{
  "abstract": "Animals continuously transform sensory inputs into representations that guide behavior. Although the amygdala is a brain structure critical for learning and choice, how natural sensory experience is represented within this circuit remains unknown. Here, we identify a representation of the visual environment in the human basolateral amygdala (BLA) that contains information relevant for learning and choice. Using image-computable encoding models trained on responses to naturalistic videos, we recover a continuous, low-dimensional representation of visual experience in the BLA. The representation generalizes across individuals and independent datasets and prospectively predicts BLA responses to novel visual stimuli generated through closed-loop image synthesis. Signals derived from the representation also informed reinforcement-learning models of human choice. Together, these findings show that the human BLA organizes complex visual experience into a structured representation that can support learning and flexible behavioral responses.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Emory University"
  ],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "G. Jang"
    },
    {
      "name": "K. Riels"
    },
    {
      "name": "E. Aberman"
    },
    {
      "name": "G. Tao"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "P. A. Kragel"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3wgfxbbbpsws0.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.10.07.757347",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.07.757347v1.full",
  "id": "3wgfxbbbpsws0",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.07.757347v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "neuroscience"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2805|Memory and Neural Mechanisms"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221461423",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.07.757347v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-07",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3wgfxbbbpsws0.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:27:05Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.10.07.757347",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.07.757347v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:neuroscience",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "A representation of the visual environment in the human basolateral amygdala supports learning and choice",
  "title_text": "A representation of the visual environment in the human basolateral amygdala supports learning and choice",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:27:05Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3wgfxbbbpsws0",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}