Open AccessCorrelations enhance the behavioral readout of neural population activity in association cortex
Author(s) -
Martina Valente,
Giuseppe Pica,
Giulio Bondanelli,
Monica Moroni,
Caroline A. Runyan,
Ari S. Morcos,
Christopher D. Harvey,
Stefano Panzeri
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
nature neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 13.403
H-Index - 422
eISSN - 1546-1726
pISSN - 1097-6256
DOI - 10.1038/s41593-021-00845-1
Subject(s) - sensory system , stimulus (psychology) , neuroscience , perception , posterior parietal cortex , population , psychology , neurophysiology , cognitive psychology , medicine , environmental health
Noise correlations (that is, trial-to-trial covariations in neural activity for a given stimulus) limit the stimulus information encoded by neural populations, leading to the widely held prediction that they impair perceptual discrimination behaviors. However, this prediction neglects the effects of correlations on information readout. We studied how correlations affect both encoding and readout of sensory information. We analyzed calcium imaging data from mouse posterior parietal cortex during two perceptual discrimination tasks. Correlations reduced the encoded stimulus information, but, seemingly paradoxically, were higher when mice made correct rather than incorrect choices. Single-trial behavioral choices depended not only on the stimulus information encoded by the whole population, but unexpectedly also on the consistency of information across neurons and time. Because correlations increased information consistency, they enhanced the conversion of sensory information into behavioral choices, overcoming their detrimental information-limiting effects. Thus, correlations in association cortex can benefit task performance even if they decrease sensory information.