德国马克斯·普朗克神经生物学研究所Mark Hübener、Pieter M. Goltstein等研究人员合作发现，小鼠视觉皮层区域代表学习视觉类别的知觉和语义特征。相关论文于2021年9月20日在线发表在《自然—神经科学》杂志上。

利用小鼠视觉类别学习的范式，研究人员测试了所学类别关联的知觉和语义特征是否已经在新皮质视觉信息处理的第一阶段得到体现。小鼠学会了对视觉刺激进行分类，在不同类别之间进行辨别，并在类别内进行概括。失活实验表明，分类的表现取决于视觉皮层的神经元活动。视觉皮层九个区域的长期钙成像确定了在这个学习过程中发生的特征调谐和类别调谐的变化，最突出的是嗅后裂区（POR）。

这些结果为以下观点提供了证据：联想记忆形成了一个全脑的分布式网络，早期阶段的学习塑造了知觉表征并支持下游的语义内容。

据悉，联想记忆储存在分布式网络中，延伸到多个大脑区域。然而，目前还不清楚感觉皮层区域在多大程度上是这些网络的一部分。

附：英文原文

Title: Mouse visual cortex areas represent perceptual and semantic features of learned visual categories

Author: Goltstein, Pieter M., Reinert, Sandra, Bonhoeffer, Tobias, Hbener, Mark

Issue&Volume: 2021-09-20

Abstract: Associative memories are stored in distributed networks extending across multiple brain regions. However, it is unclear to what extent sensory cortical areas are part of these networks. Using a paradigm for visual category learning in mice, we investigated whether perceptual and semantic features of learned category associations are already represented at the first stages of visual information processing in the neocortex. Mice learned categorizing visual stimuli, discriminating between categories and generalizing within categories. Inactivation experiments showed that categorization performance was contingent on neuronal activity in the visual cortex. Long-term calcium imaging in nine areas of the visual cortex identified changes in feature tuning and category tuning that occurred during this learning process, most prominently in the postrhinal area (POR). These results provide evidence for the view that associative memories form a brain-wide distributed network, with learning in early stages shaping perceptual representations and supporting semantic content downstream. Goltstein et al. investigate the role of mouse visual cortical areas in information-integration category learning. They report widespread changes in neuronal response properties, most prominently in a higher visual area, the postrhinal cortex.

DOI: 10.1038/s41593-021-00914-5

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41593-021-00914-5