A Network Perspective on Sensorimotor Learning

Abstract

What happens in the brain when we learn? Ever since the foundational work of Cajal, the field has made numerous discoveries as to how experience could change the structure and function of individual synapses. However, more recent advances have highlighted the need for understanding learning in terms of complex interactions between populations of neurons and synapses. How should one think about learning at such a macroscopic level? Here, we develop a conceptual framework to bridge the gap between the different scales at which learning operates, from synapses to neurons to behavior. Using this framework, we explore the principles that guide sensorimotor learning across these scales, and set the stage for future experimental and theoretical work in the field.

Keywords: dimensionality; internal models; neural plasticity; neural population; sensorimotor learning; state space framework.