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Large-scale neural recordings call for new insights to link brain and behavior

Nature Neuroscience volume 25, pages 11–19 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

Neuroscientists today can measure activity from more neurons than ever before, and are facing the challenge of connecting these brain-wide neural recordings to computation and behavior. In the present review, we first describe emerging tools and technologies being used to probe large-scale brain activity and new approaches to characterize behavior in the context of such measurements. We next highlight insights obtained from large-scale neural recordings in diverse model systems, and argue that some of these pose a challenge to traditional theoretical frameworks. Finally, we elaborate on existing modeling frameworks to interpret these data, and argue that the interpretation of brain-wide neural recordings calls for new theoretical approaches that may depend on the desired level of understanding. These advances in both neural recordings and theory development will pave the way for critical advances in our understanding of the brain.

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Fig. 1: Insights from large-scale neural recordings.
Fig. 2: Understanding trial-to-trial neural variability across scales.

Data availability

All data used to generate Fig. 2 are available at https://github.com/anne-urai/largescale_recordings under a CC-BY 4.0 license.

Code availability

All code used to generate Fig. 2 are available at https://github.com/anne-urai/largescale_recordings under a CC-BY 4.0 license.

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Acknowledgements

A.E.U. is supported by the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the International Brain Research Organization. B.D. is supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH) (grant no. 1U19NS107613-01, R01EB026953), Vannevar Bush faculty fellowship (no. N00014-18-1-2002) and the Simons Foundation Collaboration on the Global Brain. A.M.L. is supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the NIH (under New Innovator award no. DP2NS116768), and Simons Foundation Award (no. SCGB 543003). A.K.C. is supported by the NIH (nos. R01EY022979 and R01EB026949) and the Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain. We thank N. Sofroniew for sharing the mesoscope image panel shown in the figure in Box 2, panel b, E. Trautman and K. Shenoy for the primate electrophysiology (Neuropixels) data in the figure in Box 2, panel c, and D. Maizels for graphic design. I. Stevenson, K. Svoboda, P. Rupprecht, A. Charles and G. Meijer suggested data points shown in Box 1, and J. Couto provided helpful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. J. Tuthill provided insights on interpreting data from the fly connectome.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA

    Anne E. Urai & Anne K. Churchland

  2. Cognitive Psychology Unit, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Anne E. Urai

  3. University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Brent Doiron

  4. Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA

    Andrew M. Leifer

  5. University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Anne K. Churchland

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Urai, A.E., Doiron, B., Leifer, A.M. et al. Large-scale neural recordings call for new insights to link brain and behavior. Nat Neurosci 25, 11–19 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-021-00980-9

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