Probabilistic perceptual decisions during navigation are driven by a small subpopulation of neurons in a single cortical column of the primary somatosensory cortex
Open accessAbstract
Perceptually driven behavioral choices are thought to develop gradually from sensation to perception in the somatosensory cortex to guide decision-making in higher-order cortical areas. The primary somatosensory cortex (wS1) of rodents related to their mystacial whiskers has been a model system to study this information flow. However, the role of wS1 in this process is often debated based on controversial results of loss-of-function behavioral experiments that often require prolonged training and movement restraints. Here, to elucidate the role of wS1 in decision-making, we developed an ethological whisker-guided virtual reality (VR) paradigm that closely mimics natural navigation in underground burrows. Untrained mice of either sex navigate left and right turns at high speed by sensing VR walls with just a pair of their C2 whiskers. Inactivating layer 4 of C2 barrel results in a loss of the ability to produce turns contralateral to the lesion. Using a probabilistic model of collision avoidance in the presence of noise and uncertainties, we hypothesize that wS1 is involved in a feedback control loop that requires continuous updates and predictions to infer the optimal path for collision avoidance.
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Better threshold clearance is achieved by steeper turn angles at closer wall distances, reflecting stronger evidence for the animal to turn faster to avoid anticipated collisions.
“Better threshold clearance is achieved by steeper turn angles (Fig. 2D) at closer wall distances (28) reflecting the stronger evidence for the animal to turn faster to avoid anticipated collisions (29).”
From Neural correlates of perceptual decision-making in the primary somatosensory cortex (2026) · cites this paper as [29]
Local ablation of layer 4 of the principal C2 whisker barrel column, but not neighboring barrels, results in inability of mice to produce turns guided by a whisker contralateral to the lesion while still performing turns guided by the ipsilateral whisker.
“We previously showed (29) that local ablation of layer 4 (L4) of the principal C2 whisker barrel column, but not neighboring barrels, results in the inability of mice to produce turns guided by a whisker contralateral to the lesion, while still performing turns guided by the ipsilateral whisker.”
From Neural correlates of perceptual decision-making in the primary somatosensory cortex (2026) · cites this paper as [29]
Fusion of sensory and behavioral information encoding in the barrel cortex may help active whisker-guided navigation that requires continuous inference of relative positions of the obstacle and mouse body to estimate time to collision.
“In our case, fusion of sensory (whisker related) and behavioral (motor-related) information encoding in the barrel cortex may help active whisker-guided navigation that requires continuous inference (29) of relative positions of the obstacle (approaching wall sensed by whisking) and mouse body (proprioception) to estimate time to collision.”
From Neural correlates of perceptual decision-making in the primary somatosensory cortex (2026) · cites this paper as [29]
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Neural correlates of perceptual decision-making in the primary somatosensory cortex
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Neural correlates of perceptual decision-making in the primary somatosensory cortex
Armstrong, A. G., & Vlasov, Y. (2026) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.2514107123 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
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- Authors
- Armstrong, A. G., & Vlasov, Y.
- Affiliations
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (US)
- Corresponding author
- Vlasov, Yurii
- Venue
- The Journal of Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Society for Neuroscience
- Published
- 2026-03-02
- Volume
- 46
- Issue
- 13
- Pages
- e0930252026
- ISSN
- 0270-6474 (ISSN-L)
- 1529-2401
- OpenAlex
- W7133183426
- Cited by
- 1
- References
- 61
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1
- FWCI
- 4.13
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- None
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Tactile and Sensory Interactions
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
- Keywords
- primary somatosensory cortex, perceptual decision making, probabilistic decision making, barrel cortex, collision avoidance, virtual reality navigation, sensory uncertainty, feedback control
- MeSH terms
- Virtual Reality, Animals, Decision Making, Female, Male, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Neurons, Somatosensory Cortex, Vibrissae, Mice, Spatial Navigation
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