Steve Shea boosted

RT @sheacshl This newly posted work from @RJordan and Georg Keller looks super cool! Locus coeruleus responds with a widely broadcast visual feedback prediction error that acts as a teaching signal for sensorimotor learning. biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/ea

The locus coeruleus broadcasts prediction errors across the cortex to promote sensorimotor plasticity

Prediction errors are differences between expected and actual sensory input and are thought to be key computational signals that drive learning related plasticity. One way that prediction errors could drive learning is by activating neuromodulatory systems to gate plasticity. The catecholaminergic locus coeruleus (LC) is a major neuromodulatory system involved in neuronal plasticity in the cortex. Using two-photon calcium imaging in mice exploring a virtual environment, we found that the activity of LC axons in the cortex correlated with the magnitude of unsigned visuomotor prediction errors. LC response profiles were similar in both motor and visual cortical areas, indicating that LC axons broadcast prediction errors throughout the dorsal cortex. While imaging calcium activity in layer 2/3 of the primary visual cortex, we found that optogenetic stimulation of LC axons facilitated learning of a stimulus-specific suppression of visual responses during locomotion. This plasticity – induced by minutes of LC axon stimulation – recapitulated the effect of visuomotor learning on a scale that is normally observed during visuomotor development across days. We conclude that prediction errors drive LC activity, and that LC activity facilitates sensorimotor plasticity in the cortex, consistent with a role in modulating learning rates. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.

www.biorxiv.org

There may actually be some hope for this place. @kt_so_it_goes is here.

Steve Shea boosted

Good time to announce that I will be starting my lab at SIDB & University of Edinburgh early next year! 🎉 We will investigate neuromodulation and cortical learning, as well as their dysfunction in mouse models of autism spectrum disorder

Steve Shea boosted

A lovely poem linking smell and memory (a scientific interest for me) by Fatima Asghar (can't find her on Masto, but here's her linktree linktr.ee/asgharthegrouch)

Steve Shea boosted

First post to Mastodon. My name is Martin Barron. I'm Director of Data and Analysis at the University of Chicago's Crime Lab and Education Lab. As my bio says, I'm interested in making coding better in the social sciences. I'm into all sorts of geekery and a suburban dad.

Steve Shea boosted

A quick note of something that may be important for people to know: I already noted that DMs here are a bit sketchy security wise, but (THIS IS THE IMPORTANT BIT): if you mention someone else's account in a DM, Mastodon, yoinks them into the conversation.

So, you know, if you think you're talking about someone behind their back, you might be doing it to their face.

Steve Shea boosted

Hello Mastodon. I am a neuroscientist and PI at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, USA. I have long-standing interests in natural behavior, the neural circuitry of auditory and olfactory communication in mice and birds, neuromodulation, and neurodevelopmental disorders. I am skeptical of some aspects of this platform, but I am keeping an open mind. @sheacshl on Twitter.

Hello Mastodon. I am a neuroscientist and PI at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, USA. I have long-standing interests in natural behavior, the neural circuitry of auditory and olfactory communication in mice and birds, neuromodulation, and neurodevelopmental disorders. I am skeptical of some aspects of this platform, but I am keeping an open mind. @sheacshl on Twitter.

Qoto Mastodon

QOTO: Question Others to Teach Ourselves
An inclusive, Academic Freedom, instance
All cultures welcome.
Hate speech and harassment strictly forbidden.