Anterior cingulate neurons combine outcome monitoring of past decisions with ongoing movement signals

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Authors: Lukas T. Oesch, Makenna C. Thomas, Davis Sandberg, João Couto, Anne K. Churchland
Cited by: 2
References: 68

Abstract

In dynamic environments, animals must closely monitor the effects of their actions to inform switches in behavioral strategy. Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) neurons track decision outcomes in these environments. Yet, it remains unclear whether ACC neurons similarly monitor behavioral history in static environments and, if so, whether these signals are distinct from movement representations. We recorded large-scale ACC activity in freely moving mice making visual evidence-accumulation decisions. Many ACC neurons exhibited nonlinear mixed selectivity for previous choices and outcomes (trial history) and were modulated by movements. Trial history could be stably decoded from population activity and accounted for a separable component of neural activity than posture and movements. Trial history encoding was conserved across different subjects and was unaffected by fluctuating behavioral biases. These findings demonstrate that trial history monitoring in ACC is implemented in a conserved population code that is independent of the volatility of subjects' task environment.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Neural dynamics and brain function Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies Memory and Neural Mechanisms

Publication details

Journal / source
Nature Communications
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Volume
17
Issue
1
Publication date
24 March 2026
Language
EN