the level of medullary electrosensory neurons, it seems that the behavior-driven improvements of the sensory input are highly suitable to overcome the sensory limitations, thereby increasing the sensory range. Our results show that motor control is an active component of sensory learning, demonstrating that a detailed understanding of contribution of motor actions to sensing is needed to understand even seemingly simple behaviors.

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Novel Functions of Feedback in Electrosensory Processing

Cited by 9 publications

References 119 publications

Synergistic population coding of natural communication stimuli by hindbrain electrosensory neurons

Synergistic population coding of natural communication stimuli by hindbrain electrosensory neurons

Distribution of the cholinergic nuclei in the brain of the weakly electric fish, Apteronotus leptorhynchus: Implications for sensory processing

Task-Related Sensorimotor Adjustments Increase the Sensory Range in Electrolocation

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