Cortical circuits for goal-directed cross-modal transfer learning

Abstract

AbstractIn an environment full of complex multisensory stimuli, flexible and effective behaviors rely on our ability to transfer learned associations across sensory modalities. Here we explored the intertwined cortical representations of visual and whisker tactile sensations in mice and their role in cross-modal transfer learning. Mice trained to discriminate stimulations of two different whiskers seamlessly switched to the discrimination of two visual cues only when reward contingencies were spatially congruent across modalities. Using multi-scale calcium imaging over the dorsal cortex, we identified two distinct associative domains within the ventral and dorsal streams displaying visuo-tactile integration. We observed multimodal spatial congruency in visuo-tactile areas, both functionally and anatomically, for feedforward and feedback projections with primary sensory regions. Single-cell responses in these domains were tuned to congruent visuo-tactile stimuli. Suppressing synaptic transmission specifically in the dorsal stream impaired transfer learning. Our results delineate the pivotal cortical pathway necessary for visuo-tactile multisensory integration and goal-directed cross-modal transfer learning.One Sentence SummarySpatially organized representations of visual and tactile inputs in associative cortical areas facilitate effective cross-modal transfer following goal-directed sensorimotor learning.