Prefrontal cortex neuronal ensembles dynamically encode task features during associative memory and virtual navigation
Mohamad Abbass,
Benjamin Corrigan,
Renée Johnston,
Roberto Gulli,
Adam Sachs,
Jonathan C. Lau,
Julio Martinez-Trujillo
Affiliations
Mohamad Abbass
Western Institute for Neuroscience, Western University, London, ON, Canada; Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, London Health Sciences Centre, Western University, London, ON, Canada
Benjamin Corrigan
Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, London Health Sciences Centre, Western University, London, ON, Canada; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, Canada
Renée Johnston
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada; University of Ottawa Brain and Mind Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Roberto Gulli
Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
Adam Sachs
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada; Division of Neurosurgery, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Jonathan C. Lau
Western Institute for Neuroscience, Western University, London, ON, Canada; Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, London Health Sciences Centre, Western University, London, ON, Canada
Julio Martinez-Trujillo
Western Institute for Neuroscience, Western University, London, ON, Canada; Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, London Health Sciences Centre, Western University, London, ON, Canada; Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, Canada; Corresponding author
Summary: Neuronal populations expand their information-encoding capacity using mixed selective neurons. This is particularly prominent in association areas such as the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC), which integrate information from multiple sensory systems. However, during conditions that approximate natural behaviors, it is unclear how LPFC neuronal ensembles process space- and time-varying information about task features. Here, we show that, during a virtual reality task with naturalistic elements that requires associative memory, individual neurons and neuronal ensembles in the primate LPFC dynamically mix unconstrained features of the task, such as eye movements, with task-related visual features. Neurons in dorsal regions show more selectivity for space and eye movements, while ventral regions show more selectivity for visual features, representing them in a separate subspace. In summary, LPFC neurons exhibit dynamic and mixed selectivity for unconstrained and constrained task elements, and neural ensembles can separate task features in different subspaces.
