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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2024.04.12.589244

Excitatory neurons of the anterior cingulate cortex encode chosen actions and their outcomes rather than cognitive state

Jendryka, M. M.·Lewin, U.·Kapanaiah, S. K. T.·Dermutz, H.·Liss, B.·Pekcec, A.·Akam, T.·Grewe, B.·Kaetzel, D.
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Abstract

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) causally influences cognitive control of goal-directed behaviour. However, it is unclear whether ACC directly encodes cognitive variables like attention or impulsivity, or implements goal-directed action selection mechanisms that are modulated by them. We recorded ACC activity with miniature endoscopic microscopes in mice performing the 5-choice-serial-reaction time task, and applied decoding and encoding analyses. ACC pyramidal cells represented specific actions before and during the behavioural response, whereas the response type (e.g. correct/incorrect/premature) - indicating the state of attentional and impulse control - could only be decoded during and after the response with high reliability. Devaluation and extinction experiments further revealed that action encoding depended on reward expectation. Our findings support a role for ACC in goal-directed action selection and monitoring, that is modulated by cognitive state, rather than in tracking levels of attention or impulsivity directly in individual trials.

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Jendryka, M. M., Lewin, U., Kapanaiah, S. K. T., Dermutz, H., Liss, B., Pekcec, A., Akam, T., Grewe, B., Kaetzel, D.. 2024-04-15. Excitatory neurons of the anterior cingulate cortex encode chosen actions and their outcomes rather than cognitive state. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.04.12.589244

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