Generation mechanism of cell assembly to store information about hand recognition

TL;DR

This study models how cell assemblies form during procedural hand recognition learning in mice, revealing inhibitory weight mechanisms and how stored information guides hand movements.

Contribution

It uncovers the formation process of cell assemblies in procedural learning and elucidates the inhibitory weight mechanisms involved.

Findings

Inhibitory weights generate cell assemblies during early training.

Cell assemblies self-organize from inhibitory weights.

Stored information guides hand movements during sustained hand regard.

Abstract

A specific memory is stored in a cell assembly that is activated during fear learning in mice; however, research regarding cell assemblies associated with procedural and habit learning processes is lacking. In modeling studies, simulations of the learning process for hand regard, which is a type of procedural learning, resulted in the formation of cell assemblies. However, the mechanisms through which the cell assemblies form and the information stored in these cell assemblies remain unknown. In this paper, the relationship between hand movements and weight changes during the simulated learning process for hand regard was used to elucidate the mechanism through which inhibitory weights are generated, which plays an important role in the formation of cell assemblies. During the early training phase, trial and error attempts to bring the hand into the field of view caused the generation of inhibitory weights, and the cell assemblies self-organized from these inhibitory weights. The information stored in the cell assemblies was estimated by examining the contributions of the cell assemblies outputs to hand movements. During sustained hand regard, the outputs from these cell assemblies moved the hand into the field of view, using hand-related inputs almost exclusively. Therefore, infants are likely able to select the inputs associated with their hand (that is, distinguish between their hand and others), based on the information stored in the cell assembly, and move their hands into the field of view during sustained hand regard.