title: Parallel processing by cortical inhibition enables context-dependent behavior.
abstract: Physical features of sensory stimuli are fixed, but sensory perception is context dependent. The precise mechanisms that govern contextual modulation remain unknown. Here, we trained mice to switch between two contexts: passively listening to pure tones and performing a recognition task for the same stimuli. Two-photon imaging showed that many excitatory neurons in auditory cortex were suppressed during behavior, while some cells became more active. Whole-cell recordings showed that excitatory inputs were affected only modestly by context, but inhibition was more sensitive, with PV+, SOM+, and VIP+interneurons balancing inhibition and disinhibition within the network. Cholinergic modulation was involved in context switching, with cholinergic axons increasing activity during behavior and directly depolarizing inhibitory cells. Network modeling captured these findings, but only when modulation coincidently drove all three interneuron subtypes, ruling out either inhibition or disinhibition alone as sole mechanism for active engagement. Parallel processing of cholinergic modulation by cortical interneurons therefore enables context-dependent behavior.
authors: Skirball Institute, Neuroscience Institute, Departments of Otolaryngology, Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.|Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York, USA.
authors: Kishore V
authors: KV
authors: Kuchibhotla
authors: Skirball Institute, Neuroscience Institute, Departments of Otolaryngology, Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.|Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York, USA.
authors: Jonathan V
authors: JV
authors: Gill
authors: Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, Swartz Program in Theoretical Neuroscience, Kavli Institute for Brain Science, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
authors: Grace W
authors: GW
authors: Lindsay
authors: Skirball Institute, Neuroscience Institute, Departments of Otolaryngology, Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.|Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York, USA.
authors: Eleni S
authors: ES
authors: Papadoyannis
authors: Skirball Institute, Neuroscience Institute, Departments of Otolaryngology, Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.|Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York, USA.
authors: Rachel E
authors: RE
authors: Field
authors: Skirball Institute, Neuroscience Institute, Departments of Otolaryngology, Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.|Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York, USA.
authors: Tom A Hindmarsh
authors: TA
authors: Sten
authors: Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, Swartz Program in Theoretical Neuroscience, Kavli Institute for Brain Science, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.
authors: Kenneth D
authors: KD
authors: Miller
authors: Skirball Institute, Neuroscience Institute, Departments of Otolaryngology, Neuroscience and Physiology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA.|Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York, USA.
authors: Robert C
authors: RC
authors: Froemke
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D001307:Auditory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D013004:Somatostatin / Q000378:metabolism; D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide / Q000378:metabolism; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D014660:Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide; D013004:Somatostatin