Superior colliculus bidirectionally modulates choice activity in frontal cortex

Alyse Thomas, Weiguo Yang, Catherine Wang, Sri Laasya Tipparaju, Guang Chen, Brennan Sullivan, Kylie Swiekatowski, Mahima Tatam, Charles Gerfen and Nuo Li ()
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Alyse Thomas: Baylor College of Medicine
Weiguo Yang: Baylor College of Medicine
Catherine Wang: Baylor College of Medicine
Sri Laasya Tipparaju: Baylor College of Medicine
Guang Chen: Baylor College of Medicine
Brennan Sullivan: Baylor College of Medicine
Kylie Swiekatowski: Baylor College of Medicine
Mahima Tatam: Baylor College of Medicine
Charles Gerfen: Section on Neuroanatomy, National Institute of Mental Health
Nuo Li: Baylor College of Medicine

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-22

Abstract: Abstract Action selection occurs through competition between potential choice options. Neural correlates of choice competition are observed across frontal cortex and downstream superior colliculus (SC) during decision-making, yet how these regions interact to mediate choice competition remains unresolved. Here we report that SC can bidirectionally modulate choice competition and drive choice activity in frontal cortex. In the mouse, topographically matched regions of frontal cortex and SC formed a descending motor pathway for directional licking and a re-entrant loop via the thalamus. During decision-making, distinct neuronal populations in both frontal cortex and SC encoded opposing lick directions and exhibited competitive interactions. SC GABAergic neurons encoded ipsilateral choice and locally inhibited glutamatergic neurons that encoded contralateral choice. Activating or suppressing these cell types could bidirectionally drive choice activity in frontal cortex. These results thus identify SC as a major locus to modulate choice competition within the broader action selection network.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43252-9

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