The primary auditory cortex (A1) is an essential, integrative node that encodes the behavioral relevance of acoustic stimuli, predictions, and auditory-guided decision-making. However, the realization of this integration with respect to the cortical microcircuitry is not well understood. Here, we characterize layer-specific, spatiotemporal synaptic population activity with chronic, laminar current source density analysis in Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) trained in an auditory decision-making Go/NoGo shuttle-box task. We demonstrate that not only sensory but also task- and choice-related information is represented in the mesoscopic neuronal population code of A1. Based on generalized linear-mixed effect models we found a layer-specific and multiplexed representation of the task rule, action selection, and the animal’s behavioral options as accumulating evidence in preparation of correct choices. The findings expand our understanding of how individual layers contribute to the integrative circuit in the sensory cortex in order to code task-relevant information and guide sensory-based decision-making.

初级听觉皮层 (A1) 是一个重要的综合节点，它编码声音刺激、预测和听觉引导决策的行为相关性。然而，这种与皮质微电路集成的实现尚不清楚。在这里，我们通过对经过听觉决策 Go/NoGo 穿梭盒任务训练的蒙古沙鼠 ( Meriones unguiculatus ) 进行慢性层流电流源密度分析来表征层特定的时空突触群体活动。我们证明，A1 的介观神经元群体代码不仅代表了感觉信息，还代表了与任务和选择相关的信息。基于广义线性混合效应模型，我们发现了任务规则、动作选择和动物行为选择的特定层和多重表示，作为准备正确选择的积累证据。这些发现扩展了我们对各个层如何对感觉皮层中的集成电路做出贡献的理解，以编码与任务相关的信息并指导基于感觉的决策。