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Learning alters neural activity to simultaneously support memory and action

Losey, D. M.; Hennig, J. A.; Oby, E. R.; Golub, M. D.; Sadlter, P. T.; Quick, K. M.; Ryu, S. I.; Tyler-Kabara, E. C.; Batista, A. P.; Yu, B. M.; Chase, S. M.

2022-07-06 neuroscience
10.1101/2022.07.05.498856 bioRxiv
Show abstract

How are we able to learn new behaviors without disrupting previously learned ones? To understand how the brain achieves this, we used a brain-computer interface (BCI) learning paradigm, which enables us to detect the presence of a memory of one behavior while performing another. We found that learning to use a new BCI map altered the neural activity that monkeys produced when they returned to using a familiar BCI map, in a way that was specific to the learning experience. That is, learning left a "memory trace." This memory trace co-existed with proficient performance under the familiar map, primarily by altering dimensions of neural activity that did not impact behavior. Such a memory trace could provide the neural underpinning for the joint learning of multiple motor behaviors without interference.

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