Connectionists: World wide VVTNS series: Wednesday, March 27 at 11am (EDT), Lorenzo Fontolan Université Aix-Marseille

[David Hansel]

Important:
North America moved to daylight saving time on March 10
Please check the time in your country
(e.g 4 pm CET)

[image: VVTNS.png]
https://www.wwtns.online - on twitter: wwtns at TheoreticalWide

You are cordially invited to the lecture  given by

Lorenzo Fontolan

Université Aix-Marseille

on the topic of

"Neural mechanisms of memory-guided behaviour*"*

The lecture will be held on zoom on *March 27, 2024*, at *11:00 am EDT *

To receive the link: https://www.wwtns.online/register-page

*Abstract:  *Persistent, stimulus-dependent neuronal activity has been
observed in numerous brain areas during tasks that require the temporary
maintenance of information. Several competing hypotheses for the neuronal
mechanisms underlying persistent activity have been proposed. We have
employed data-driven models in conjunction with optogenetic disruptions of
neural circuits within memory-guided motor tasks. Our findings revealed a
mechanism governed by dynamic attractors, pivotal in sustaining neuronal
activity. This mechanism, shaped by time-varying inputs reflecting temporal
predictions, is instrumental in regulating the impact of sensory
information on the premotor cortex, thereby preserving memory traces from
distracting stimuli. We then asked how persistent activity driven by
attractor dynamics emerges during motor learning. It has been proposed that
activity-dependent synaptic plasticity underpins motor learning, as it can
reconfigure network architectures to produce the appropriate neural
dynamics for specific behaviors. To verify this hypothesis, we investigated
how the mouse premotor cortex acquires specific neural dynamics that govern
the planning of movement at different stages of motor learning. We
developed network models that replicated the effects of acute manipulations
of synaptic plasticity. The models, which display attractor dynamics, also
explain flexible behavior after learning has ended. By leveraging the
model's predictions, we can formulate testable hypotheses regarding the
distinct mechanisms governing movement planning at various stages of the
learning process.

*About VVTNS : Created as the World Wide Neuroscience Seminar (WWTNS) in
November 2020 and renamed in homage to Carl van Vreeswijk in Memoriam
(April 20, 2022), its aim is to be a platform to exchange ideas among
theoreticians. Speakers have the occasion to talk about theoretical aspects
of their work which cannot be discussed in a setting where the majority of
the audience consists of experimentalists. The seminars, **held on
Wednesdays at 11 am ET,**  are 45-50 min long followed by a discussion. The
talks are recorded with authorization of the speaker and are available to
everybody on our YouTube channel.*
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-- 
'Life is good ..' (Carl van Vreeswijk, 1962-2022)
---------------------------------------
David Hansel
Directeur de Recherche  au CNRS
Co-Group leader
Cerebral Dynamics Plasticity and Learning lab., CNRS
45 rue des Saints Peres 75270 Paris Cedex 06
Tel (Cell):   +33 607508403 - Fax (33).1.49.27.90.62

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