Top left: illustration of the positive- and negative-valued single whisker stimuli. A lick response to the positive stimulus was associated with reward (water) while a lick response to the negative stimulus was associated with punishment (extra locomotor delay). Top right: rasters of lick timing during Go and No-Go trials. The touch window is shaded. Bottom left: illustration of the experimental system combining active tactile discrimination, whisker tracking, and electrophysiology in either the barrel cortex or superior colliculus. Bottom right: Top, histological section of superior colliculus and three-shank silicon probe dye labeling. Bottom, Allen Brain Atlas of corresponding region of superior colliculus.
Intelligent behavior includes the ability to respond selectively to #stimuli with higher value. @scottrpluta.bsky.social &co reveal where & how in the murine neural hierarchy the transition from a map of stimulus location to a map of stimulus value occurs @plosbiology.org 🧪 plos.io/4jgxnKZ