Mapping Brain-Wide Neural Activity of Murine Attentional Processing in the Five-Choice Serial Reaction Time Task
Yin Yue1 · Youming Tan2 · Pin Yang3 · Shu Zhang3 · Hongzhen Pan4 · Yiran Lang4 · Zengqiang Yuan11 The Brain Science Center, Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing 100850, China
2 Hengyang Medical School, University of South China, Hengyang 421001, China
3 School of Basic Medical Sciences, Anhui Medical University, Hefei 230022, China
4 School of Medical Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
Abstract
Attention is the cornerstone of effective functioning in a complex and information-rich world. While the neural activity of attention has been extensively studied in the cortex, the brain-wide neural activity patterns are largely unknown. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of neural activity across the mouse brain during attentional processing using EEG and c-Fos staining, utilizing hierarchical clustering and c-Fos-based functional network analysis to evaluate the c-Fos activation patterns. Our findings reveal that a wide range of brain regions are activated, notably in the high-order cortex, thalamus, and brain stem regions involved in advanced cognition and arousal regulation, with the central lateral nucleus of the thalamus as a strong hub, suggesting the crucial role of the thalamus in attention control. These results provide valuable insights into the neural network mechanisms underlying attention, offering a foundation for formulating functional hypotheses and conducting circuit-level testing.
Keywords
Attention; c-Fos; 5-CSRTT; EEG; Functional network
