Cortical neural landscape captures mouse-to-mouse variability in anticipatory vs. inattentive decision making

Understanding individual variability in behavior is crucial for both basic and clinical neuroscience, yet it remains challenging to study in traditional single laboratory experiments with small sample size. Leveraging standardized behavioral and neural datasets from the International Brain Laboratory, comprising approximately 100 mice trained on a visual decision-making task, we investigated the structure and neural correlates of inter-animal behavioral variability. Using reaction time analysis and a deep learning-based embedding of individual animals, we uncovered large but low-dimensional differences in behavioral traits. Some mice consistently exhibited anticipatory responses, marked by fast reaction times, while others showed slower, more disengaged behavior. These behavioral profiles were consistent across sessions, with female mice tending to show more anticipatory behavior than males. We hypothesized that this behavioral spectrum reflects differences in the depth of underlying cortical states, reflected in the temporal dynamics of neural activity. Supporting this idea, we found that the characteristic timescale of population activity, measured during both inter-trial intervals and passive periods, correlated with an animal's anticipatory tendency across cortical areas, especially in medial visual areas. These findings suggest that individual differences in the cortical dynamics may underlie distinct decision-making strategies.