Pre-exposure To Aversive Stimulus Mediates The Coding Of Visual Information

Background:In the ever-changing world,animals constantly perceive and integrate various stimuli in the environment,and adjust their behaviors in time according to the results of processing,so as to better survive and reproduction.Aversive experiences can have a powerful effect on the formation of memories,and the intensity of memory is directly proportional to the intensity of these experiences.In addition,the aversive experience will not only guide the immediate behavioral responses,but also affect future actions and decisions.The brain can perceive predictors of important events(such as external stimuli),and further integrate and process the received perceptual information to optimize future behavioral responses.Therefore,it is necessary to explore the neural mechanisms behind the brain's perception and processing of related stimuli in depth.Previous studies used the blocking experiment of the classic aversive associative learning paradigm and partially clarified the impact of pre-exposure to the cellular encoding of aversive stimuli.However,previous studies focused on the relationship between cell coding and aversive memory in brain areas such as the amygdala,midbrain peri-aqueduct gray matter,and ventral tegmental area.It is still unclear whether the preexposure of the aversive tone stimulus will affect the visual information encoded by cells in the primary visual cortex.Purpose:This study mainly uses two-photon calcium imaging technology to explore the effect of pre-exposure of aversive stimulus tone on the coding of visual information by cells in the mouse primary visual cortex.Contents and results:(1)Through blocking experiments with different decibel tone and flash,it was found that the pre-paired learning of 40 d B,2900 Hz sound and tail shock can block the associative learning of flash and tail shock when the subsequent sound and flash are synchronized with the presentation of the tail shock.(2)This article uses two-photon calcium imaging technology to record the response of cells in the primary visual cortex of mice to stimuli under the blocking experiment.After analyzing the results obtained in the experiment,it is found that: After pre-exposure to aversive tone stimulus,the proportion and response degree of cells in the primary visual cortex of mice that responded to visual stimuli were significantly higher than those without pre-exposure.In summary,this article combines the results of mouse behavioral studies and twophoton calcium imaging recordings,and found that pre-exposure of aversive stimulus tone will hinder the subsequent paired associative learning of visual stimuli and tail electric shocks in mice,and aversion.In addition,the pre-exposure of the aversive stimulus tone will affect the coding of cells in the primary visual cortex to a certain extent.