Ring Attractor Dynamics in Mouse ALM

[License: MIT](LICENSE) [Data: DANDI](https://dandiarchive.org/dandiset/000060)

Code and manuscript for the study: Ring Attractor Dynamics Underlie Perceptual Decisions in Mouse Anterior Lateral Motor Cortex: Decision Errors Reflect Premature Attractor Commitment

Key Finding

We test whether mouse anterior lateral motor cortex (ALM) operates as a 1D double-well or 2D ring attractor during a tactile delayed-response task. Using PCA on delay-period population activity from Neuropixels sessions, we find no sessions consistent with 1D double-well dynamics. In contrast, a substantial fraction of sessions exhibit ring attractor geometry with uniform angular distributions and constrained radii.

Critically, we quantify angular diffusion via the Langevin temperature $T_\theta$ and find it is significantly lower in error trials. This indicates that decision errors arise from premature commitment to the incorrect attractor state rather than increased noise, overturning standard noise-driven error models.