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Brucklacher M, Pezzulo G, Mannella F, Galati G, Pennartz CMA. Learning to segment self-generated from externally caused optic flow through sensorimotor mismatch circuits. Neural Netw 2024; 181:106716. [PMID: 39383679 DOI: 10.1016/j.neunet.2024.106716] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2024] [Revised: 06/09/2024] [Accepted: 09/07/2024] [Indexed: 10/11/2024]
Abstract
Efficient sensory detection requires the capacity to ignore task-irrelevant information, for example when optic flow patterns created by egomotion need to be disentangled from object perception. To investigate how this is achieved in the visual system, predictive coding with sensorimotor mismatch detection is an attractive starting point. Indeed, experimental evidence for sensorimotor mismatch signals in early visual areas exists, but it is not understood how they are integrated into cortical networks that perform input segmentation and categorization. Our model advances a biologically plausible solution by extending predictive coding models with the ability to distinguish self-generated from externally caused optic flow. We first show that a simple three neuron circuit produces experience-dependent sensorimotor mismatch responses, in agreement with calcium imaging data from mice. This microcircuit is then integrated into a neural network with two generative streams. The motor-to-visual stream consists of parallel microcircuits between motor and visual areas and learns to spatially predict optic flow resulting from self-motion. The second stream bidirectionally connects a motion-selective higher visual area (mHVA) to V1, assigning a crucial role to the abundant feedback connections to V1: the maintenance of a generative model of externally caused optic flow. In the model, area mHVA learns to segment moving objects from the background, and facilitates object categorization. Based on shared neurocomputational principles across species, the model also maps onto primate visual cortex. Our work extends Hebbian predictive coding to sensorimotor settings, in which the agent actively moves - and learns to predict the consequences of its own movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Brucklacher
- Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience, University of Amsterdam, 1098XH Amsterdam, Netherlands.
| | - Giovanni Pezzulo
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, 00196 Rome, Italy
| | - Francesco Mannella
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council, 00196 Rome, Italy
| | - Gaspare Galati
- Brain Imaging Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Cyriel M A Pennartz
- Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience, University of Amsterdam, 1098XH Amsterdam, Netherlands
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2
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Arcaro M, Livingstone M. A Whole-Brain Topographic Ontology. Annu Rev Neurosci 2024; 47:21-40. [PMID: 38360565 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-neuro-082823-073701] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
It is a common view that the intricate array of specialized domains in the ventral visual pathway is innately prespecified. What this review postulates is that it is not. We explore the origins of domain specificity, hypothesizing that the adult brain emerges from an interplay between a domain-general map-based architecture, shaped by intrinsic mechanisms, and experience. We argue that the most fundamental innate organization of cortex in general, and not just the visual pathway, is a map-based topography that governs how the environment maps onto the brain, how brain areas interconnect, and ultimately, how the brain processes information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Arcaro
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
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3
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Ford A, Kovacs-Balint ZA, Wang A, Feczko E, Earl E, Miranda-Domínguez Ó, Li L, Styner M, Fair D, Jones W, Bachevalier J, Sánchez MM. Functional maturation in visual pathways predicts attention to the eyes in infant rhesus macaques: Effects of social status. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2023; 60:101213. [PMID: 36774827 PMCID: PMC9925610 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2022] [Revised: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Differences in looking at the eyes of others are one of the earliest behavioral markers for social difficulties in neurodevelopmental disabilities, including autism. However, it is unknown how early visuo-social experiences relate to the maturation of infant brain networks that process visual social stimuli. We investigated functional connectivity (FC) within the ventral visual object pathway as a contributing neural system. Densely sampled, longitudinal eye-tracking and resting state fMRI (rs-fMRI) data were collected from infant rhesus macaques, an important model of human social development, from birth through 6 months of age. Mean trajectories were fit for both datasets and individual trajectories from subjects with both eye-tracking and rs-fMRI data were used to test for brain-behavior relationships. Exploratory findings showed infants with greater increases in FC between left V1 to V3 visual areas have an earlier increase in eye-looking before 2 months. This relationship was moderated by social status such that infants with low social status had a stronger association between left V1 to V3 connectivity and eye-looking than high status infants. Results indicated that maturation of the visual object pathway may provide an important neural substrate supporting adaptive transitions in social visual attention during infancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aiden Ford
- Neuroscience Program, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA; Marcus Autism Center, USA.
| | | | - Arick Wang
- Emory Natl. Primate Res. Ctr., Emory Univ., Atlanta, GA, USA; Dept of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Eric Feczko
- Dept. of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA; Masonic Institute of the Developing Brain, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Eric Earl
- Data Science and Sharing Team, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, DHHS, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Óscar Miranda-Domínguez
- Dept. of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA; Masonic Institute of the Developing Brain, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Longchuan Li
- Marcus Autism Center, USA; Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, GA, USA; Dept. of Pediatrics, Emory University, Sch. of Med., Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Martin Styner
- Dept. of Psychiatry, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Damien Fair
- Dept. of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA; Masonic Institute of the Developing Brain, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA; Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA; Center for Magnetic Resonance Research and Department of Radiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Warren Jones
- Marcus Autism Center, USA; Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, GA, USA; Dept. of Pediatrics, Emory University, Sch. of Med., Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Jocelyne Bachevalier
- Emory Natl. Primate Res. Ctr., Emory Univ., Atlanta, GA, USA; Dept of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Mar M Sánchez
- Emory Natl. Primate Res. Ctr., Emory Univ., Atlanta, GA, USA; Dept. Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Emory Univ., Sch. of Med., Atlanta, GA, USA
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4
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Modular strategy for development of the hierarchical visual network in mice. Nature 2022; 608:578-585. [PMID: 35922512 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05045-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Hierarchical and parallel networks are fundamental structures of the mammalian brain1-8. During development, lower- and higher-order thalamic nuclei and many cortical areas in the visual system form interareal connections and build hierarchical dorsal and ventral streams9-13. One hypothesis for the development of visual network wiring involves a sequential strategy wherein neural connections are sequentially formed alongside hierarchical structures from lower to higher areas14-17. However, this sequential strategy would be inefficient for building the entire visual network comprising numerous interareal connections. We show that neural pathways from the mouse retina to primary visual cortex (V1) or dorsal/ventral higher visual areas (HVAs) through lower- or higher-order thalamic nuclei form as parallel modules before corticocortical connections. Subsequently, corticocortical connections among V1 and HVAs emerge to combine these modules. Retina-derived activity propagating the initial parallel modules is necessary to establish retinotopic inter-module connections. Thus, the visual network develops in a modular manner involving initial establishment of parallel modules and their subsequent concatenation. Findings in this study raise the possibility that parallel modules from higher-order thalamic nuclei to HVAs act as templates for cortical ventral and dorsal streams and suggest that the brain has an efficient strategy for the development of a hierarchical network comprising numerous areas.
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5
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Functionally specific and sparse domain-based micro-networks in monkey V1 and V2. Curr Biol 2022; 32:2797-2809.e3. [PMID: 35623347 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.04.095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Revised: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The cerebral cortices of human and nonhuman primate brains are characterized by submillimeter functional domains. However, little is known about the connections of single functional domains. Here, in macaque monkey visual cortex, we have developed a targeted focal electrical stimulation method, coupled with functional optical imaging, to map cortical networks with submillimeter precision in vivo. We find that single functional domains are a part of highly specific and sparse intra-areal and inter-areal micro-networks. Across color-related and orientation-related functionalities, these micro-networks exhibit parallel connection patterns, suggesting a common domain-based architecture. Moreover, these micro-networks shift topographically at a submillimeter scale, suggesting that they serve as a fundamental unit for cortical information processing. Our findings establish a domain-based connectional architecture in the primate brain and present new constraints for cortical map representation.
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6
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Abstract
Face-selective neurons are observed in the primate visual pathway and are considered as the basis of face detection in the brain. However, it has been debated as to whether this neuronal selectivity can arise innately or whether it requires training from visual experience. Here, using a hierarchical deep neural network model of the ventral visual stream, we suggest a mechanism in which face-selectivity arises in the complete absence of training. We found that units selective to faces emerge robustly in randomly initialized networks and that these units reproduce many characteristics observed in monkeys. This innate selectivity also enables the untrained network to perform face-detection tasks. Intriguingly, we observed that units selective to various non-face objects can also arise innately in untrained networks. Our results imply that the random feedforward connections in early, untrained deep neural networks may be sufficient for initializing primitive visual selectivity.
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7
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Yao S, Zhou Q, Li S, Takahata T. Immunoreactivity of Vesicular Glutamate Transporter 2 Corresponds to Cytochrome Oxidase-Rich Subcompartments in the Visual Cortex of Squirrel Monkeys. Front Neuroanat 2021; 15:629473. [PMID: 33679337 PMCID: PMC7930324 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2021.629473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cytochrome oxidase (CO) histochemistry has been used to reveal the cytoarchitecture of the primate brain, including blobs/puffs/patches in the striate cortex (V1), and thick, thin and pale stripes in the middle layer of the secondary visual cortex (V2). It has been suggested that CO activity is coupled with the spiking activity of neurons, implying that neurons in these CO-rich subcompartments are more active than surrounding regions. However, we have discussed possibility that CO histochemistry represents the distribution of thalamo-cortical afferent terminals that generally use vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGLUT2) as their main glutamate transporter, and not the activity of cortical neurons. In this study, we systematically compared the labeling patterns observed between CO histochemistry and immunohistochemistry (IHC) for VGLUT2 from the system to microarchitecture levels in the visual cortex of squirrel monkeys. The two staining patterns bore striking similarities at all levels of the visual cortex, including the honeycomb structure of V1 layer 3Bβ (Brodmann's layer 4A), the patchy architecture in the deep layers of V1, the superficial blobs of V1, and the V2 stripes. The microarchitecture was more evident in VGLUT2 IHC, as expected. VGLUT2 protein expression that produced specific IHC labeling is thought to originate from the thalamus since the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) and the pulvinar complex both show high expression levels of VGLUT2 mRNA, but cortical neurons do not. These observations support our theory that the subcompartments revealed by CO histochemistry represent the distribution of thalamo-cortical afferent terminals in the primate visual cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Songping Yao
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.,Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qiuying Zhou
- Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.,Department of Neurology of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Shuiyu Li
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.,Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Toru Takahata
- Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.,Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.,Department of Neurology of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
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8
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Turner EC, Gabi M, Liao CC, Kaas JH. The postnatal development of MT, V1, LGN, pulvinar and SC in prosimian galagos (Otolemur garnettii). J Comp Neurol 2020; 528:3075-3094. [PMID: 32067231 DOI: 10.1002/cne.24885] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2019] [Revised: 02/11/2020] [Accepted: 02/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Considerable evidence supports the premise that the visual system of primates develops hierarchically, with primary visual cortex developing structurally and functionally first, thereby influencing the subsequent development of higher cortical areas. An apparent exception is the higher order middle temporal visual area (MT), which appears to be histologically distinct near the time of birth in marmosets. Here we used a number of histological and immunohistological markers to evaluate the maturation of cortical and subcortical components of the visual system in galagos ranging from newborns to adults. Galagos are representative of the large strepsirrhine branch of primate evolution, and studies of these primates help identify brain features that are broadly similar across primate taxa. The histological results support the view that MT is functional at or near the time of birth, as is primary visual cortex. Likewise, the superior colliculus, dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus, and the posterior nucleus of the pulvinar are well-developed by birth. Thus, these subcortical structures likely provide visual information directly or indirectly to cortex in newborn galagos. We conclude that MT resembles a primary sensory area by developing early, and that the early development of MT may influence the subsequent development of dorsal stream visual areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily C Turner
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Mariana Gabi
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Chia-Chi Liao
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Jon H Kaas
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
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9
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Park WJ, Fine I. New insights into cortical development and plasticity: from molecules to behavior. CURRENT OPINION IN PHYSIOLOGY 2020; 16:50-60. [PMID: 32923755 PMCID: PMC7480792 DOI: 10.1016/j.cophys.2020.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The human brain contains 100 billion neurons, and each neuron can have up to 200,000 connections to other neurons. Recent advancements in neuroscience-ranging from molecular studies in animal models to behavioral studies in humans-have given us deeper insights into the development of this extraordinarily intricate system. Studies show a complex interaction between biological predispositions and environment; while the gross neuroanatomy and low-level functions develop early prior to receiving environmental inputs, functional selectivity is shaped through experience, governed by the maturation of local excitatory and inhibitory circuits and synaptic plasticity during sensitive periods early in development. Plasticity does not end with the closing of the early sensitive period - the environment continues to play an important role in learning throughout the lifespan. Recent work delineating the cascade of events that initiates, controls and ends sensitive periods, offers new hope of eventually being able to remediate various clinical conditions by selectively reopening plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Woon Ju Park
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
| | - Ione Fine
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
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10
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Danka Mohammed CP, Khalil R. Postnatal Development of Visual Cortical Function in the Mammalian Brain. Front Syst Neurosci 2020; 14:29. [PMID: 32581733 PMCID: PMC7296053 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2020.00029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2020] [Accepted: 05/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
This review aims to discuss (1) the refinement of mammalian visual cortical circuits and the maturation of visual functions they subserve in primary visual cortex (V1) and other visual cortical areas, and (2) existing evidence supporting the notion of differential rates of maturation of visual functions in different species. It is well known that different visual functions and their underlying circuitry mature and attain adultlike characteristics at different stages in postnatal development with varying growth rates. The developmental timecourse and duration of refinement varies significantly both in V1 of various species and among different visual cortical areas; while basic visual functions like spatial acuity mature earlier requiring less time, higher form perception such as contour integration is more complex and requires longer postnatal time to refine. This review will highlight the importance of systematic comparative analysis of the differential rates of refinement of visual circuitry and function as that may help reveal underlying key mechanisms necessary for healthy visual development during infancy and adulthood. This type of approach will help future studies to establish direct links between various developmental aspects of different visual cortical areas in both human and animal models; thus enhancing our understanding of vision related neurological disorders and their potential therapeutic remedies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chand Parvez Danka Mohammed
- Biosciences and Bioengineering Research Institute (BBRI), American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
| | - Reem Khalil
- Biosciences and Bioengineering Research Institute (BBRI), American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.,Department of Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
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11
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Vanni S, Hokkanen H, Werner F, Angelucci A. Anatomy and Physiology of Macaque Visual Cortical Areas V1, V2, and V5/MT: Bases for Biologically Realistic Models. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:3483-3517. [PMID: 31897474 PMCID: PMC7233004 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhz322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2019] [Revised: 12/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The cerebral cortex of primates encompasses multiple anatomically and physiologically distinct areas processing visual information. Areas V1, V2, and V5/MT are conserved across mammals and are central for visual behavior. To facilitate the generation of biologically accurate computational models of primate early visual processing, here we provide an overview of over 350 published studies of these three areas in the genus Macaca, whose visual system provides the closest model for human vision. The literature reports 14 anatomical connection types from the lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus to V1 having distinct layers of origin or termination, and 194 connection types between V1, V2, and V5, forming multiple parallel and interacting visual processing streams. Moreover, within V1, there are reports of 286 and 120 types of intrinsic excitatory and inhibitory connections, respectively. Physiologically, tuning of neuronal responses to 11 types of visual stimulus parameters has been consistently reported. Overall, the optimal spatial frequency (SF) of constituent neurons decreases with cortical hierarchy. Moreover, V5 neurons are distinct from neurons in other areas for their higher direction selectivity, higher contrast sensitivity, higher temporal frequency tuning, and wider SF bandwidth. We also discuss currently unavailable data that could be useful for biologically accurate models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simo Vanni
- HUS Neurocenter, Department of Neurology, Helsinki University Hospital, 00290 Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Neurosciences, University of Helsinki, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Henri Hokkanen
- HUS Neurocenter, Department of Neurology, Helsinki University Hospital, 00290 Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Neurosciences, University of Helsinki, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
| | - Francesca Werner
- HUS Neurocenter, Department of Neurology, Helsinki University Hospital, 00290 Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Neurosciences, University of Helsinki, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
- Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
| | - Alessandra Angelucci
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Moran Eye Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA
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12
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Kaas JH, Baldwin MKL. The Evolution of the Pulvinar Complex in Primates and Its Role in the Dorsal and Ventral Streams of Cortical Processing. Vision (Basel) 2019; 4:E3. [PMID: 31905909 PMCID: PMC7157193 DOI: 10.3390/vision4010003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2019] [Revised: 11/26/2019] [Accepted: 12/19/2019] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Current evidence supports the view that the visual pulvinar of primates consists of at least five nuclei, with two large nuclei, lateral pulvinar ventrolateral (PLvl) and central lateral nucleus of the inferior pulvinar (PIcl), contributing mainly to the ventral stream of cortical processing for perception, and three smaller nuclei, posterior nucleus of the inferior pulvinar (PIp), medial nucleus of the inferior pulvinar (PIm), and central medial nucleus of the inferior pulvinar (PIcm), projecting to dorsal stream visual areas for visually directed actions. In primates, both cortical streams are highly dependent on visual information distributed from primary visual cortex (V1). This area is so vital to vision that patients with V1 lesions are considered "cortically blind". When the V1 inputs to dorsal stream area middle temporal visual area (MT) are absent, other dorsal stream areas receive visual information relayed from the superior colliculus via PIp and PIcm, thereby preserving some dorsal stream functions, a phenomenon called "blind sight". Non-primate mammals do not have a dorsal stream area MT with V1 inputs, but superior colliculus inputs to temporal cortex can be more significant and more visual functions are preserved when V1 input is disrupted. The current review will discuss how the different visual streams, especially the dorsal stream, have changed during primate evolution and we propose which features are retained from the common ancestor of primates and their close relatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon H. Kaas
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, USA
| | - Mary K. L. Baldwin
- Center for Neuroscience, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95618, USA;
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13
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Kim NY, Kastner S. A biased competition theory for the developmental cognitive neuroscience of visuo-spatial attention. Curr Opin Psychol 2019; 29:219-228. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.03.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2018] [Revised: 03/25/2019] [Accepted: 03/28/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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14
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Arcaro MJ, Schade PF, Livingstone MS. Universal Mechanisms and the Development of the Face Network: What You See Is What You Get. Annu Rev Vis Sci 2019; 5:341-372. [PMID: 31226011 PMCID: PMC7568401 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-vision-091718-014917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Our assignment was to review the development of the face-processing network, an assignment that carries the presupposition that a face-specific developmental program exists. We hope to cast some doubt on this assumption and instead argue that the development of face processing is guided by the same ubiquitous rules that guide the development of cortex in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Arcaro
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA;
| | - Peter F Schade
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA;
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15
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Spiking Noise and Information Density of Neurons in Visual Area V2 of Infant Monkeys. J Neurosci 2019; 39:5673-5684. [PMID: 31147523 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2023-18.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2018] [Revised: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 05/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Encoding of visual information requires precisely timed spiking activity in the network of cortical neurons; irregular spiking can interfere with information processing especially for low-contrast images. The vision of newborn infants is impoverished. An infant's contrast sensitivity is low and the ability to discriminate complex stimuli is poor. The neural mechanisms that limit the visual capacities of infants are a matter of debate. Here we asked whether noisy spiking and/or crude information processing in visual cortex limit infant vision. Since neurons beyond the primary visual cortex (V1) have rarely been studied in neonates or infants, we focused on the firing pattern of neurons in visual area V2, the earliest extrastriate visual area of both male and female macaque monkeys (Maccaca mulatta). For eight stimulus contrasts ranging from 0% to 80%, we analyzed spiking irregularity by calculating the square of the coefficient of variation (CV2) in interspike intervals, the trial-to-trial fluctuation in spiking (Fano factor), and the amount of information on contrast conveyed by each spiking (information density). While the contrast sensitivity of infant neurons was reduced as expected, spiking noise, both the magnitude of spiking irregularity and the trial-to-trial fluctuations, was much lower in the spike trains of infant V2 neurons compared with those of adults. However, information density for V2 neurons was significantly lower in infants. Our results suggest that poor contrast sensitivity combined with lower information density of extrastriate neurons, despite their lower spiking noise, may limit behaviorally determined contrast sensitivity soon after birth.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Despite >50 years of investigations on the postnatal development of the primary visual cortex (V1), cortical mechanisms that may limit infant vision are still unclear. We investigated the quality and strength of neuronal firing in primate visual area V2 by analyzing contrast sensitivity, spiking variability, and the amount of information on contrast conveyed by each action potential (information density). Here we demonstrate that the firing rate, contrast sensitivity, and dynamic range of V2 neurons were depressed in infants compared with adults. Although spiking noise was less, information density was lower in infant V2. Impoverished neuronal drive and lower information density in extrastriate visual areas, despite lower spiking noise, largely explain the impoverished visual sensitivity of primates near birth.
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16
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Moore B, Li K, Kaas JH, Liao CC, Boal AM, Mavity-Hudson J, Casagrande V. Cortical projections to the two retinotopic maps of primate pulvinar are distinct. J Comp Neurol 2018; 527:577-588. [PMID: 30078198 DOI: 10.1002/cne.24515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2018] [Revised: 07/20/2018] [Accepted: 07/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Comprised of at least five distinct nuclei, the pulvinar complex of primates includes two large visually driven nuclei; one in the dorsal (lateral) pulvinar and one in the ventral (inferior) pulvinar, that contain similar retinotopic representations of the contralateral visual hemifield. Both nuclei also appear to have similar connections with areas of visual cortex. Here we determined the cortical connections of these two nuclei in galagos, members of the stepsirrhine primate radiation, to see if the nuclei differed in ways that could support differences in function. Injections of different retrograde tracers in each nucleus produced similar patterns of labeled neurons, predominately in layer 6 of V1, V2, V3, MT, regions of temporal cortex, and other visual areas. More complete labeling of neurons with a modified rabies virus identified these neurons as pyramidal cells with apical dendrites extending into superficial cortical layers. Importantly, the distributions of cortical neurons projecting to each of the two nuclei were highly overlapping, but formed separate populations. Sparse populations of double-labeled neurons were found in both V1 and V2 but were very low in number (<0.1%). Finally, the labeled cortical neurons were predominately in layer 6, and layer 5 neurons were labeled only in extrastriate areas. Terminations of pulvinar projections to area 17 was largely in superficial cortical layers, especially layer 1.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brandon Moore
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Keji Li
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.,Department of Cellular and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Jon H Kaas
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.,Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Chia-Chi Liao
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
| | - Andrew M Boal
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
| | | | - Vivien Casagrande
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.,Department of Cellular and Developmental Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.,Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
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17
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Khalil R, Contreras-Ramirez V, Levitt JB. Postnatal refinement of interareal feedforward projections in ferret visual cortex. Brain Struct Funct 2018; 223:2303-2322. [PMID: 29476239 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-018-1632-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2017] [Accepted: 02/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
We studied the postnatal refinement of feedforward (FF) projections from ferret V1 to multiple cortical targets during the period around eye opening. Our goal was to establish (a) whether the developmental refinement of FF projections parallels that of feedback (FB) cortical circuits, and (b) whether FF pathways from V1 to different target areas refine with a similar rate. We injected the tracer CTb into V1 of juvenile ferrets, and visualized the pattern of labeled axon terminals in extrastriate cortex. Bouton density of FF projections to target areas 18, 19, and 21 declined steadily from 4 to 8 weeks postnatal. However, in area Ssy this decline was delayed somewhat, not occurring until after 6 weeks. During this postnatal period, mean interbouton intervals along individual FF axons to all visual areas increased, and we observed a concomitant moderate decrease in axon density in areas 18, 21, and Ssy. These data suggest that FF circuits linking V1 to its main extrastriate targets remodel largely synchronously in the weeks following eye opening, that FF and FB cortical circuits share a broadly similar developmental timecourse, and that postnatal visual experience is critical for the refinement of both FF and FB cortical circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reem Khalil
- Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Department, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, UAE.,Department of Biology MR526, City College of New York, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, NY, 10031, USA.,Graduate Center of the City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | | | - Jonathan B Levitt
- Department of Biology MR526, City College of New York, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, NY, 10031, USA. .,Graduate Center of the City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
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18
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Van Grootel TJ, Meeson A, Munk MHJ, Kourtzi Z, Movshon JA, Logothetis NK, Kiorpes L. Development of visual cortical function in infant macaques: A BOLD fMRI study. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0187942. [PMID: 29145469 PMCID: PMC5690606 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0187942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2017] [Accepted: 10/28/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Functional brain development is not well understood. In the visual system, neurophysiological studies in nonhuman primates show quite mature neuronal properties near birth although visual function is itself quite immature and continues to develop over many months or years after birth. Our goal was to assess the relative development of two main visual processing streams, dorsal and ventral, using BOLD fMRI in an attempt to understand the global mechanisms that support the maturation of visual behavior. Seven infant macaque monkeys (Macaca mulatta) were repeatedly scanned, while anesthetized, over an age range of 102 to 1431 days. Large rotating checkerboard stimuli induced BOLD activation in visual cortices at early ages. Additionally we used static and dynamic Glass pattern stimuli to probe BOLD responses in primary visual cortex and two extrastriate areas: V4 and MT-V5. The resulting activations were analyzed with standard GLM and multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA) approaches. We analyzed three contrasts: Glass pattern present/absent, static/dynamic Glass pattern presentation, and structured/random Glass pattern form. For both GLM and MVPA approaches, robust coherent BOLD activation appeared relatively late in comparison to the maturation of known neuronal properties and the development of behavioral sensitivity to Glass patterns. Robust differential activity to Glass pattern present/absent and dynamic/static stimulus presentation appeared first in V1, followed by V4 and MT-V5 at older ages; there was no reliable distinction between the two extrastriate areas. A similar pattern of results was obtained with the two analysis methods, although MVPA analysis showed reliable differential responses emerging at later ages than GLM. Although BOLD responses to large visual stimuli are detectable, our results with more refined stimuli indicate that global BOLD activity changes as behavioral performance matures. This reflects an hierarchical development of the visual pathways. Since fMRI BOLD reflects neural activity on a population level, our results indicate that, although individual neurons might be adult-like, a longer maturation process takes place on a population level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom J Van Grootel
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, United States of America
| | - Alan Meeson
- Behavioural and Brain Sciences, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
| | | | - Zoe Kourtzi
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Behavioural and Brain Sciences, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom.,Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - J Anthony Movshon
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, United States of America
| | | | - Lynne Kiorpes
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.,Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, United States of America
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19
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Arcaro MJ, Livingstone MS. A hierarchical, retinotopic proto-organization of the primate visual system at birth. eLife 2017; 6:e26196. [PMID: 28671063 PMCID: PMC5495573 DOI: 10.7554/elife.26196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2017] [Accepted: 06/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The adult primate visual system comprises a series of hierarchically organized areas. Each cortical area contains a topographic map of visual space, with different areas extracting different kinds of information from the retinal input. Here we asked to what extent the newborn visual system resembles the adult organization. We find that hierarchical, topographic organization is present at birth and therefore constitutes a proto-organization for the entire primate visual system. Even within inferior temporal cortex, this proto-organization was already present, prior to the emergence of category selectivity (e.g., faces or scenes). We propose that this topographic organization provides the scaffolding for the subsequent development of visual cortex that commences at the onset of visual experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Arcaro
- Department of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States
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20
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Beyeler M, Rokem A, Boynton GM, Fine I. Learning to see again: biological constraints on cortical plasticity and the implications for sight restoration technologies. J Neural Eng 2017; 14:051003. [PMID: 28612755 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/aa795e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The 'bionic eye'-so long a dream of the future-is finally becoming a reality with retinal prostheses available to patients in both the US and Europe. However, clinical experience with these implants has made it apparent that the visual information provided by these devices differs substantially from normal sight. Consequently, the ability of patients to learn to make use of this abnormal retinal input plays a critical role in whether or not some functional vision is successfully regained. The goal of the present review is to summarize the vast basic science literature on developmental and adult cortical plasticity with an emphasis on how this literature might relate to the field of prosthetic vision. We begin with describing the distortion and information loss likely to be experienced by visual prosthesis users. We then define cortical plasticity and perceptual learning, and describe what is known, and what is unknown, about visual plasticity across the hierarchy of brain regions involved in visual processing, and across different stages of life. We close by discussing what is known about brain plasticity in sight restoration patients and discuss biological mechanisms that might eventually be harnessed to improve visual learning in these patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Beyeler
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States of America. Institute for Neuroengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States of America. eScience Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States of America
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21
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Norcia AM, Pei F, Kohler PJ. Evidence for long-range spatiotemporal interactions in infant and adult visual cortex. J Vis 2017. [PMID: 28622700 PMCID: PMC5477630 DOI: 10.1167/17.6.12] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The development of spatiotemporal interactions giving rise to classical receptive field properties has been well studied in animal models, but little is known about the development of putative nonclassical mechanisms in any species. Here we used visual evoked potentials to study the developmental status of spatiotemporal interactions for stimuli that were biased to engage long-range spatiotemporal integration mechanisms. We compared responses to widely spaced stimuli presented either in temporal succession or at the same time. The former configuration elicits a percept of apparent motion in adults but the latter does not. Component flash responses were summed to make a linear prediction (no spatiotemporal interaction) for comparison with the measured evoked responses to sequential or simultaneous flash conditions. In adults, linear summation of the separate flash responses measured with 40% contrast stimuli predicted sequential flash responses twice as large as those measured, indicating that the response measured under apparent motion conditions is subadditive. Simultaneous-flash responses at the same spatial separation were also subadditive, but substantially less so. The subadditivity in both cases could be modeled as a simple multiplicative gain term across all electrodes and time points. In infants aged 3-8 months, responses to the stimuli used in adults were similar to their linear predictions at 40%, but the responses measured at 80% contrast resembled the subadditive responses of the adults for both sequential and simultaneous flash conditions. We interpret the developmental data as indicating that adult-like long-range spatiotemporal interactions can be demonstrated by 3-8 months, once stimulus contrast is high enough.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony M Norcia
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Francesca Pei
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USADepartment of Psychiatry, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Peter J Kohler
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
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22
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Zeki S. Multiple asynchronous stimulus- and task-dependent hierarchies (STDH) within the visual brain's parallel processing systems. Eur J Neurosci 2016; 44:2515-2527. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2016] [Revised: 04/25/2016] [Accepted: 05/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Semir Zeki
- Wellcome Laboratory of Neurobiology; University College London; London WC1E 6BT UK
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23
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Voyles AC, Kiorpes L. A Window into brain development: hdEEG methods to track visual development in nonhuman primates. Dev Neurobiol 2016; 76:1342-1359. [PMID: 27103210 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.22396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2015] [Revised: 03/12/2016] [Accepted: 04/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Electroencephalography (EEG) is widely used to study human brain activity, and is a useful tool for bridging the gap between invasive neural recording assays and behavioral data. High-density EEG (hdEEG) methods currently used for human subjects for use with infant macaque monkeys, a species that exhibits similar visual development to humans over a shorter time course was adapted. Unlike monkeys, human subjects were difficult to study longitudinally and were not appropriate for direct within-species comparison to neuronal data. About 27-channel electrode caps, which allowed collection of hdEEG data from infant monkeys across development were designed. Acuity and contrast sweep VEP responses to grating stimuli was obtained and a new method for objective threshold estimation based on response signal-to-noise ratios at different stimulus levels was established. The developmental trajectories of VEP-measured contrast sensitivity and acuity to previously collected behavioral and neuronal data were compared. The VEP measures showed similar rates of development to behavioral measures, both of which were slower than direct neuronal measures; VEP thresholds were higher than other measures. This is the first usage of non-invasive technology in non-human primates. Other means to assess neural sensitivity in infants were all invasive. Use of hdEEG with infant monkeys opens many possibilities for tracking development of vision and other functions in non-human primates, and can expand our understanding of the relationship between neuronal activity and behavioral capabilities across various sensory and cognitive domains. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 76: 1342-1359, 2016.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela C Voyles
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York, 10003
| | - Lynne Kiorpes
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York, 10003
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24
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Abstract
Early visual areas have neuronal receptive fields that form a sampling mosaic of visual space, resulting in a series of retinotopic maps in which the same region of space is represented in multiple visual areas. It is not clear to what extent the development and maintenance of this retinotopic organization in humans depend on retinal waves and/or visual experience. We examined the corticocortical receptive field organization of resting-state BOLD data in normally sighted, early blind, and anophthalmic (in which both eyes fail to develop) individuals and found that resting-state correlations between V1 and V2/V3 were retinotopically organized for all subject groups. These results show that the gross retinotopic pattern of resting-state connectivity across V1-V3 requires neither retinal waves nor visual experience to develop and persist into adulthood. Significance statement: Evidence from resting-state BOLD data suggests that the connections between early visual areas develop and are maintained even in the absence of retinal waves and visual experience.
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25
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Kiorpes L. Visual development in primates: Neural mechanisms and critical periods. Dev Neurobiol 2015; 75:1080-90. [PMID: 25649764 DOI: 10.1002/dneu.22276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2014] [Revised: 09/26/2014] [Accepted: 01/09/2015] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Despite many decades of research into the development of visual cortex, it remains unclear what neural processes set limitations on the development of visual function and define its vulnerability to abnormal visual experience. This selected review examines the development of visual function and its neural correlates, and highlights the fact that in most cases receptive field properties of infant neurons are substantially more mature than infant visual function. One exception is temporal resolution, which can be accounted for by resolution of neurons at the level of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). In terms of spatial vision, properties of single neurons alone are not sufficient to account for visual development. Different visual functions develop over different time courses. Their onset may be limited by the existence of neural response properties that support a given perceptual ability, but the subsequent time course of maturation to adult levels remains unexplained. Several examples are offered suggesting that taking account of weak signaling by infant neurons, correlated firing, and pooled responses of populations of neurons brings us closer to an understanding of the relationship between neural and behavioral development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lynne Kiorpes
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, New York, 10003
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26
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Butt OH, Benson NC, Datta R, Aguirre GK. Hierarchical and homotopic correlations of spontaneous neural activity within the visual cortex of the sighted and blind. Front Hum Neurosci 2015; 9:25. [PMID: 25713519 PMCID: PMC4322716 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2014] [Accepted: 01/12/2015] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Spontaneous neural activity within visual cortex is synchronized by both monosynaptic, hierarchical connections between visual areas and indirect, network-level activity. We examined the interplay of hierarchical and network connectivity in human visual cortex by measuring the organization of spontaneous neural signals within the visual cortex in total darkness using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Twenty-five blind (14 congenital and 11 postnatal) participants with equally severe vision loss and 22 sighted subjects were studied. An anatomical template based on cortical surface topology was used for all subjects to identify the quarter-field components of visual areas V1-V3, and assign retinotopic organization. Cortical visual areas that represent the same quadrant of the visual field were considered to have a hierarchical relationship, while the spatially separated quarters of the same visual area were considered homotopic. Blindness was found to enhance correlations between hierarchical cortical areas as compared to indirect, homotopic areas at both the level of visual areas (p = 0.000031) and fine, retinotopic scale (p = 0.0024). A specific effect of congenital, but not postnatal, blindness was to further broaden the cortico-cortico connections between hierarchical visual areas (p = 0.0029). This finding is consistent with animal studies that observe a broadening of axonal terminal arborization when the visual cortex is deprived of early input. We therefore find separable roles for vision in developing and maintaining the intrinsic neural activity of visual cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omar H Butt
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Noah C Benson
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA, USA ; Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Ritobrato Datta
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Geoffrey K Aguirre
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA, USA
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27
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Shigihara Y, Zeki S. Parallel processing of face and house stimuli by V1 and specialized visual areas: a magnetoencephalographic (MEG) study. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:901. [PMID: 25426050 PMCID: PMC4224090 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2014] [Accepted: 10/21/2014] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
We used easily distinguishable stimuli of faces and houses constituted from straight lines, with the aim of learning whether they activate V1 on the one hand, and the specialized areas that are critical for the processing of faces and houses on the other, with similar latencies. Eighteen subjects took part in the experiment, which used magnetoencephalography (MEG) coupled to analytical methods to detect the time course of the earliest responses which these stimuli provoke in these cortical areas. Both categories of stimuli activated V1 and areas of the visual cortex outside it at around 40 ms after stimulus onset, and the amplitude elicited by face stimuli was significantly larger than that elicited by house stimuli. These results suggest that “low-level” and “high-level” features of form stimuli are processed in parallel by V1 and visual areas outside it. Taken together with our previous results on the processing of simple geometric forms (Shgihara and Zeki, 2013; Shigihara and Zeki, 2014), the present ones reinforce the conclusion that parallel processing is an important component in the strategy used by the brain to process and construct forms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Semir Zeki
- Wellcome Laboratory of Neurobiology, University College London London, UK
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28
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Rockoff EC, Balaram P, Kaas JH. Patchy distributions of myelin and vesicular glutamate transporter 2 align with cytochrome oxidase blobs and interblobs in the superficial layers of the primary visual cortex. Eye Brain 2014; 6:19-27. [PMID: 26097384 PMCID: PMC4474605 DOI: 10.2147/eb.s59797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Blobs are a modular component of the primary visual cortex (area 17) of all primates, but not of other mammals closely related to primates. They are characterized as an even distribution of patches, puffs, or blobs of dense cytochrome oxidase (CO) expression in layer III of area 17, and are now known to differ from surrounding, nonblob cortex in thalamic, intrinsic, and extrastriate connections. Previous studies have also recognized a blob-like pattern of myelin-dense patches in layer III of area 17 of primates, and more recently the vesicular glutamate transporter (VGLUT)-2 isoform of the VGLUT family has been found to selectively distribute to layer III patches in a similar blob-like pattern. Here, we sought to determine if the blob-like patterns all identify the same modular structures in area 17 of primates by staining alternate brain sections cut parallel to the surface of area 17 of a prosimian primate (Otolemur garnettii) for CO, myelin, and VGLUT2. By aligning the sections from the three preparations, we provide clear evidence that the three preparations all identify the same modular blob structures. The results provide a further understanding of the functional nature of the blobs by demonstrating that their higher level of CO activity is related to thalamic inputs from the lateral geniculate nucleus that use VGLUT2 as their main glutamate transporter, and via myelinated axons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily C Rockoff
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Pooja Balaram
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Jon H Kaas
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA ; Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
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29
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Shigihara Y, Zeki S. Parallel processing in the brain's visual form system: an fMRI study. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:506. [PMID: 25126064 PMCID: PMC4115635 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2014] [Accepted: 06/23/2014] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
We here extend and complement our earlier time-based, magneto-encephalographic (MEG), study of the processing of forms by the visual brain (Shigihara and Zeki, 2013) with a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, in order to better localize the activity produced in early visual areas when subjects view simple geometric stimuli of increasing perceptual complexity (lines, angles, rhombuses) constituted from the same elements (lines). Our results show that all three categories of form activate all three visual areas with which we were principally concerned (V1–V3), with angles producing the strongest and rhombuses the weakest activity in all three. The difference between the activity produced by angles and rhombuses was significant, that between lines and rhombuses was trend significant while that between lines and angles was not. Taken together with our earlier MEG results, the present ones suggest that a parallel strategy is used in processing forms, in addition to the well-documented hierarchical strategy.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Semir Zeki
- Wellcome Laboratory of Neurobiology, University College London London, UK
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30
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Lo YT, Zeki S. Masking reveals parallel form systems in the visual brain. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:567. [PMID: 25120460 PMCID: PMC4110628 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2013] [Accepted: 07/11/2014] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
It is generally supposed that there is a single, hierarchically organized pathway dedicated to form processing, in which complex forms are elaborated from simpler ones, beginning with the orientation-selective cells of V1. In this psychophysical study, we undertook to test another hypothesis, namely that the brain’s visual form system consists of multiple parallel systems and that complex forms are other than the sum of their parts. Inspired by imaging experiments which show that forms of increasing perceptual complexity (lines, angles, and rhombuses) constituted from the same elements (lines) activate the same visual areas (V1, V2, and V3) with the same intensity and latency (Shigihara and Zeki, 2013, 2014), we used backward masking to test the supposition that these forms are processed in parallel. We presented subjects with lines, angles, and rhombuses as different target-mask pairs. Evidence in favor of our supposition would be if masking is the most effective when target and mask are processed by the same system and least effective when they are processed in different systems. Our results showed that rhombuses were strongly masked by rhombuses but only weakly masked by lines or angles, but angles and lines were well masked by each other. The relative resistance of rhombuses to masking by low-level forms like lines and angles suggests that complex forms like rhombuses may be processed in a separate parallel system, whereas lines and angles are processed in the same one.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Tung Lo
- Wellcome Laboratory of Neurobiology, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London London, UK
| | - Semir Zeki
- Wellcome Laboratory of Neurobiology, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London London, UK
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31
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Khalil R, Levitt JB. Developmental remodeling of corticocortical feedback circuits in ferret visual cortex. J Comp Neurol 2014; 522:3208-28. [PMID: 24665018 DOI: 10.1002/cne.23591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2013] [Revised: 03/04/2014] [Accepted: 03/20/2014] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Visual cortical areas in the mammalian brain are linked through a system of interareal feedforward and feedback connections, which presumably underlie different visual functions. We characterized the refinement of feedback projections to primary visual cortex (V1) from multiple sources in juvenile ferrets ranging in age from 4-10 weeks postnatal. We studied whether the refinement of different aspects of feedback circuitry from multiple visual cortical areas proceeds at a similar rate in all areas. We injected the neuronal tracer cholera toxin B (CTb) into V1 and mapped the areal and laminar distribution of retrogradely labeled cells in extrastriate cortex. Around the time of eye opening at 4 weeks postnatal, the retinotopic arrangement of feedback appears essentially adult-like; however, suprasylvian cortex supplies the greatest proportion of feedback, whereas area 18 supplies the greatest proportion in the adult. The density of feedback cells and the ratio of supragranular/infragranular feedback contribution declined in this period at a similar rate in all cortical areas. We also found significant feedback to V1 from layer IV of all extrastriate areas. The regularity of cell spacing, the proportion of feedback arising from layer IV, and the tangential extent of feedback in each area all remained essentially unchanged during this period, except for the infragranular feedback source in area 18, which expanded. Thus, while much of the basic pattern of cortical feedback to V1 is present before eye opening, there is major synchronous reorganization after eye opening, suggesting a crucial role for visual experience in this remodeling process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reem Khalil
- Department of Biology MR526, City College of New York, New York, New York; Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, New York
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32
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Shen G, Tao X, Zhang B, Smith EL, Chino YM. Oblique effect in visual area 2 of macaque monkeys. J Vis 2014; 14:14.2.3. [PMID: 24511142 DOI: 10.1167/14.2.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The neural basis of an oblique effect, a reduced visual sensitivity for obliquely oriented stimuli, has been a matter of considerable debate. We have analyzed the orientation tuning of a relatively large number of neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1) and visual area 2 (V2) of anesthetized and paralyzed macaque monkeys. Neurons in V2 but not V1 of macaque monkeys showed clear oblique effects. This orientation anisotropy in V2 was more robust for those neurons that preferred higher spatial frequencies. We also determined whether V1 and V2 neurons exhibit a similar orientation anisotropy soon after birth. The oblique effect was absent in V1 of 4- and 8-week-old infant monkeys, but their V2 neurons showed a significant oblique effect. This orientation anisotropy in infant V2 was milder than that in adults. The results suggest that the oblique effect emerges in V2 based on the pattern of the connections that are established before birth and enhanced by the prolonged experience-dependent modifications of the neural circuitry in V2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guofu Shen
- College of Optometry, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA
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33
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Linking structure and function: development of lateral spatial interactions in macaque monkeys. Vis Neurosci 2013; 30:263-70. [PMID: 24107405 DOI: 10.1017/s0952523813000394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Lateral spatial interactions among elements of a scene, which either enhance or degrade visual performance, are ubiquitous in vision. The neural mechanisms underlying lateral spatial interactions are a matter of debate, and various hypotheses have been proposed. Suppressive effects may be due to local inhibitory interactions, whereas facilitatory effects are typically ascribed either to the function of long-range horizontal projections in V1 or to uncertainty reduction. We investigated the development of lateral spatial interactions, facilitation and suppression, and compared their developmental profiles to those of potential underlying mechanisms in the visual system of infant macaques. Animals ranging in age from 10 weeks to 3 years were tested with a lateral masking paradigm. We found that suppressive interactions are present from very early in postnatal life, showing no change over the age range tested. However, facilitation develops slowly over the first year after birth. Our data suggest that the early maturation of suppressive interactions is related to the relatively mature receptive field properties of neurons in early visual cortical areas near birth in infant macaques, whereas the later maturation of facilitation is unlikely to be explained by development of local or long-range connectivity in primary visual cortex. Instead our data favor a late developing feedback or top-down cognitive process to explain the origin of facilitation.
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Shigihara Y, Zeki S. Parallelism in the brain's visual form system. Eur J Neurosci 2013; 38:3712-20. [PMID: 24118503 PMCID: PMC3995019 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.12371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2013] [Revised: 08/28/2013] [Accepted: 09/03/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
We used magnetoencephalography (MEG) to determine whether increasingly complex forms constituted from the same elements (lines) activate visual cortex with the same or different latencies. Twenty right-handed healthy adult volunteers viewed two different forms, lines and rhomboids, representing two levels of complexity. Our results showed that the earliest responses produced by lines and rhomboids in both striate and prestriate cortex had similar peak latencies (40 ms) although lines produced stronger responses than rhomboids. Dynamic causal modeling (DCM) showed that a parallel multiple input model to striate and prestriate cortex accounts best for the MEG response data. These results lead us to conclude that the perceptual hierarchy between lines and rhomboids is not mirrored by a temporal hierarchy in latency of activation and thus that a strategy of parallel processing appears to be used to construct forms, without implying that a hierarchical strategy may not be used in separate visual areas, in parallel.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yoshihito Shigihara
- Wellcome Laboratory of Neurobiology, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
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Baldwin MKL, Balaram P, Kaas JH. Projections of the superior colliculus to the pulvinar in prosimian galagos (Otolemur garnettii) and VGLUT2 staining of the visual pulvinar. J Comp Neurol 2013; 521:1664-82. [PMID: 23124867 DOI: 10.1002/cne.23252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2012] [Revised: 07/23/2012] [Accepted: 10/25/2012] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
An understanding of the organization of the pulvinar complex in prosimian primates has been somewhat elusive due to the lack of clear architectonic divisions. In the current study we reveal features of the organization of the pulvinar complex in galagos by examining superior colliculus (SC) projections to this structure and comparing them with staining patterns of the vesicular glutamate transporter, VGLUT2. Cholera toxin subunit β (CTB), Fluoro-ruby (FR), and wheat germ agglutinin conjugated with horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP) were placed in topographically different locations within the SC. Our results showed multiple topographically organized patterns of projections from the SC to several divisions of the pulvinar complex. At least two topographically distributed projections were found within the lateral region of the pulvinar complex, and two less obvious topographical projection patterns were found within the caudomedial region, in zones that stain darkly for VGLUT2. The results, considered in relation to recent observations in tree shrews and squirrels, suggest that parts of the organizational scheme of the pulvinar complex in primates are present in rodents and other mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary K L Baldwin
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240, USA
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Abstract
Infant primates can discriminate texture-defined form despite their relatively low visual acuity. The neuronal mechanisms underlying this remarkable visual capacity of infants have not been studied in nonhuman primates. Since many V2 neurons in adult monkeys can extract the local features in complex stimuli that are required for form vision, we used two-dimensional dynamic noise stimuli and local spectral reverse correlation to measure whether the spatial map of receptive-field subfields in individual V2 neurons is sufficiently mature near birth to capture local features. As in adults, most V2 neurons in 4-week-old monkeys showed a relatively high degree of homogeneity in the spatial matrix of facilitatory subfields. However, ∼25% of V2 neurons had the subfield map where the neighboring facilitatory subfields substantially differed in their preferred orientations and spatial frequencies. Over 80% of V2 neurons in both infants and adults had "tuned" suppressive profiles in their subfield maps that could alter the tuning properties of facilitatory profiles. The differences in the preferred orientations between facilitatory and suppressive profiles were relatively large but extended over a broad range. Response immaturities in infants were mild; the overall strength of facilitatory subfield responses was lower than that in adults, and the optimal correlation delay ("latency") was longer in 4-week-old infants. These results suggest that as early as 4 weeks of age, the spatial receptive-field structure of V2 neurons is as complex as in adults and the ability of V2 neurons to compare local features of neighboring stimulus elements is nearly adult like.
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Garcia-Marin V, Ahmed TH, Afzal YC, Hawken MJ. Distribution of vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGluT2) in the primary visual cortex of the macaque and human. J Comp Neurol 2013; 521:130-51. [PMID: 22684983 DOI: 10.1002/cne.23165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2011] [Revised: 11/18/2011] [Accepted: 06/04/2012] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
The majority of thalamic terminals in V1 arise from lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) afferents. Thalamic afferent terminals are preferentially labeled by an isoform of the vesicular glutamate transporter, VGluT2. The goal of our study was to determine the distribution of VGluT2-ir puncta in macaque and human visual cortex. First, we investigated the distribution of VGluT2-ir puncta in all layers of macaque monkey primary visual cortex (V1), and found a very close correspondence between the known distribution of LGN afferents from previous studies and the distribution of VGluT2-immunoreactive (-ir) puncta. There was also a close correspondence between cytochrome oxidase density and VGluT2-ir puncta distribution. After validating the correspondence in macaque, we made a comparative study in human V1. In many aspects, the distribution of VGluT2-ir puncta in human was qualitatively similar to that of the macaque: high densities in layer 4C, patches of VGluT2-ir puncta in the supragranular layer (2/3), lower but clear distribution in layers 1 and 6, and very few puncta in layers 5 and 4B. However, there were also important differences between macaques and humans. In layer 4A of human, there was a sparse distribution of VGluT2-ir puncta, whereas in macaque, there was a dense distribution with the characteristic honeycomb organization. The results suggest important changes in the pattern of cortical VGluT2 immunostaining that may be related to evolutionary differences in the cortical organization of LGN afferents between Old World monkeys and humans.
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The early maturation of visual cortical area MT is dependent on input from the retinorecipient medial portion of the inferior pulvinar. J Neurosci 2013. [PMID: 23197701 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3269-12.2012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The hierarchical development of the primate visual cortex and associated streams remains somewhat of a mystery. While anatomical, physiological, and psychological studies have demonstrated the early maturation of the dorsal "where"/"how" or motion cortical stream, little is known about the circuitry responsible. The influence of the retinogeniculostriate pathway has been investigated, but little attention has been paid to the role of two more recently described disynaptic retinothalamic projections to the middle temporal (MT) area, an early maturing dorsal stream cortical field, and which bypass the primary visual cortex (V1). These pathways are via the koniocellular layers of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) and the medial portion of the inferior pulvinar (PIm). Both have been demonstrated in the adult nonhuman primate, but their influence during the maturation of the visual cortex is unknown. We used a combination of neural tracing and immunohistochemistry to follow the development of LGN and PIm inputs to area MT in the marmoset monkey. Our results revealed that the early maturation of area MT is likely due to the disynaptic retinopulvinar input and not the retinogeniculate input or the direct projection from V1. Furthermore, from soon after birth to adulthood, there was a dynamic shift in the ratio of input from these three structures to area MT, with an increasing dominance of the direct V1 afference.
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Kaas JH. Evolution of columns, modules, and domains in the neocortex of primates. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2012; 109 Suppl 1:10655-60. [PMID: 22723351 PMCID: PMC3386869 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1201892109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The specialized regions of neocortex of mammals, called areas, have been divided into smaller functional units called minicolumns, columns, modules, and domains. Here we describe some of these functional subdivisions of areas in primates and suggest when they emerged in mammalian evolution. We distinguish several types of these smaller subdivisions. Minicolumns, vertical arrays of neurons that are more densely interconnected with each other than with laterally neighboring neurons, are present in all cortical areas. Classic columns are defined by a repeating pattern of two or more types of cortex distinguished by having different inputs and neurons with different response properties. Sensory stimuli that continuously vary along a stimulus dimension may activate groups of neurons that vary continuously in location, producing "columns" without specific boundaries. Other groups or columns of cortical neurons are separated by narrow septa of fibers that reflect discontinuities in the receptor sheet. Larger regions of posterior parietal cortex and frontal motor cortex are parts of networks devoted to producing different sequences of movements. We distinguish these larger functionally distinct regions as domains. Columns of several types have evolved independently a number of times. Some of the columns found in primates likely emerged with the first primates, whereas others likely were present in earlier ancestors. The sizes and shapes of columns seem to depend on the balance of neuron activation patterns and molecular signals during development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jon H Kaas
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240-7817, USA.
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