AI Summary
In this study, researchers investigated the relationship between the amygdala and cortex during the learning of a sensory discrimination task in male mice. They found that as mice learned the task, the amygdala and cortex displayed complex dynamics, linking sensory information to associations such as rewards. The amygdala responded early during the sensation period, with different responses in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and central/medial amygdala (CEM). The cortex and amygdala also showed responses related to body movement preceding licking for a reward. These findings suggest that learning induces interactions between the cortex and amygdala, aiding in linking sensory stimuli with appropriate associations.
During learning of a sensory discrimination task, the cortical and subcortical regions display complex spatiotemporal dynamics. During learning, both the amygdala and cortex link stimulus information to its appropriate association, for example, a reward. In addition, both structures are also related to nonsensory parameters such as body movements and licking during the reward period. However, the emergence of the cortico-amygdala relationships during learning is largely unknown. To study this, we combined wide-field cortical imaging with fiber photometry to simultaneously record cortico-amygdala population dynamics as male mice learn a whisker-dependent go/no-go task. We were able to simultaneously record neuronal populations from the posterior cortex and either the basolateral amygdala (BLA) or central/medial amygdala (CEM). Prior to learning, the somatosensory and associative cortex responded during sensation, while amygdala areas did not show significant responses. As mice became experts, amygdala responses emerged early during the sensation period, increasing in the CEM, while decreasing in the BLA. Interestingly, amygdala and cortical responses were associated with task-related body movement, displaying significant responses ~200Ā ms before movement initiation which led to licking for the reward. A correlation analysis between the cortex and amygdala revealed negative and positive correlation with the BLA and CEM, respectively, only in the expert case. These results imply that learning induces an involvement of the cortex and amygdala which may aid to link sensory stimuli with appropriate associations.