ArticleNature neuroscience2021
Learning is shaped by abrupt changes in neural engagement.
Article in Nature neuroscience, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers.
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Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed.
- Human learning of noninvasive brain-computer interfaces via manifold geometry.Nature neuroscience · 2026Article
- Stable readout of visual representations mediates flexible generalization.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Intracortical BCI Performance is Robust to Changes in Attentional Load During Dual-Tasking.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Brain-wide arousal signals are segregated from movement planning in the superior colliculus of the macaque.eLife · 2026Article
- Interactions across hemispheres in prefrontal cortex reflect global cognitive processing.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Brain-computer interfaces as a causal probe for scientific inquiry.Trends in cognitive sciences · 2026Review
- Identifying the factors governing internal state switches during nonstationary sensory decision-making.Nature communications · 2025Article
- A posture subspace in the primary motor cortex.Neuron · 2025Article
- Article
- Coordinated multi-level adaptations across neocortical areas during task learning.Nature communications · 2025Article
- A neural manifold view of the brain.Nature neuroscience · 2025Review
- Interactions across hemispheres in prefrontal cortex reflect global cognitive processing.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Article
- Reward signals in the motor cortex: from biology to neurotechnology.Nature communications · 2025Review
- Measuring instability in chronic human intracortical neural recordings towards stable, long-term brain-computer interfaces.Communications biology · 2024Article
- Article
- Review
- Coordinated Response Modulations Enable Flexible Use of Visual Information.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Event detection and classification from multimodal time series with application to neural data.Journal of neural engineering · 2024Article
- Nonlinear manifolds underlie neural population activity during behaviour.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Internal states such as arousal, attention and motivation modulate brain-wide neural activity, but how these processes interact with learning is not well understood. During learning, the brain modifies its neural activity to improve behavior. How do internal states affect this process? Using a brain-computer interface learning paradigm in monkeys, we identified large, abrupt fluctuations in neural population activity in motor cortex indicative of arousal-like internal state changes, which we term 'neural engagement.' In a brain-computer interface, the causal relationship between neural activity and behavior is known, allowing us to understand how neural engagement impacted behavioral performance for different task goals. We observed stereotyped changes in neural engagement that occurred regardless of how they impacted performance. This allowed us to predict how quickly different task goals were learned. These results suggest that changes in internal states, even those seemingly unrelated to goal-seeking behavior, can systematically influence how behavior improves with learning.
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33782622What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.