RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The Importance of Accounting for Movement When Relating Neuronal Activity to Sensory and Cognitive Processes
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 1375
OP 1382
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1919-21.2021
VO 42
IS 8
A1 Zagha, Edward
A1 Erlich, Jeffrey C.
A1 Lee, Soohyun
A1 Lur, Gyorgy
A1 O'Connor, Daniel H.
A1 Steinmetz, Nicholas A.
A1 Stringer, Carsen
A1 Yang, Hongdian
YR 2022
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/42/8/1375.abstract
AB A surprising finding of recent studies in mouse is the dominance of widespread movement-related activity throughout the brain, including in early sensory areas. In awake subjects, failing to account for movement risks misattributing movement-related activity to other (e.g., sensory or cognitive) processes. In this article, we (1) review task designs for separating task-related and movement-related activity, (2) review three “case studies” in which not considering movement would have resulted in critically different interpretations of neuronal function, and (3) discuss functional couplings that may prevent us from ever fully isolating sensory, motor, and cognitive-related activity. Our main thesis is that neural signals related to movement are ubiquitous, and therefore ought to be considered first and foremost when attempting to correlate neuronal activity with task-related processes.