The role of higher-order thalamus during learning and correct performance in goal-directed behavior
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Australia
- School of Biochemistry and Immunology and Trinity College Institute for Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
- Child & Brain Development Program, Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), Canada
Figures
Figure 1 with 5 supplements
Ca2+ activity of POm axonal projections in forepaw S1 during tactile goal-directed behavior.
(A) The Ca2+ indicator GCaMP6f was locally injected into the POm (bottom) which sends axonal projections to layers 1 and 5 of the forepaw S1 (top). Inset, in vivo two-photon Ca2+ image of POm axonal …
Figure 1—figure supplement 1
Targeting and spread of AAV injections in the POm nucleus.
(A) Representative example of injection site in the mouse thalamus illustrating localized viral expression in the POm nucleus. (B) Overlay of the virus expression profile from the injection of …
Figure 1—figure supplement 2
Mice rapidly learn the tactile goal-directed task.
(A) Behavioral task design. Mice were habituated to head restraint and trained to report the detection of a tactile stimulus (200 Hz, 500 ms) by licking a reward port. Correct responses were …
Figure 1—figure supplement 3
AAV-mediated expression of ChR2-eYFP in the POm nucleus of the thalamus and its axonal projections in forepaw S1.
(A) Representative example of ChR2-eYFP in the mouse thalamus illustrating localized viral expression in the POm nucleus. Left, outline of cortical slices at different rostracaudal locations …
Figure 1—figure supplement 4
Region of interest (ROI) selection and exclusion criterion.
(A) Example field of view (FOV), ROIs are selected using the standard deviation (STD) image from the concatenated images of the entire imaging session. (B) Fluorescence traces for ROIs shown in (A). …
Figure 1—figure supplement 5
Tactile-evoked activity of POm axons projecting to forepaw S1 in naive and expert mice.
(A) Example Ca2+ responses from a typical POm axon in (top) a naive mouse during forepaw tactile stimulus (200 Hz, 500 ms) and (bottom) an expert mouse during correct HIT performance in an action …
Figure 2
POm axonal projections in forepaw S1 have greatest activity during correct behavioral performance in a tactile goal-directed task.
(A) Behavioral task design. Two-photon Ca2+ imaging of GCaMP6f-expressing POm axons in forepaw S1 was performed in head-restrained mice trained to report the detection of a tactile stimulus (200 Hz, …
Figure 3
Ca2+ dynamics in POm axonal terminals during suppression of a goal-directed action.
(A) Behavioral task design. Two-photon Ca2+ imaging of POm axon terminals was performed in head-restrained mice trained to suppress a previously learned goal-directed action. Mice were trained to …
Figure 4
Ca2+ activity of POm axonal projections in forepaw S1 during chance performance and behavioral switching.
(A) Behavioral task design. Ca2+ imaging from POm axons in forepaw S1 was performed as mice transitioned from the ‘action’ goal-directed task to the ‘action–suppression’ goal-directed task (50% …
Figure 5 with 2 supplements
Optogenetic inactivation of the POm during an active goal-directed task.
(A) Left, experimental design. The inhibitory opsin, archaerhodopsin (ArchT) was unilaterally injected into the POm and a fiber-optic cannula was chronically inserted into the brain. Right, …
Figure 5—figure supplement 1
POm neurons are partially photoinhibited by 590 nm LED.
(A) The inhibitory opsin, archaerhodopsin (ArchT) was unilaterally injected into the POm and after 10–14 days, the brain was sectioned into 300-μm thick slices. Whole-cell patch clamp voltage …
Figure 5—figure supplement 2
LED in POm does not alter goal-directed behavior.
(A) Behavioral task design. Mice were either injected with the inhibitory opsin, AAV-ArchT or the Green Fluorescent Protein control, AAV-GFP. Mice were then habituated to head-restraint and trained …
Figure 6
Optogenetic inactivation of the POm during learning of a goal-directed task.
(A) Mice were injected with either a control AAV (GFP; green) or the inhibitory opsin, archaerhodopsin (ArchT) into the POm and trained in the ‘action’ goal-directed task. A fiber-optic cannula was …
Author response image 1
