Neuronal Information through Neuronal Interactions

ongoing

Our thoughts and actions result from the activity of functionally specialized neurons in the brain. We have learned a lot about how individual neurons encode sensory, cognitive and motor information. But we lack understanding of how this information comes about. The fundamental, yet rarely addresses, assumption is that this information results from neuronal interactions within local and large-scale brain networks. However, little is known about which specific interactions establish information coding. This is because neuronal interactions and information coding are largely studied in isolation in separate research fields. The key objective of this proposal is to close this gap, and to directly test which neuronal interactions establish information coding. We will employ a novel interdisciplinary approach that tightly integrates human and monkey electrophysiology and that combines several key advances established in our lab. First, we will perform directly comparable human M/EEG and monkey EEG recordings during the same decision-making task. We will employ a common analysis platform to identify local and large-scale interactions underlying information coding in both species. Second, we will characterize the circuit interactions underlying information predictive interactions in monkeys using simultaneous large-scale multi-area microelectrode and EEG recordings in the same behavioral task. We will combine these recordings with manipulative techniques to causally probe the circuit interactions underlying information coding. If successful, this work will constitute a paradigm shift in cognitive neuroscience by linking to largely disconnected fields: neuronal interactions and information coding. Identifying neuronal interactions that underlie neuronal information coding will establish a breakthrough for understanding the neural basis of our thoughts and actions.