构建具有共享神经子空间的组合任务，这一成果由普林斯顿大学Timothy J. Buschman研究组经过不懈努力而取得。2025年11月26日出版的《自然》杂志发表了这项成果。

在这里，研究小组展示了神经活动的相同子空间在多个任务中表示与任务相关的信息，每个任务以特定于任务的方式灵活地使用这些子空间。该课题组研究人员训练猴子在三个组成相关的任务之间切换。在神经记录中，小组发现关于刺激特征和运动动作的任务相关信息表现在跨任务共享的神经活动子空间中。当猴子执行任务时，相关的共享感觉子空间中的神经表征被转换为相关的共享运动子空间。猴子通过反复更新它们对当前任务的内在信念来适应任务的变化，然后，基于这种信念，灵活地参与与任务相关的共享感觉和运动子空间。总之，他们的研究结果表明，大脑可以通过组合任务相关的神经表征来灵活地执行多个任务。通过组合与任务相关的神经表征，大脑可以灵活地执行多个任务。

研究人员表示，认知是高度灵活的；研究组执行许多不同的任务，并不断调整自己的行为以适应不断变化的需求。经过训练可以执行多个任务的人工神经网络将跨任务重新定义表示和计算组件的主题。通过将这些子组件组合成任务，智能体可以灵活地在任务之间切换并快速学习新任务。然而，这种组合性是否在大脑中被发现尚不清楚。

附：英文原文

Title: Building compositional tasks with shared neural subspaces

Author: Tafazoli, Sina, Bouchacourt, Flora M., Ardalan, Adel, Markov, Nikola T., Uchimura, Motoaki, Mattar, Marcelo G., Daw, Nathaniel D., Buschman, Timothy J.

Issue&Volume: 2025-11-26

Abstract: Cognition is highly flexible—we perform many different tasks1 and continually adapt our behaviour to changing demands2,3. Artificial neural networks trained to perform multiple tasks will reuse representations4 and computational components5 across tasks. By composing tasks from these subcomponents, an agent can flexibly switch between tasks and rapidly learn new tasks6,7. Yet, whether such compositionality is found in the brain is unclear. Here we show the same subspaces of neural activity represent task-relevant information across multiple tasks, with each task flexibly engaging these subspaces in a task-specific manner. We trained monkeys to switch between three compositionally related tasks. In neural recordings, we found that task-relevant information about stimulus features and motor actions were represented in subspaces of neural activity that were shared across tasks. When monkeys performed a task, neural representations in the relevant shared sensory subspace were transformed to the relevant shared motor subspace. Monkeys adapted to changes in the task by iteratively updating their internal belief about the current task and then, based on this belief, flexibly engaging the shared sensory and motor subspaces relevant to the task. In summary, our findings suggest that the brain can flexibly perform multiple tasks by compositionally combining task-relevant neural representations. The brain can flexibly perform multiple tasks by compositionally combining task-relevant neural representations.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09805-2

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09805-2