Spatial frequency-dependent feedback of visual cortical area 21a modulating functional orientation column maps in areas 17 and 18 of the cat

Cortical recurrence supports resilience to sensory variance in the primary visual cortex

Our daily endeavors occur in a complex visual environment, whose intrinsic variability challenges the way we integrate information to make decisions. By processing myriads of parallel sensory inputs, our brain is theoretically able to compute the variance of its environment, a cue known to guide our behavior. Yet, the neurobiological and computational basis of such variance computations are still poorly understood. Here, we quantify the dynamics of sensory variance modulations of cat primary visual cortex neurons. We report two archetypal neuronal responses, one of which is resilient to changes in variance and co-encodes the sensory feature and its variance, improving the population encoding of orientation. The existence of these variance-specific responses can be accounted for by a model of intracortical recurrent connectivity. We thus propose that local recurrent circuits process uncertainty as a generic computation, advancing our understanding of how the brain handles naturalistic inputs.

Suppression of top-down influence decreases both behavioral and V1 neuronal response sensitivity to stimulus orientations in cats

How top-down influence affects behavioral detection of visual signals and neuronal response sensitivity in the primary visual cortex (V1) remains poorly understood. This study examined both behavioral performance in stimulus orientation identification and neuronal response sensitivity to stimulus orientations in the V1 of cat before and after top-down influence of area 7 (A7) was modulated by non-invasive transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Our results showed that cathode (c) but not sham (s) tDCS in A7 significantly increased the behavioral threshold in identifying stimulus orientation difference, which effect recovered after the tDCS effect vanished. Consistently, c-tDCS but not s-tDCS in A7 significantly decreased the response selectivity bias of V1 neurons for stimulus orientations, which effect could recover after withdrawal of the tDCS effect. Further analysis showed that c-tDCS induced reduction of V1 neurons in response selectivity was not resulted from alterations of neuronal preferred orientation, nor of spontaneous activity. Instead, c-tDCS in A7 significantly lowered the visually-evoked response, especially the maximum response of V1 neurons, which caused a decrease in response selectivity and signal-to-noise ratio. By contrast, s-tDCS exerted no significant effect on the responses of V1 neurons. These results indicate that top-down influence of A7 may enhance behavioral identification of stimulus orientations by increasing neuronal visually-evoked response and response selectivity in the V1.

The Visual Cortical Responses to Sinusoidal Transcorneal Electrical Stimulation

Retinal stimulation has become a widely utilized approach to restore visual function for individuals with retinal degenerative diseases. Although the rectangular electrical pulse is the primary stimulus waveform used in retinal neuromodulation, it remains unclear whether alternate waveforms may be more effective. Here, we used the optical intrinsic signal imaging system to assess the responses of cats' visual cortex to sinusoidal electrical stimulation through contact lens electrode, analyzing the response to various stimulus parameters (frequency, intensity, pulse width). A comparison between sinusoidal and rectangular stimulus waveform was also investigated. The results indicated that the optimal stimulation frequency for sinusoidal electrical stimulation was approximately 20 Hz, supporting the hypothesis that low-frequency electrostimulation induces more responsiveness in retinal neurons than high-frequency electrostimulation in case of sinusoidal stimulation. We also demonstrated that for low-frequency retinal neuromodulation, sinusoidal pulses are more effective than rectangular ones. In addition, we found that compared to current intensity, the effect of the sinusoidal pulse width on cortical responses was more prominent. These results suggested that sinusoidal electrical stimulation may provide a promising strategy for improved retinal neuromodulation in clinical settings.

Revisiting horizontal connectivity rules in V1: from like-to-like towards like-to-all

Horizontal connections in the primary visual cortex of carnivores, ungulates and primates organize on a near-regular lattice. Given the similar length scale for the regularity found in cortical orientation maps, the currently accepted theoretical standpoint is that these maps are underpinned by a like-to-like connectivity rule: horizontal axons connect preferentially to neurons with similar preferred orientation. However, there is reason to doubt the rule's explanatory power, since a growing number of quantitative studies show that the like-to-like connectivity preference and bias mostly observed at short-range scale, are highly variable on a neuron-to-neuron level and depend on the origin of the presynaptic neuron. Despite the wide availability of published data, the accepted model of visual processing has never been revised. Here, we review three lines of independent evidence supporting a much-needed revision of the like-to-like connectivity rule, ranging from anatomy to population functional measures, computational models and to theoretical approaches. We advocate an alternative, distance-dependent connectivity rule that is consistent with new structural and functional evidence: from like-to-like bias at short horizontal distance to like-to-all at long horizontal distance. This generic rule accounts for the observed high heterogeneity in interactions between the orientation and retinotopic domains, that we argue is necessary to process non-trivial stimuli in a task-dependent manner.

Effects of top-down influence suppression on behavioral and V1 neuronal contrast sensitivity functions in cats

To explore the relative contributions of higher-order and primary visual cortex (V1) to visual perception, we compared cats' behavioral and V1 neuronal contrast sensitivity functions (CSF) and threshold versus external noise contrast (TvC) functions before and after top-down influence of area 7 (A7) was modulated with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). We found that suppressing top-down influence of A7 with cathode-tDCS, but not sham-tDCS, reduced behavioral and neuronal contrast sensitivity in the same range of spatial frequencies and increased behavioral and neuronal contrast thresholds in the same range of external noise levels. The neuronal CSF and TvC functions were highly correlated with their behavioral counterparts both before and after the top-down suppression. Analysis of TvC functions using the Perceptual Template Model (PTM) indicated that top-down influence of A7 increased both behavioral and V1 neuronal contrast sensitivity by reducing internal additive noise and the impact of external noise.

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Top-down suppression lowers both behavioral and V1 neuronal CSF functions

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Top-down suppression raises both behavioral and V1 neuronal TvC functions

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The neuronal CSFs and TvCs are highly correlated with their behavioral counterparts

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Top-down influence lowers internal additive noise and impact of external noise in V1

The role of feedback projections in feature tuning and neuronal excitability in the early primate visual system

A general assumption in visual neuroscience is that basic receptive field properties such as orientation and direction selectivity are constructed within intrinsic neuronal circuits and feedforward projections. In addition, it is assumed that general neuronal excitability and responsiveness in early visual areas is to a great extent independent of feedback input originating in areas higher in the stream. Here, we review the contribution of feedback projections from MT, V4 and pulvinar to the receptive field properties of V2 neurons in the anesthetized and paralyzed monkey. Importantly, our results contradict both of these assumptions. We separately inactivated each of these three brain regions using GABA pressure injections, while simultaneously recording V2 single unit activity before and hours after inactivation. Recordings and GABA injections were carried out in topographically corresponding regions of the visual field. We outline the changes in V2 activity, responsiveness and receptive field properties for early, mid and late post-injection phases. Immediately after injection, V2 activity is globally suppressed. Subsequently, there is an increase in stimulus-driven relative to spontaneous neuronal activity, which improves the signal-to-noise coding for the oriented moving bars. Notably, V2 tuning properties change substantially relative to its pre-injection selectivity profile. The resulting increase or decrease in selectivity could not be readily predicted based on the selectivity profile of the inactivated site. Finally, V2 activity rebounds before returning to it pre-injection profile Our results show that feedback projections profoundly impact neuronal circuits in early visual areas, and may have been heretofore largely underestimated in their physiological role.

Characterization of Feedback Neurons in the High-Level Visual Cortical Areas That Project Directly to the Primary Visual Cortex in the Cat

Previous studies indicate that top-down influence plays a critical role in visual information processing and perceptual detection. However, the substrate that carries top-down influence remains poorly understood. Using a combined technique of retrograde neuronal tracing and immunofluorescent double labeling, we characterized the distribution and cell type of feedback neurons in cat's high-level visual cortical areas that send direct connections to the primary visual cortex (V1: area 17). Our results showed: (1) the high-level visual cortex of area 21a at the ventral stream and PMLS area at the dorsal stream have a similar proportion of feedback neurons back projecting to the V1 area, (2) the distribution of feedback neurons in the higher-order visual area 21a and PMLS was significantly denser than in the intermediate visual cortex of area 19 and 18, (3) feedback neurons in all observed high-level visual cortex were found in layer II-III, IV, V, and VI, with a higher proportion in layer II-III, V, and VI than in layer IV, and (4) most feedback neurons were CaMKII-positive excitatory neurons, and few of them were identified as inhibitory GABAergic neurons. These results may argue against the segregation of ventral and dorsal streams during visual information processing, and support "reverse hierarchy theory" or interactive model proposing that recurrent connections between V1 and higher-order visual areas constitute the functional circuits that mediate visual perception. Also, the corticocortical feedback neurons from high-level visual cortical areas to the V1 area are mostly excitatory in nature.

Visual Corticocortical Inputs to Ferret Area 18

Visual cortical areas in the adult mammalian brain are linked by a network of interareal feedforward and feedback circuits. We investigated the topography of feedback projections to ferret (Mustela putorius furo) area 18 from extrastriate areas 19, 21, and Ssy. Our objective was to characterize the anatomical organization of the extrastriate feedback pool to area 18. We also wished to determine if feedback projections to area 18 share similar features as feedback projections to area 17. We injected the tracer cholera toxin B subunit (CTb) into area 18 of adult ferrets to visualize the distribution and pattern of retrogradely labeled cells in extrastriate cortex. We find several similarities to the feedback projection to area 17: (i) Multiple visual cortical areas provide feedback to area 18: areas 19, 21, Ssy, and weaker inputs from posterior parietal and lateral temporal visual areas. Within each area a greater proportion of feedback projections arises from the infragranular than from the supragranular layers. (ii) The cortical area immediately rostral to area 18 provides the greatest proportion of total cortical feedback, and has the greatest peak density of cells providing feedback to area 18. (iii) The spacing (peak cell density and nearest neighbor distances) of cells in extrastriate cortex providing feedback to areas 17 and 18 are similar. However, peak density of feedback cells to area 18 is comparable in the supra- and infragranular layers, whereas peak density of feedback cells to area 17 is higher in the infragranular layers. Another prominent difference is that dorsal area 18 receives a cortical input that area 17 does not: from ventral cortex representing the upper visual field; this appears to be roughly 25% of the feedback input to area 18. Lastly, area 17 receives a greater proportion of cortical feedback from area 21 than from Ssy, whereas area 18 receives more feedback from Ssy than from area 21. While the organization of feedback projections from extrastriate cortex to areas 17 and 18 is broadly similar, the main difference in input topography might arise due to differences in visual field representations of the two areas.

Dynamics of Stability of Orientation Maps Recorded with Optical Imaging

Orientation selectivity is an important feature of visual cortical neurons. Optical imaging of the visual cortex allows for the generation of maps of orientation selectivity that reflect the activity of large populations of neurons. To estimate the statistical significance of effects of experimental manipulations, evaluation of the stability of cortical maps over time is required. Here, we performed optical imaging recordings of the visual cortex of anesthetized adult cats. Monocular stimulation with moving clockwise square-wave gratings that continuously changed orientation and direction was used as the mapping stimulus. Recordings were repeated at various time intervals, from 15 min to 16 h. Quantification of map stability was performed on a pixel-by-pixel basis using several techniques. Map reproducibility showed clear dynamics over time. The highest degree of stability was seen in maps recorded 15-45 min apart. Averaging across all time intervals and all stimulus orientations revealed a mean shift of 2.2 ± 0.1°. There was a significant tendency for larger shifts to occur at longer time intervals. Shifts between 2.8° (mean ± 2SD) and 5° were observed more frequently at oblique orientations, while shifts greater than 5° appeared more frequently at cardinal orientations. Shifts greater than 5° occurred rarely overall (5.4% of cases) and never exceeded 11°. Shifts of 10-10.6° (0.7%) were seen occasionally at time intervals of more than 4 h. Our findings should be considered when evaluating the potential effect of experimental manipulations on orientation selectivity mapping studies.

Silencing "Top-Down" Cortical Signals Affects Spike-Responses of Neurons in Cat's "Intermediate" Visual Cortex

We examined the effects of reversible inactivation of a higher-order, pattern/form-processing, postero-temporal visual (PTV) cortex on the background activities and spike-responses of single neurons in the ipsilateral cytoarchitectonic area 19 (putative area V3) of anesthetized domestic cats. Very occasionally (2/28), silencing recurrent “feedback” signals from PTV, resulted in significant and reversible reduction in background activity of area 19 neurons. By contrast, in large proportions of area 19 neurons, PTV inactivation resulted in: (i) significant reversible changes in the peak magnitude of their responses to visual stimuli (35.5%; 10/28); (ii) substantial reversible changes in direction selectivity indices (DSIs; 43%; 12/28); and (iii) reversible, upward shifts in preferred stimulus velocities (37%; 7/19). Substantial (≥20°) shifts in preferred orientation and/or substantial (≥20°) changes in width of orientation-tuning curves of area 19 neurons were however less common (26.5%; 4/15). In a series of experiments conducted earlier, inactivation of PTV also induced upward shifts in the preferred velocities of the ipsilateral cytoarchitectonic area 17 (V1) neurons responding optimally at low velocities. These upward shifts in preferred velocities of areas 19 and 17 neurons were often accompanied by substantial increases in DSIs. Thus, in both the primary visual cortex and the “intermediate” visual cortex (area 19), feedback from PTV plays a modulatory role in relation to stimulus velocity preferences and/or direction selectivity, that is, the properties which are usually believed to be determined by the inputs from the dorsal thalamus and/or feedforward inputs from the primary visual cortices. The apparent specialization of area 19 for processing information about stationary/slowly moving visual stimuli is at least partially determined, by the feedback from the higher-order pattern-processing visual area. Overall, the recurrent signals from the higher-order, pattern/form-processing visual cortex appear to play an important role in determining the magnitude of spike-responses and some “motion-related” receptive field properties of a substantial proportion of neurons in the intermediate form-processing visual area—area 19.

Feedback from visual cortical area 7 to areas 17 and 18 in cats: How neural web is woven during feedback

To investigate the feedback effect from area 7 to areas 17 and 18, intrinsic signal optical imaging combined with pharmacological, morphological methods and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed. A spatial frequency-dependent decrease in response amplitude of orientation maps was observed in areas 17 and 18 when area 7 was inactivated by a local injection of GABA, or by a lesion induced by liquid nitrogen freezing. The pattern of orientation maps of areas 17 and 18 after the inactivation of area 7, if they were not totally blurred, paralleled the normal one. In morphological experiments, after one point at the shallow layers within the center of the cat's orientation column of area 17 was injected electrophoretically with HRP (horseradish peroxidase), three sequential patches in layers 1, 2 and 3 of area 7 were observed. Employing fMRI it was found that area 7 feedbacks mainly to areas 17 and 18 on ipsilateral hemisphere. Therefore, our conclusions are: (1) feedback from area 7 to areas 17 and 18 is spatial frequency modulated; (2) feedback from area 7 to areas 17 and 18 occurs mainly ipsilaterally; (3) histological feedback pattern from area 7 to area 17 is weblike.

Spatiotemporal characteristics of surround suppression in primary visual cortex and lateral geniculate nucleus of the cat

In the primary visual cortex (V1), a neuronal response to stimulation of the classical receptive field (CRF) is predominantly suppressed by a stimulus presented outside the CRF (extraclassical receptive field, ECRF), a phenomenon referred to as ECRF suppression. To elucidate the neuronal mechanisms and origin of ECRF suppression in V1 of anesthetized cats, we examined the temporal properties of the spatial extent and orientation specificity of ECRF suppression in V1 and the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), using stationary-flashed sinusoidal grating. In V1, we found three components of ECRF suppression: 1) local and fast, 2) global and fast, and 3) global and late. The local and fast component, which resulted from within 2° of the boundary of the CRF, started no more than 10 ms after the onset of the CRF response and exhibited low specificity for the orientation of the ECRF stimulus. These spatiotemporal properties corresponded to those of geniculate ECRF suppression, suggesting that the local and fast component of V1 is inherited from the LGN. In contrast, the two global components showed rather large spatial extents ∼5° from the CRF boundary and high specificity for orientation, suggesting that their possible origin is the cortex, not the LGN. Correspondingly, the local component was observed in all neurons of the thalamocortical recipient layer, while the global component was biased toward other layers. Therefore, we conclude that both subcortical and cortical mechanisms with different spatiotemporal properties are involved in ECRF suppression.

Organization and origin of spatial frequency maps in cat visual cortex

It remains controversial whether and how spatial frequency (SF) is represented tangentially in cat visual cortex. Several models were proposed, but there is no consensus. Worse still, some data indicate that the SF organization previously revealed by optical imaging techniques simply reflects non-stimulus-specific responses. Instead, stimulus-specific responses arise from the homogeneous distribution of geniculo-cortical afferents representing X and Y pathways. To clarify this, we developed a new imaging method allowing rapid stimulation with a wide range of SFs covering more than 6 octaves with only 0.2 octave resolution. A benefit of this method is to avoid error of high-pass filtering methods which systematically under-represent dominant selectivity features near pinwheel centers. We show unequivocally that SF is organized into maps in cat area 17 (A17) and area 18 (A18). The SF organization in each area displays a global anteroposterior SF gradient and local patches. Its layout is constrained to that of the orientation map, and it is suggested that both maps share a common functional architecture. A17 and A18 are bound at the transition zone by another SF gradient involving the geniculo-cortical and the callosal pathways. A model based on principal component analysis shows that SF maps integrate three different SF-dependent channels. Two of these reflect the segregated excitatory input from X and Y geniculate cells to A17 and A18. The third one conveys a specific combination of excitatory and suppressive inputs to the visual cortex. In a manner coherent with anatomical and electrophysiological data, it is interpreted as originating from a subtype of Y geniculate cells.

Feedback of the amygdala globally modulates visual response of primary visual cortex in the cat

The amygdala is an important center for emotional behavior, and it influences other cortical regions. Long feedback projections from the amygdala to the primary visual cortex were recently reported in the cat and monkey, two animal models for vision research. However, the detailed functional roles of these extensive projections still remain largely unknown. In this study, intrinsic signal optical imaging was used to investigate the visually driven responses of the primary visual cortex of cats as focal drugs were injected into the basal nucleus of the amygdala. Both the visually evoked global signals and differential signals in the functional maps of the primary visual cortex were enhanced or reduced by glutamate-induced activation or GABA-induced deactivation of neurons in the amygdala, respectively. This modulation was found to be non-selective, consistent with the gain control mechanism-both the preferred orientation and its mapped orientation tuning width remained unchanged. The single unit recordings showed similar results supporting the above observations. These results suggest that the distal feedback signals of the amygdala enhance the primary sensory information processing in a non-selective, gain-control fashion. This provides direct neurophysiological evidence and insight for previous studies on emotional-cue related psychological studies.

GABA inactivation of visual area MT modifies the responsiveness and direction selectivity of V2 neurons in Cebus monkeys

We investigated the contribution of the projections from area MT to the receptive field properties of cells in visual area V2 in anesthetized and paralyzed Cebus apella monkeys. We recorded extracellular single-unit activity using tungsten microelectrodes in three monkeys before and after pressure injection of a 0.25-mol/l GABA solution. The visual stimulus consisted of a single bar moving in one of eight directions. In total, 72 V2 neurons were studied in 18 sessions of GABA injection into area MT. A group of 22 neurons was investigated over a shorter period of time ranging from 15 to 60 min, during which the activity did not return to baseline levels. The remaining 50 neurons were studied over a period of at least 2 h, and no statistical difference was observed in the neuronal response before and long after GABA inactivation. The effects on these 50 neurons consisted of an early (1-20 min) significant general decrease in excitability with changes in either orientation or direction selectivity. The differential decrease in excitability resulted in an intermediate improvement (20-40 min) of the signal-to-noise ratio for the stimulus-driven activity. The inactivation depended on the quantity of GABA injected into area MT and persisted for a period of 2 h. The GABA inactivation in area MT produced inhibition of most cells (72%) and a significant change of direction tuning in the majority (56%) of V2 neurons. Both increases and also decreases in the direction tuning of V2 neurons were observed. These feedback projections are capable of modulating not only the levels of spontaneous and driven activity of V2 neurons but also the V2 receptive field properties, such as direction selectivity.

GABA inactivation of area V4 changes receptive-field properties of V2 neurons in Cebus monkeys

To investigate the contribution of feedback circuits from area V4 to the receptive-field properties of V2 neurons, we used tungsten microelectrodes to record extracellular single units in these visual areas, before and after pressure injections of a solution of 0.25 mol/L of GABA in two anesthetized and paralyzed Cebus apella monkeys. The visual stimulus consisted of a single bar moving in one of eight directions. Using a device made of four stainless steel pipettes and one central tungsten electrode, we inactivated, with different amounts of GABA, topographically corresponding areas of V4, while studying V2 neurons. We studied a total of 36 V2 neurons during six sessions of GABA injections into area V4. GABA inactivation of visual area V4 produced a general decrease in the excitability of the neurons, which included a decrease in spontaneous and driven activities, followed by changes in direction selectivity. The changes in selectivity were toward an increase in directional selectivity and decrease in orientation selectivity. Thus, feedback connections arising from V4, an area of the ventral steams of visual information processing, are capable of not only modulating the spontaneous and driven activity of V2 neurons, but also of modifying V2 receptive field properties, such as its direction and/or orientation selectivity.

Feedback from area 21a influences orientation but not direction maps in the primary visual cortex of the cat

In the monkey's visual cortex, there are two well-documented information processing streams: the dorsal motion and ventral form/color pathways. Similarly, two corresponding information streams were also found in the cat's visual cortices, and PMLS and area 21a are the gateways for distinct motion and form information processing. It has been shown that the feedback from PMLS solely modulates motion direction, but not orientation response, while the feedback from area 21a modulates form related features, such as spatial frequency dependency and neuronal oblique effect. Here, we postulate that feedback signals from higher cortical areas in the form or the motion information pathway may solely modulate the corresponding properties in neurons in the lower areas of the visual system. To examine the above hypothesis, the impact of feedback from higher area 21a on both orientation and direction maps was investigated in area 17 of the cat using intrinsic signal optical imaging. The results showed that the feedback from area 21a did not affect the amplitude and preference of direction, but did modulate orientation response in area 17, supporting the above hypothesis.

The functional roles of feedback projections in the visual system

Neurons in the nervous system make connections with ascending feedforward projections and descending feedback projections, as well as projections from neural structures at the identical hierarchical level. These neurons form extremely complicated neural networks and pathways. Compared with the role of the feedforward projection, much less is known concerning the functional roles of the feedback projection. Visual cortex is a good model for studying functional roles of cortical feedback projections which involve many high functions, such as attention, searching and cognition. The present review mainly focused on the functional roles of feedback projections in the visual system.

Lateral Spread of Orientation Selectivity in V1 is Controlled by Intracortical Cooperativity

Neurons in the primary visual cortex receive subliminal information originating from the periphery of their receptive fields (RF) through a variety of cortical connections. In the cat primary visual cortex, long-range horizontal axons have been reported to preferentially bind to distant columns of similar orientation preferences, whereas feedback connections from higher visual areas provide a more diverse functional input. To understand the role of these lateral interactions, it is crucial to characterize their effective functional connectivity and tuning properties. However, the overall functional impact of cortical lateral connections, whatever their anatomical origin, is unknown since it has never been directly characterized. Using direct measurements of postsynaptic integration in cat areas 17 and 18, we performed multi-scale assessments of the functional impact of visually driven lateral networks. Voltage-sensitive dye imaging showed that local oriented stimuli evoke an orientation-selective activity that remains confined to the cortical feedforward imprint of the stimulus. Beyond a distance of one hypercolumn, the lateral spread of cortical activity gradually lost its orientation preference approximated as an exponential with a space constant of about 1 mm. Intracellular recordings showed that this loss of orientation selectivity arises from the diversity of converging synaptic input patterns originating from outside the classical RF. In contrast, when the stimulus size was increased, we observed orientation-selective spread of activation beyond the feedforward imprint. We conclude that stimulus-induced cooperativity enhances the long-range orientation-selective spread.

Influence of 'feedback' signals on spatial integration in receptive fields of cat area 17 neurons

'Feedback' signals from mammalian extrastriate visual cortices are reported to exert primarily an excitatory influence on the classical receptive field (CRF) of neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1). However, given the much larger CRFs of neurons in extrastriate visual cortices it is not yet understood how feedback signals influence the spatial integration of visual signals by V1 neurons. To investigate this, we reversibly inactivated one of the 'form-processing' extrastriate visual cortices, the postero-temporal visual (PTV) cortex, and examined changes in responses of V1 neurons to drifting grating patches up to 28 degrees in diameter. We found that during inactivation of PTV cortex the magnitude of the responses to CRF-confined stimuli and that to large stimuli inducing maximum suppression (i.e. minimum responses) was significantly reduced, while the spatial extent of the CRF remained largely unaffected. As a result, the relative strength of the surround suppression increased marginally. This effect was apparent in both simple and complex cells. It was also strong and consistent in cells located in supragranular and infragranular layers. For those cells exhibiting some relief from surround suppression or 'counter-suppression' when large stimuli patches were applied, the effect on counter-suppression was heterogeneous. Overall, the relative integrated responses to the 28 degrees grating patches were also decreased when PTV cortex was inactivated. Thus, a substantial reduction in the CRF response and the largely unaffected spatial extent of the CRF as well as a weak surround effect observed in the present study are consistent with a multiplicative scaling effect.

The effect of orientation adaptation on responses of lateral geniculate nucleus neurons with high orientation bias in cats

Adaptation to stimulus orientation is assumed to have a cortical basis, but few studies have addressed whether it affects the activity of subcortical neurons. Using single-unit recording, we studied the effects of orientation adaptation on the responses of lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) neurons with high orientation bias (OB) in anesthetized and paralyzed cats. Following adaptation to one stimulus orientation, the response at the adapting orientation was decreased, and the preferred orientation was shifted away from the adapting orientation. This phenomenon was similar to the effects observed for orientation adaptation in the primary visual cortex (V1), and was obvious when the adapting orientation was at an appropriate location relative to the original preferred orientation. Moreover, when the V1 was inactivated, the response at the adapting orientation was also decreased but the preferred orientation did not show a systematic shift after orientation adaptation in LGN. This result indicates that cortical feedback contributes to the effect of orientation adaptation on LGN neurons, which have a high OB. These data provide an example of how the corticothalamic loop modulates the processing of visual information, and suggest that the LGN is not only a simply passive relay but also a modulator of visual information.

Bimodal modulation and continuous stimulation in optical imaging to map direction selectivity

In the visual system, neurons with similar functional properties such as orientation and direction selectivity are clustered together to form modules. Optical imaging recordings in combination with episodic paradigms have been previously used to estimate direction selectivity, a fundamental property of visual neurons. The major drawback of the episodic approach is that the extraction of the signal from various forms of physiological noise is difficult, leading to a poor estimation of direction. Recent work, based on periodic stimulation and Fourier decomposition improved the extraction of periodic stimulus responses from noise and thus, reduced the recording time considerably. Given the success of this new paradigm in mapping orientation, the present study evaluated its reliability to measure direction selectivity in the visual cortex of anesthetized cats. Here, a model that exploits the harmonics of the Fourier decomposition is proposed where the first harmonic is related to direction responses, and the second to orientation. As expected, the first harmonic was absent when a static stimulus was presented. Contrarily, the first harmonic was present when moving stimuli were presented and the amplitude was greater with random dots kinematograms than with drifting gratings. The phase of the first harmonic showed a good agreement with direction preference measured by episodic paradigm. The ratio of the first/the second harmonic amplitude, related to a direction index, was weaker in fracture. It was also weaker in areas of the ventral pathway (areas 17 and 21a) where direction selectivity is known to be reduced. These results indicate that a periodic paradigm can be easily used to measure specific parameters in optical signals, particularly in situations when short acquisition periods are needed.

Feedback decoding of spatially structured population activity in cortical maps

A mechanism is proposed by which feedback pathways model spatial patterns of feedforward activity in cortical maps. The mechanism can be viewed equivalently as readout of a content-addressable memory or as decoding of a population code. The model is based on the evidence that cortical receptive fields can often be described as a separable product of functions along several dimensions, each represented in a spatially ordered map. Given this, it is shown that for an N-dimensional map, accurate modeling and decoding of x(N) feedforward activity patterns can be done with Nx fibers, N of which must be active at any one time. The proposed mechanism explains several known properties of the cortex and pyramidal neurons: (1) the integration of signals by dendrites with a narrow tangential distribution, that is, apical dendrites; (2) the presence of fast-conducting feedback projections with broad tangential distributions; (3) the multiplicative effects of attention on receptive field profiles; and (4) the existence of multiplicative interactions between subthreshold feedforward inputs to basal dendrites and inputs to apical dendrites.

Evidence for corticocortical connections between areas 7 and 17 in cerebral cortex of the cat

This study provides the first evidence of direct corticocortical connections between areas 7 and 17 of the cat. Wheat germ agglutinin horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP) was administrated by micro-electrophoresis and micro-injection, respectively, into area 17 and area 7 in different hemispheres in eight cats. WGA-HRP labeled pyramidal neurons were observed primarily in layer 5 of areas 7 and 17 indicating that there are reciprocal connections between these areas. Optical imaging was used to guide WGA-HRP injections to single orientation columns in area 17. After such restricted injections labeled pyramidal cells were observed in layer 5 of area 7. These pyramidal cells were arranged as discontinuous patches extending across a broad region of area 7. These results suggest that feedback from area 7 to area 17 may arise from specific functional columns in area 7.

Feedback signals from cat's area 21a enhance orientation selectivity of area 17 neurons

We have studied the contribution of feedback signals originating from one of the "form-processing" extrastriate cortical areas, area 21a (A21a), to orientation selectivity of single neurons in the ipsilateral area 17 (A17). Consistent with previous findings, reversible inactivation (cooling to 5-10 degrees C) of area 21a resulted in a substantial reduction in the magnitude of the maximum response (R (max)) of A17 cells accompanied by some changes in the half-width at half-height of the R (max) (HWHH). By fitting model functions to the neurons' response profiles we found that in the vast majority of orientation-tuned A17 cells tested (30/39, 77%), inactivation of A21a resulted in a "flattening" of their orientation-tuning curves. It is characterised by a substantial reduction in the R (max) associated with either a broadening of the orientation-tuning curves (17 cells) or a relatively small reduction (12 cells) or no change (1 cell) in the HWHH. When the "flattening" effect was quantified using a simple ratio index or R/W, defined as R (max)/HWHH, we found that R/W was significantly reduced during inactivation of A21a. The change in R/W is strongly correlated with the change in the maximum slope of the orientation-tuning curves. Furthermore, analysis of response variability indicates that "signal-to-noise" ratio of the responses of A17 neurons decreases during inactivation of A21a. Our results suggest that the predominately excitatory feedback signals originating from A21a play a role in enhancing orientation selectivity of A17 neurons and hence are likely to improve overall orientation discriminability.

Enhancement of oblique effect in the cat's primary visual cortex via orientation preference shifting induced by excitatory feedback from higher-order cortical area 21a

It is often suggested that the oblique effect, the well-known phenomenon whereby both humans and animals are visually more sensitive to vertical and horizontal contours than to oblique ones, is due to the overrepresentation of cardinal orientations in the visual cortex. The functional role of feedback projections from higher-order cortical areas to lower-order areas is not fully understood. Combining the two issues in a study using optical imaging here, we report that the neural oblique effect was significantly enhanced (3.7 times higher than the normal) in the cat's primary visual cortex through orientation shifting induced by excitatory feedback from the higher-order cortical area 21a. This suggests that a reciprocal co-excitatory mechanism may underlie the perceptual oblique effect.

The effects of reversible inactivation of postero-temporal visual cortex on neuronal activities in cat's area 17

'Spontaneous' and visually evoked action potentials were recorded from single neurons in cytoarchitectonic area 17 (striate cortex, area V1) of anaesthetized and immobilized cats, prior to, during and after brief reversible inactivation of the ipsilateral postero-temporal visual (PTV) cortex (presumed homologue of primate inferotemporal cortex). Inactivation of PTV cortex resulted: 1) in significant changes in the response magnitude (mostly a reduction) to optimal and/or sub-optimal visual stimuli in over 55% of area 17 cells and 2) significant changes (usually a reduction) in the 'spontaneous' (background) activity of about two-thirds of the cells in which inactivation of PTV cortex significantly affected the magnitude of responses to optimal stimuli. In over 85% of the significantly affected area 17 cells, rewarming PTV cortex to normal temperature (36 degrees C) resulted in the recovery of both the magnitude of responses and the background activity to levels not significantly different from pre-inactivation levels. Irrespective of the significance of changes in the magnitude of responses, in a substantial proportion of area 17 cells, inactivation of PTV cortex resulted in changes in some receptive field characteristics. Thus, there were substantial (20% or more) changes in orientation tuning widths (in over a quarter of the sample) and/or direction selectivity indices (in about a third of the sample). Thus, the feedback signals originating from PTV cortex, like signals originating from some other 'higher-order' visual cortical areas exert a clear modulatory influence on the responsiveness, background activity and some receptive field properties of neurons in the ipsilateral area 17.

Quantitative analysis of brain optical images with 2D C0 complexity measure

Optical imaging based on intrinsic signals is a powerful method to visualize the activities of neural assembly in the cortex of animals in vivo, especially the detailed functional architecture of the visual cortex. Here, a new index, two-dimensional (2D) C0 complexity has been used to give a quantitative measure of the spatial pattern of the neural activity in orientation maps optically recorded from the visual cortex of cats globally. Results show that 2D C0 complexity could be employed to reveal the dynamic process of generating an orientation map in the visual cortex, and describe the variance of the neural responses in cortical area 17 under high and normal intraocular pressure. This suggests that 2D C0 could be used as a new quantitative measure for analyzing the intrinsic signal optical images.

Posteromedial lateral suprasylvian motion area modulates direction but not orientation preference in area 17 of cats

In visual cortices of cats there are two major, largely parallel, feedforward processing streams which conduct visual information from the primary visual cortices to the parietal and temporal visual cortices, processing motion and form information, respectively. In addition to the feedforward streams, there exist many feedback projections from higher-order visual cortices to lower-order visual cortices. Using the intrinsic signal optical imaging, this study has examined the influence of feedback signals originating from area posteromedial lateral suprasylvian (PMLS), the dominant motion-processing region of the parietal cortex, on responses of neurons, orientational maps, and directional maps in cats' area 17 (striate cortex). The inactivation of area PMLS by local application of GABA resulted in the reduction of the magnitude of responses of area 17 cells though area 17 of the cat is mainly involved in form information processing rather than motion. Furthermore, inactivation of area PMLS abolished the global layout of direction maps in area 17 but did not affect the basic structure of the orientation maps in area 17. Thus, it appears that higher-order cortical areas along one information processing stream may exert cross-stream modulatory effects on fundamental properties of neurons located in the lower-order areas along distinct information processing streams.

Slab-like functional architecture of higher order cortical area 21a showing oblique effect of orientation preference in the cat

Optical imaging based on intrinsic signals is a powerful tool for in vivo studying functional organization of various cortices. Here, the functional architecture of orientation-sensitive neurons in higher order extrastriate cortical area 21a was investigated in cats using optical imaging combined with electrophysiological methods. It is found that neurons in area 21 with similar preferred orientations were functionally organized into a slab-like columnar structure orthogonal to the cortical surface, and the orientation columns were distributed more densely than those in area 17. The responsiveness and activated areas of optical maps visually elicited by the horizontal and vertical gratings were always larger than those by oblique gratings in areas 21a and 17. This neural oblique effect shown in orientation maps was more significant in area 21a than that in area 17. The findings suggest a neuronal mechanism in the higher order extrastriate cortex involving the visual perceptive process of the superiority of cardinal contours.