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Vaucher E, Laliberté G, Higgins MC, Maheux M, Jolicoeur P, Chamoun M. Cholinergic potentiation of visual perception and vision restoration in rodents and humans. Restor Neurol Neurosci 2020; 37:553-569. [PMID: 31839615 DOI: 10.3233/rnn-190947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The cholinergic system is a potent neuromodulator system that plays a critical role in cortical plasticity, attention, and learning. Recently, it was found that boosting this system during perceptual learning robustly enhances sensory perception in rodents. In particular, pairing cholinergic activation with visual stimulation increases neuronal responses, cue detection ability, and long-term facilitation in the primary visual cortex. The mechanisms of cholinergic enhancement are closely linked to attentional processes, long-term potentiation, and modulation of the excitatory/inhibitory balance. Some studies currently examine this effect in humans. OBJECTIVE The present article reviews the research from our laboratory, examining whether potentiating the central cholinergic system could help visual perception and restoration. METHODS Electrophysiological or pharmacological enhancement of the cholinergic system are administered during a visual training. Electrophysiological responses and perceptual learning performance are investigated before and after the training in rats and humans. This approach's ability to restore visual capacities following a visual deficit induced by a partial optic nerve crush is also investigated in rats. RESULTS The coupling of visual training to cholinergic stimulation improved visual discrimination and visual acuity in rats, and improved residual vision after a deficit. These changes were due to muscarinic and nicotinic transmissions and were associated with a functional improvement of evoked potentials. In humans, potentiation of cholinergic transmission with 5 mg of donepezil showed improved learning and ocular dominance plasticity, although this treatment was ineffective in augmenting the perceptual threshold and electroencephalography. CONCLUSIONS Potential therapeutic outcomes ought to facilitate vision restoration using commercially available cholinergic agents combined with visual stimulation in order to prevent irreversible vision loss in patients. This approach has the potential to help a large population of visually impaired individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elvire Vaucher
- Laboratoire de Neurobiologie de la Cognition Visuelle, École d'optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada.,Centre de recherche en neuropsychologie et cognition (CERNEC), Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Guillaume Laliberté
- Laboratoire de Neurobiologie de la Cognition Visuelle, École d'optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Marie-Charlotte Higgins
- Laboratoire de Neurobiologie de la Cognition Visuelle, École d'optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Manon Maheux
- Centre de recherche en neuropsychologie et cognition (CERNEC), Montréal, Québec, Canada.,Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Pierre Jolicoeur
- Centre de recherche en neuropsychologie et cognition (CERNEC), Montréal, Québec, Canada.,Département de Psychologie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Mira Chamoun
- Laboratoire de Neurobiologie de la Cognition Visuelle, École d'optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
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Abstract
In this article, we review the anatomical inputs and outputs to the mouse primary visual cortex, area V1. Our survey of data from the Allen Institute Mouse Connectivity project indicates that mouse V1 is highly interconnected with both cortical and subcortical brain areas. This pattern of innervation allows for computations that depend on the state of the animal and on behavioral goals, which contrasts with simple feedforward, hierarchical models of visual processing. Thus, to have an accurate description of the function of V1 during mouse behavior, its involvement with the rest of the brain circuitry has to be considered. Finally, it remains an open question whether the primary visual cortex of higher mammals displays the same degree of sensorimotor integration in the early visual system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanouil Froudarakis
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA;
- Center for Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Paul G Fahey
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA;
- Center for Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Jacob Reimer
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA;
- Center for Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Stelios M Smirnakis
- Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
- Jamaica Plain VA Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02130, USA
| | - Edward J Tehovnik
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA;
- Center for Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
| | - Andreas S Tolias
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA;
- Center for Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University, Houston, Texas 77005, USA
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Pennartz CMA, Farisco M, Evers K. Indicators and Criteria of Consciousness in Animals and Intelligent Machines: An Inside-Out Approach. Front Syst Neurosci 2019; 13:25. [PMID: 31379521 PMCID: PMC6660257 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2019.00025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2019] [Accepted: 06/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
In today's society, it becomes increasingly important to assess which non-human and non-verbal beings possess consciousness. This review article aims to delineate criteria for consciousness especially in animals, while also taking into account intelligent artifacts. First, we circumscribe what we mean with "consciousness" and describe key features of subjective experience: qualitative richness, situatedness, intentionality and interpretation, integration and the combination of dynamic and stabilizing properties. We argue that consciousness has a biological function, which is to present the subject with a multimodal, situational survey of the surrounding world and body, subserving complex decision-making and goal-directed behavior. This survey reflects the brain's capacity for internal modeling of external events underlying changes in sensory state. Next, we follow an inside-out approach: how can the features of conscious experience, correlating to mechanisms inside the brain, be logically coupled to externally observable ("outside") properties? Instead of proposing criteria that would each define a "hard" threshold for consciousness, we outline six indicators: (i) goal-directed behavior and model-based learning; (ii) anatomic and physiological substrates for generating integrative multimodal representations; (iii) psychometrics and meta-cognition; (iv) episodic memory; (v) susceptibility to illusions and multistable perception; and (vi) specific visuospatial behaviors. Rather than emphasizing a particular indicator as being decisive, we propose that the consistency amongst these indicators can serve to assess consciousness in particular species. The integration of scores on the various indicators yields an overall, graded criterion for consciousness, somewhat comparable to the Glasgow Coma Scale for unresponsive patients. When considering theoretically derived measures of consciousness, it is argued that their validity should not be assessed on the basis of a single quantifiable measure, but requires cross-examination across multiple pieces of evidence, including the indicators proposed here. Current intelligent machines, including deep learning neural networks (DLNNs) and agile robots, are not indicated to be conscious yet. Instead of assessing machine consciousness by a brief Turing-type of test, evidence for it may gradually accumulate when we study machines ethologically and across time, considering multiple behaviors that require flexibility, improvisation, spontaneous problem-solving and the situational conspectus typically associated with conscious experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cyriel M. A. Pennartz
- Department of Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience, Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Research Priority Area, Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Michele Farisco
- Centre for Research Ethics and Bioethics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Biogem, Biology and Molecular Genetics Institute, Ariano Irpino, Italy
| | - Kathinka Evers
- Centre for Research Ethics and Bioethics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
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Macià D, Pujol J, Blanco-Hinojo L, Martínez-Vilavella G, Martín-Santos R, Deus J. Characterization of the Spatial Structure of Local Functional Connectivity Using Multidistance Average Correlation Measures. Brain Connect 2018; 8:276-287. [DOI: 10.1089/brain.2017.0575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Dídac Macià
- MRI Research Unit, Department of Radiology, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jesus Pujol
- MRI Research Unit, Department of Radiology, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM G21, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Laura Blanco-Hinojo
- MRI Research Unit, Department of Radiology, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, CIBERSAM G21, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Rocío Martín-Santos
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Hospital Clínic, Institut d'Investigació Biomédica August Pi I Sunyer, CIBERSAM G25, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Joan Deus
- MRI Research Unit, Department of Radiology, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
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Connor CE, Knierim JJ. Integration of objects and space in perception and memory. Nat Neurosci 2017; 20:1493-1503. [PMID: 29073645 PMCID: PMC5920781 DOI: 10.1038/nn.4657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2017] [Accepted: 09/08/2017] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Distinct processing of objects and space has been an organizing principle for studying higher-level vision and medial temporal lobe memory. Here, however, we discuss how object and spatial information are in fact closely integrated in vision and memory. The ventral, object-processing visual pathway carries precise spatial information, transformed from retinotopic coordinates into relative dimensions. At the final stages of the ventral pathway, including the dorsal anterior temporal lobe (TEd), object-sensitive neurons are intermixed with neurons that process large-scale environmental space. TEd projects primarily to perirhinal cortex (PRC), which in turn projects to lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC). PRC and LEC also combine object and spatial information. For example, PRC and LEC neurons exhibit place fields that are evoked by landmark objects or the remembered locations of objects. Thus, spatial information, on both local and global scales, is deeply integrated into the ventral (temporal) object-processing pathway in vision and memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles E Connor
- Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - James J Knierim
- Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
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