Data and code from: Dynamics of cortical contrast adaptation predict perception of signals in noise

Neurons throughout the sensory pathway adapt their responses depending on
the statistical structure of the sensory environment. Contrast gain
control is a form of adaptation in the auditory cortex, but it is unclear
whether the dynamics of gain control reflect efficient adaptation, and
whether they shape behavioral perception. Here, we trained mice to detect
a target presented in background noise shortly after a change in the
contrast of the background. The observed changes in cortical gain and
behavioral detection followed the dynamics of a normative model of
efficient contrast gain control; specifically, target detection and
sensitivity improved slowly in low contrast, but degraded rapidly in high
contrast. Auditory cortex was required for this task, and cortical
responses were not only similarly affected by contrast but predicted
variability in behavioral performance. Combined, our results demonstrate
that dynamic gain adaptation supports efficient coding in auditory cortex
and predicts the perception of sounds in noise.