Dissecting the Distinct Contributions of Motor Movements and Arousal During Visual Behavioral Performance
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Date
2022
Authors
McAllister, Katelyn
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
The awake brain of an animal is constantly fluctuating between states, causing performance on a given task to be highly variable from one moment to the next. Previous literature demonstrates that optimal performance occurs at an intermediate level of arousal, or wakefulness, following an inverted U-shape pattern. While the effect of arousal on performance has been well studied, there are debates on whether locomotion (walking or running) improves or diminishes the level of engagement on sensory guided tasks. This study aimed to explore the distinct contributions of arousal, whisker movement energy, and speed of locomotion to performance during a visual discrimination task. Results show that the energy of whisker movements and the speed locomotion do not enhance nor diminish performance. Arousal on the other hand correlates with optimal behavior at an intermediate range and decrease with higher states. This result validates previous studies showing intermediate arousal provides optimal performance on a visual task.
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Keywords
Neuroscience, Visual system, Arousal, Behavior, Mice