1
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Meneghetti N, Vannini E, Mazzoni A. Rodents' visual gamma as a biomarker of pathological neural conditions. J Physiol 2024; 602:1017-1048. [PMID: 38372352 DOI: 10.1113/jp283858] [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] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Neural gamma oscillations (indicatively 30-100 Hz) are ubiquitous: they are associated with a broad range of functions in multiple cortical areas and across many animal species. Experimental and computational works established gamma rhythms as a global emergent property of neuronal networks generated by the balanced and coordinated interaction of excitation and inhibition. Coherently, gamma activity is strongly influenced by the alterations of synaptic dynamics which are often associated with pathological neural dysfunctions. We argue therefore that these oscillations are an optimal biomarker for probing the mechanism of cortical dysfunctions. Gamma oscillations are also highly sensitive to external stimuli in sensory cortices, especially the primary visual cortex (V1), where the stimulus dependence of gamma oscillations has been thoroughly investigated. Gamma manipulation by visual stimuli tuning is particularly easy in rodents, which have become a standard animal model for investigating the effects of network alterations on gamma oscillations. Overall, gamma in the rodents' visual cortex offers an accessible probe on dysfunctional information processing in pathological conditions. Beyond vision-related dysfunctions, alterations of gamma oscillations in rodents were indeed also reported in neural deficits such as migraine, epilepsy and neurodegenerative or neuropsychiatric conditions such as Alzheimer's, schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders. Altogether, the connections between visual cortical gamma activity and physio-pathological conditions in rodent models underscore the potential of gamma oscillations as markers of neuronal (dys)functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolò Meneghetti
- The Biorobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy
- Department of Excellence for Robotics and AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy
| | - Eleonora Vannini
- Neuroscience Institute, National Research Council (CNR), Pisa, Italy
| | - Alberto Mazzoni
- The Biorobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy
- Department of Excellence for Robotics and AI, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy
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2
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Samonds JM, Szinte M, Barr C, Montagnini A, Masson GS, Priebe NJ. Mammals Achieve Common Neural Coverage of Visual Scenes Using Distinct Sampling Behaviors. eNeuro 2024; 11:ENEURO.0287-23.2023. [PMID: 38164577 PMCID: PMC10860624 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0287-23.2023] [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] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Most vertebrates use head and eye movements to quickly change gaze orientation and sample different portions of the environment with periods of stable fixation. Visual information must be integrated across fixations to construct a complete perspective of the visual environment. In concert with this sampling strategy, neurons adapt to unchanging input to conserve energy and ensure that only novel information from each fixation is processed. We demonstrate how adaptation recovery times and saccade properties interact and thus shape spatiotemporal tradeoffs observed in the motor and visual systems of mice, cats, marmosets, macaques, and humans. These tradeoffs predict that in order to achieve similar visual coverage over time, animals with smaller receptive field sizes require faster saccade rates. Indeed, we find comparable sampling of the visual environment by neuronal populations across mammals when integrating measurements of saccadic behavior with receptive field sizes and V1 neuronal density. We propose that these mammals share a common statistically driven strategy of maintaining coverage of their visual environment over time calibrated to their respective visual system characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason M Samonds
- Center for Learning and Memory and the Institute for Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin 78712, Texas
| | - Martin Szinte
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone (UMR 7289), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Aix-Marseille Université, 13385 Marseille, France
| | - Carrie Barr
- Center for Learning and Memory and the Institute for Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin 78712, Texas
| | - Anna Montagnini
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone (UMR 7289), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Aix-Marseille Université, 13385 Marseille, France
| | - Guillaume S Masson
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone (UMR 7289), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Aix-Marseille Université, 13385 Marseille, France
| | - Nicholas J Priebe
- Center for Learning and Memory and the Institute for Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin 78712, Texas
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3
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Fischer SC, Schardt S, Lilao-Garzón J, Muñoz-Descalzo S. The salt-and-pepper pattern in mouse blastocysts is compatible with signaling beyond the nearest neighbors. iScience 2023; 26:108106. [PMID: 37915595 PMCID: PMC10616410 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2023] [Revised: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Embryos develop in a concerted sequence of spatiotemporal arrangements of cells. In the preimplantation mouse embryo, the distribution of the cells in the inner cell mass evolves from a salt-and-pepper pattern to spatial segregation of two distinct cell types. The exact properties of the salt-and-pepper pattern have not been analyzed so far. We investigate the spatiotemporal distribution of NANOG- and GATA6-expressing cells in the ICM of the mouse blastocysts with quantitative three-dimensional single-cell-based neighborhood analyses. A combination of spatial statistics and agent-based modeling reveals that the cell fate distribution follows a local clustering pattern. Using ordinary differential equations modeling, we show that this pattern can be established by a distance-based signaling mechanism enabling cells to integrate information from the whole inner cell mass into their cell fate decision. Our work highlights the importance of longer-range signaling to ensure coordinated decisions in groups of cells to successfully build embryos.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine C. Fischer
- Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Faculty of Biology, Center for Computational and Theoretical Biology, Klara-Oppenheimer-Weg 32, Campus Hubland Nord, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Simon Schardt
- Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Faculty of Biology, Center for Computational and Theoretical Biology, Klara-Oppenheimer-Weg 32, Campus Hubland Nord, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Joaquín Lilao-Garzón
- Instituto Universitario de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Sanitarias (IUIBS), Universidad Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), Paseo Blas Cabrera Felipe "Físico" 17, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 35016, Spain
| | - Silvia Muñoz-Descalzo
- Instituto Universitario de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Sanitarias (IUIBS), Universidad Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), Paseo Blas Cabrera Felipe "Físico" 17, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 35016, Spain
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4
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Namima T, Kempkes E, Zamarashkina P, Owen N, Pasupathy A. High-density recording reveals sparse clusters (but not columns) for shape and texture encoding in macaque V4. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.10.15.562424. [PMID: 37904996 PMCID: PMC10614825 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.15.562424] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
Macaque area V4 includes neurons that exhibit exquisite selectivity for visual form and surface texture, but their functional organization across laminae is unknown. We used high-density Neuropixels probes in two awake monkeys to characterize shape and texture tuning of dozens of neurons simultaneously across layers. We found sporadic clusters of neurons that exhibit similar tuning for shape and texture: ~20% exhibited similar tuning with their neighbors. Importantly, these clusters were confined to a few layers, seldom 'columnar' in structure. This was the case even when neurons were strongly driven, and exhibited robust contrast invariance for shape and texture tuning. We conclude that functional organization in area V4 is not columnar for shape and texture stimulus features and in general organization maybe at a coarse scale (e.g. encoding of 2D vs 3D shape) rather than at a fine scale in terms of similarity in tuning for specific features (as in the orientation columns in V1). We speculate that this may be a direct consequence of the great diversity of inputs integrated by V4 neurons to build variegated tuning manifolds in a high-dimensional space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomoyuki Namima
- Department of Biological Structure and Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
- Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, and Center for Information and Neural Networks, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Suita, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Erin Kempkes
- Department of Biological Structure and Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Polina Zamarashkina
- Department of Biological Structure and Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Natalia Owen
- Undergraduate Neuroscience Program, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Anitha Pasupathy
- Department of Biological Structure and Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
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5
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Lee H, Choi W, Lee D, Paik SB. Comparison of visual quantities in untrained neural networks. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112900. [PMID: 37516959 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112900] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2023] [Revised: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 07/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The ability to compare quantities of visual objects with two distinct measures, proportion and difference, is observed even in newborn animals. However, how this function originates in the brain, even before visual experience, remains unknown. Here, we propose a model in which neuronal tuning for quantity comparisons can arise spontaneously in completely untrained neural circuits. Using a biologically inspired model neural network, we find that single units selective to proportions and differences between visual quantities emerge in randomly initialized feedforward wirings and that they enable the network to perform quantity comparison tasks. Notably, we find that two distinct tunings to proportion and difference originate from a random summation of monotonic, nonlinear neural activities and that a slight difference in the nonlinear response function determines the type of measure. Our results suggest that visual quantity comparisons are primitive types of functions that can emerge spontaneously before learning in young brains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyeonsu Lee
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Woochul Choi
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Dongil Lee
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Se-Bum Paik
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea.
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6
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Baek S, Park Y, Paik SB. Species-specific wiring of cortical circuits for small-world networks in the primary visual cortex. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1011343. [PMID: 37540638 PMCID: PMC10403141 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Long-range horizontal connections (LRCs) are conspicuous anatomical structures in the primary visual cortex (V1) of mammals, yet their detailed functions in relation to visual processing are not fully understood. Here, we show that LRCs are key components to organize a "small-world network" optimized for each size of the visual cortex, enabling the cost-efficient integration of visual information. Using computational simulations of a biologically inspired model neural network, we found that sparse LRCs added to networks, combined with dense local connections, compose a small-world network and significantly enhance image classification performance. We confirmed that the performance of the network appeared to be strongly correlated with the small-world coefficient of the model network under various conditions. Our theoretical model demonstrates that the amount of LRCs to build a small-world network depends on each size of cortex and that LRCs are beneficial only when the size of the network exceeds a certain threshold. Our model simulation of various sizes of cortices validates this prediction and provides an explanation of the species-specific existence of LRCs in animal data. Our results provide insight into a biological strategy of the brain to balance functional performance and resource cost.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seungdae Baek
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Youngjin Park
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Se-Bum Paik
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
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7
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Samonds JM, Szinte M, Barr C, Montagnini A, Masson GS, Priebe NJ. Mammals achieve common neural coverage of visual scenes using distinct sampling behaviors. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.03.20.533210. [PMID: 36993477 PMCID: PMC10055212 DOI: 10.1101/2023.03.20.533210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/31/2023]
Abstract
Most vertebrates use head and eye movements to quickly change gaze orientation and sample different portions of the environment with periods of stable fixation. Visual information must be integrated across several fixations to construct a more complete perspective of the visual environment. In concert with this sampling strategy, neurons adapt to unchanging input to conserve energy and ensure that only novel information from each fixation is processed. We demonstrate how adaptation recovery times and saccade properties interact, and thus shape spatiotemporal tradeoffs observed in the motor and visual systems of different species. These tradeoffs predict that in order to achieve similar visual coverage over time, animals with smaller receptive field sizes require faster saccade rates. Indeed, we find comparable sampling of the visual environment by neuronal populations across mammals when integrating measurements of saccadic behavior with receptive field sizes and V1 neuronal density. We propose that these mammals share a common statistically driven strategy of maintaining coverage of their visual environment over time calibrated to their respective visual system characteristics.
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8
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Teh KL, Sibille J, Gehr C, Kremkow J. Retinal waves align the concentric orientation map in mouse superior colliculus to the center of vision. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadf4240. [PMID: 37172095 PMCID: PMC10181181 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adf4240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Neurons in the mouse superior colliculus (SC) are arranged in a concentric orientation map, which is aligned to the center of vision and the optic flow experienced by the mouse. The origin of this map remains unclear. Here, we propose that spontaneous retinal waves during development provide a scaffold to establish the concentric orientation map within the SC and its alignment to the optic flow. We test this hypothesis by modeling the orientation-tuned SC neurons that receive ON/OFF retinal inputs. Our model suggests that the propagation direction bias of stage III retinal waves, together with OFF-delayed responses, shapes the spatial organization of the orientation map. The OFF delay establishes orientation-tuned neurons by segregating their ON/OFF receptive subfields, the wave-like activities form the concentric pattern, and the direction biases align the map to the center of vision. Together, retinal waves may play an instructive role in establishing functional properties of single SC neurons and their spatial organization within maps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Lun Teh
- Neuroscience Research Center, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin 10117, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Philippstraße 13, Berlin 10115, Germany
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, Berlin 10115, Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jérémie Sibille
- Neuroscience Research Center, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin 10117, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Philippstraße 13, Berlin 10115, Germany
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, Berlin 10115, Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin, Germany
| | - Carolin Gehr
- Neuroscience Research Center, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin 10117, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Philippstraße 13, Berlin 10115, Germany
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, Berlin 10115, Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jens Kremkow
- Neuroscience Research Center, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin 10117, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Philippstraße 13, Berlin 10115, Germany
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, Berlin 10115, Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin, Germany
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9
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Lin Y, Zhang XJ, Yang J, Li S, Li L, Lv X, Ma J, Shi SH. Developmental neuronal origin regulates neocortical map formation. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112170. [PMID: 36842085 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2022] [Revised: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 02/10/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Sensory neurons in the neocortex exhibit distinct functional selectivity to constitute the neural map. While neocortical map of the visual cortex in higher mammals is clustered, it displays a striking "salt-and-pepper" pattern in rodents. However, little is known about the origin and basis of the interspersed neocortical map. Here we report that the intricate excitatory neuronal kinship-dependent synaptic connectivity influences precise functional map organization in the mouse primary visual cortex. While sister neurons originating from the same neurogenic radial glial progenitors (RGPs) preferentially develop synapses, cousin neurons derived from amplifying RGPs selectively antagonize horizontal synapse formation. Accordantly, cousin neurons in similar layers exhibit clear functional selectivity differences, contributing to a salt-and-pepper architecture. Removal of clustered protocadherins (cPCDHs), the largest subgroup of the diverse cadherin superfamily, eliminates functional selectivity differences between cousin neurons and alters neocortical map organization. These results suggest that developmental neuronal origin regulates neocortical map formation via cPCDHs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Lin
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Xin-Jun Zhang
- Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Jiajun Yang
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Shuo Li
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Laura Li
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Xiaohui Lv
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Jian Ma
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Song-Hai Shi
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China; Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China.
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10
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Maratos FA, Chu K, Lipka S, Stupple EJN, Parente F. Exploring pattern recognition: what is the relationship between the recognition of words, faces and other objects? Cogn Process 2023; 24:59-70. [PMID: 36376612 PMCID: PMC9898371 DOI: 10.1007/s10339-022-01111-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Debate surrounds processes of visual recognition, with no consensus as to whether recognition of distinct object categories (faces, bodies, cars, and words) is domain specific or subserved by domain-general visual recognition mechanisms. Here, we investigated correlations between the performance of 74 participants on recognition tasks for words, faces and other object categories. Participants completed a counter-balanced test battery of the Cambridge Face, Car and Body Parts Memory tests, as well as a standard four category lexical decision task, with response time and recognition accuracy as dependent variables. Results revealed significant correlations across domains for both recognition accuracy and response time, providing some support for domain-general pattern recognition. Further exploration of the data using principal component analysis (PCA) revealed a two-component model for both the response time and accuracy data. However, how the various word and object recognition tasks fitted these components varied considerably but did hint at familiarity/expertise as a common factor. In sum, we argue a complex relationship exists between domain-specific processing and domain-general processing, but that this is shaped by expertise. To further our understanding of pattern recognition, research investigating the recognition of words, faces and other objects in dyslexic individuals is recommended, as is research exploiting neuroimaging methodologies, with excellent temporal resolution, to chart the temporal specifics of different forms of visual pattern recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- F. A. Maratos
- School of Psychology, College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby, UK
| | - K. Chu
- Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - S. Lipka
- School of Psychology, College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby, UK
| | - E. J. N. Stupple
- School of Psychology, College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby, UK
| | - F. Parente
- School of Psychology, College of Health, Psychology and Social Care, University of Derby, Derby, UK
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11
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Tring E, Ringach DL. Thalamocortical boutons cluster by ON/OFF responses in mouse primary visual cortex. J Neurophysiol 2023; 129:184-190. [PMID: 36515419 PMCID: PMC9844974 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00412.2022] [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] [Received: 09/27/2022] [Revised: 12/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
In higher mammals, the thalamic afferents to primary visual cortex cluster according to their responses to increases (ON) or decreases (OFF) in luminance. This feature of thalamocortical wiring is thought to create columnar, ON/OFF domains in V1. We have recently shown that mice also have ON/OFF cortical domains, but the organization of their thalamic afferents remains unknown. Here we measured the visual responses of thalamocortical boutons with two-photon imaging and found that they also cluster in space according to ON/OFF responses. Moreover, fluctuations in the relative density of ON/OFF boutons mirror fluctuations in the relative density of ON/OFF receptive field positions on the visual field. These findings indicate a segregation of ON/OFF signals already present in the thalamic input. We propose that ON/OFF clustering may reflect the spatial distribution of ON/OFF responses in retinal ganglion cell mosaics.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Neurons in primary visual cortex cluster into ON and OFF domains, which have been shown to be linked to the organization of receptive fields and cortical maps. Here we show that in the mouse such clustering is already present in the geniculate input, suggesting that the cortical architecture may be shaped by the representation of ON/OFF signals in the thalamus and the retina.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elaine Tring
- Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, California
| | - Dario L Ringach
- Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, California
- Department of Psychology, UCLA, Los Angeles, California
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12
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Cheon J, Baek S, Paik SB. Invariance of object detection in untrained deep neural networks. Front Comput Neurosci 2022; 16:1030707. [DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2022.1030707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to perceive visual objects with various types of transformations, such as rotation, translation, and scaling, is crucial for consistent object recognition. In machine learning, invariant object detection for a network is often implemented by augmentation with a massive number of training images, but the mechanism of invariant object detection in biological brains—how invariance arises initially and whether it requires visual experience—remains elusive. Here, using a model neural network of the hierarchical visual pathway of the brain, we show that invariance of object detection can emerge spontaneously in the complete absence of learning. First, we found that units selective to a particular object class arise in randomly initialized networks even before visual training. Intriguingly, these units show robust tuning to images of each object class under a wide range of image transformation types, such as viewpoint rotation. We confirmed that this “innate” invariance of object selectivity enables untrained networks to perform an object-detection task robustly, even with images that have been significantly modulated. Our computational model predicts that invariant object tuning originates from combinations of non-invariant units via random feedforward projections, and we confirmed that the predicted profile of feedforward projections is observed in untrained networks. Our results suggest that invariance of object detection is an innate characteristic that can emerge spontaneously in random feedforward networks.
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13
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Natural scene sampling reveals reliable coarse-scale orientation tuning in human V1. Nat Commun 2022; 13:6469. [PMID: 36309512 PMCID: PMC9617970 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34134-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Orientation selectivity in primate visual cortex is organized into cortical columns. Since cortical columns are at a finer spatial scale than the sampling resolution of standard BOLD fMRI measurements, analysis approaches have been proposed to peer past these spatial resolution limitations. It was recently found that these methods are predominantly sensitive to stimulus vignetting - a form of selectivity arising from an interaction of the oriented stimulus with the aperture edge. Beyond vignetting, it is not clear whether orientation-selective neural responses are detectable in BOLD measurements. Here, we leverage a dataset of visual cortical responses measured using high-field 7T fMRI. Fitting these responses using image-computable models, we compensate for vignetting and nonetheless find reliable tuning for orientation. Results further reveal a coarse-scale map of orientation preference that may constitute the neural basis for known perceptual anisotropies. These findings settle a long-standing debate in human neuroscience, and provide insights into functional organization principles of visual cortex.
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14
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Jung YJ, Almasi A, Sun SH, Yunzab M, Cloherty SL, Bauquier SH, Renfree M, Meffin H, Ibbotson MR. Orientation pinwheels in primary visual cortex of a highly visual marsupial. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabn0954. [PMID: 36179020 PMCID: PMC9524828 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abn0954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Primary visual cortices in many mammalian species exhibit modular and periodic orientation preference maps arranged in pinwheel-like layouts. The role of inherited traits as opposed to environmental influences in determining this organization remains unclear. Here, we characterize the cortical organization of an Australian marsupial, revealing pinwheel organization resembling that of eutherian carnivores and primates but distinctly different from the simpler salt-and-pepper arrangement of eutherian rodents and rabbits. The divergence of marsupials from eutherians 160 million years ago and the later emergence of rodents and rabbits suggest that the salt-and-pepper structure is not the primitive ancestral form. Rather, the genetic code that enables complex pinwheel formation is likely widespread, perhaps extending back to the common therian ancestors of modern mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Young Jun Jung
- National Vision Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Ali Almasi
- Optalert Limited, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Shi H. Sun
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Molis Yunzab
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | | | - Sebastien H. Bauquier
- Veterinary Hospital, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Marilyn Renfree
- School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Hamish Meffin
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Michael R. Ibbotson
- National Vision Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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15
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Jiao C, Li M, Hu D. The neurons in mouse V1 show different degrees of spatial clustering. Brain Res Bull 2022; 190:62-68. [PMID: 36122802 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2022.09.011] [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: 04/12/2022] [Revised: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Higher mammals' primary visual cortex exhibits columnar organization, where neurons with similar response preferences are clustered. In contrast, rodents are presumed to lack this fine-scale organization; their neurons appear to be randomly arranged, described as a salt-and-pepper map. However, recent studies suggested a weak but significant spatial clustering of tuning in the salt-and-pepper map, similar to columnar organization. Thus, the salt-and-pepper map possesses the characteristics of both columnar organization and random arrangement. This raises the question about whether this mixed organization is attributed to different types of neurons. Here, we examined the tuning of primary visual cortical neurons in awake mice with a two-photon calcium imaging dataset, which were released by Allen Institute MindScope Program. First, we demonstrated that neurons with similar response preferences were clustered by showing that neighboring neurons tended to have similar orientation and temporal frequency preferences. Then, we compared the clustering of tuning between simple cells and complex cells and found the clustering of tuning among simple cells was significantly more prominent than that among complex cells. Furthermore, the simple/complex cell classification correlated with the stability of neuronal response. Neurons with stable responses were arranged independent of their tuning similarity, whereas unstable neurons were clustered according to their tuning similarity. These findings might represent a balance between efficiency and robustness: relatively independent tuning among stable neurons represents visual information efficiently, whereas unstable neurons with similar response preferences are clustered to obtain a robust representation with population codes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chong Jiao
- College of Intelligence Science and Technology, National University of Defense Technology, 109 Deya road, Changsha 410073, Hunan, China
| | - Ming Li
- College of Intelligence Science and Technology, National University of Defense Technology, 109 Deya road, Changsha 410073, Hunan, China.
| | - Dewen Hu
- College of Intelligence Science and Technology, National University of Defense Technology, 109 Deya road, Changsha 410073, Hunan, China
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16
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Tring E, Duan KK, Ringach DL. ON/OFF domains shape receptive field structure in mouse visual cortex. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2466. [PMID: 35513375 PMCID: PMC9072422 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29999-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
In higher mammals, thalamic afferents to primary visual cortex (area V1) segregate according to their responses to increases (ON) or decreases (OFF) in luminance. This organization induces columnar, ON/OFF domains postulated to provide a scaffold for the emergence of orientation tuning. To further test this idea, we asked whether ON/OFF domains exist in mouse V1. Here we show that mouse V1 is indeed parceled into ON/OFF domains. Interestingly, fluctuations in the relative density of ON/OFF neurons on the cortical surface mirror fluctuations in the relative density of ON/OFF receptive field centers on the visual field. Moreover, the local diversity of cortical receptive fields is explained by a model in which neurons linearly combine a small number of ON and OFF signals available in their cortical neighborhoods. These findings suggest that ON/OFF domains originate in fluctuations of the balance between ON/OFF responses across the visual field which, in turn, shapes the structure of cortical receptive fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elaine Tring
- Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Konnie K Duan
- Harvard-Westlake School, Studio City, CA, 91604, USA
| | - Dario L Ringach
- Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
- Department of Psychology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
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17
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Najafian S, Koch E, Teh KL, Jin J, Rahimi-Nasrabadi H, Zaidi Q, Kremkow J, Alonso JM. A theory of cortical map formation in the visual brain. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2303. [PMID: 35484133 PMCID: PMC9050665 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29433-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 03/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The cerebral cortex receives multiple afferents from the thalamus that segregate by stimulus modality forming cortical maps for each sense. In vision, the primary visual cortex maps the multiple dimensions of the visual stimulus in patterns that vary across species for reasons unknown. Here we introduce a general theory of cortical map formation, which proposes that map diversity emerges from species variations in the thalamic afferent density sampling sensory space. In the theory, increasing afferent sampling density enlarges the cortical domains representing the same visual point, allowing the segregation of afferents and cortical targets by multiple stimulus dimensions. We illustrate the theory with an afferent-density model that accurately replicates the maps of different species through afferent segregation followed by thalamocortical convergence pruned by visual experience. Because thalamocortical pathways use similar mechanisms for axon segregation and pruning, the theory may extend to other sensory areas of the mammalian brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sohrab Najafian
- Department of Biological and Visual Sciences, SUNY College of Optometry, New York, NY, 10036, United States
| | - Erin Koch
- Department of Biological and Visual Sciences, SUNY College of Optometry, New York, NY, 10036, United States
- Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, Caltech, Pasadena, CA, 91125, United States
| | - Kai Lun Teh
- Neuroscience Research Center, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Philippstraße 13, 10115, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jianzhong Jin
- Department of Biological and Visual Sciences, SUNY College of Optometry, New York, NY, 10036, United States
| | - Hamed Rahimi-Nasrabadi
- Department of Biological and Visual Sciences, SUNY College of Optometry, New York, NY, 10036, United States
| | - Qasim Zaidi
- Department of Biological and Visual Sciences, SUNY College of Optometry, New York, NY, 10036, United States
| | - Jens Kremkow
- Neuroscience Research Center, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Philippstraße 13, 10115, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jose-Manuel Alonso
- Department of Biological and Visual Sciences, SUNY College of Optometry, New York, NY, 10036, United States.
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18
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Abstract
The investigation of the topographic organization of spatially coding cell types in the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) has so far been held back by the lack of appropriate tools that enable the precise recording of both the anatomical location and activity of large populations of cells while animals forage in open environments. In this study, we use the newest generation of head-mounted, miniaturized two-photon microscopes to image grid, head-direction, border, as well as object-vector cells in MEC and neighboring parasubiculum within the same animals. The majority of cell types were intermingled, but grid and object-vector cells exhibited little overlap. The results have implications for network models of spatial coding. The medial entorhinal cortex (MEC) creates a map of local space, based on the firing patterns of grid, head-direction (HD), border, and object-vector (OV) cells. How these cell types are organized anatomically is debated. In-depth analysis of this question requires collection of precise anatomical and activity data across large populations of neurons during unrestrained behavior, which neither electrophysiological nor previous imaging methods fully afford. Here, we examined the topographic arrangement of spatially modulated neurons in the superficial layers of MEC and adjacent parasubiculum using miniaturized, portable two-photon microscopes, which allow mice to roam freely in open fields. Grid cells exhibited low levels of co-occurrence with OV cells and clustered anatomically, while border, HD, and OV cells tended to intermingle. These data suggest that grid cell networks might be largely distinct from those of border, HD, and OV cells and that grid cells exhibit strong coupling among themselves but weaker links to other cell types.
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19
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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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20
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Schmidt KE, Wolf F. Punctuated evolution of visual cortical circuits? Evidence from the large rodent Dasyprocta leporina, and the tiny primate Microcebus murinus. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2021; 71:110-118. [PMID: 34823047 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2021.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2021] [Revised: 10/22/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Recent reports of the lack of periodic orientation columns in a very large rodent species, the red-rumped agouti, and the existence of incompressible hypercolumns in the lineage of primates, as demonstrated in one of the smallest primates, the mouse lemur, strengthen the interpretation that salt-and-pepper and columns-and-pinwheel mosaics are two distinct functional layouts. These layouts do neither depend on lifestyle nor scale with body size, brain size, absolute neuron numbers, binocular overlap, or visual acuity, but are primarily distinguishable by phylogenetic traits. The predictive value of other biological signatures such as V1 neuronal surface density and the central-peripheral density ratio of retinal ganglion cells are reconsidered, and experiments elucidating the intracortical connectivity in rodents are proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerstin E Schmidt
- Neurobiology of Vision Lab, Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, 59078 970, Av. Sen. Salgado Filho, 3000, Lagoa Nova, Natal, RN, Brazil.
| | - Fred Wolf
- Göttingen Campus Institute for Dynamics of Biological Networks, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen, Germany; Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany; Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, Herrmann-Rein-Strasse, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
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21
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Koh HY, Jang J, Ju SH, Kim R, Cho GB, Kim DS, Sohn JW, Paik SB, Lee JH. Non-Cell Autonomous Epileptogenesis in Focal Cortical Dysplasia. Ann Neurol 2021; 90:285-299. [PMID: 34180075 DOI: 10.1002/ana.26149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Revised: 06/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Low-level somatic mosaicism in the brain has been shown to be a major genetic cause of intractable focal epilepsy. However, how a relatively few mutation-carrying neurons are able to induce epileptogenesis at the local network level remains poorly understood. METHODS To probe the origin of epileptogenesis, we measured the excitability of neurons with MTOR mutation and nearby nonmutated neurons recorded by whole-cell patch-clamp and array-based electrodes comparing the topographic distribution of mutation. Computational simulation is used to understand neural network-level changes based on electrophysiological properties. To examine the underlying mechanism, we measured inhibitory and excitatory synaptic inputs in mutated neurons and nearby neurons by electrophysiological and histological methods using the mouse model and postoperative human brain tissue for cortical dysplasia. To explain non-cell-autonomous hyperexcitability, an inhibitor of adenosine kinase was injected into mice to enhance adenosine signaling and to mitigate hyperactivity of nearby nonmutated neurons. RESULTS We generated mice with a low-level somatic mutation in MTOR presenting spontaneous seizures. The seizure-triggering hyperexcitability originated from nonmutated neurons near mutation-carrying neurons, which proved to be less excitable than nonmutated neurons. Interestingly, the net balance between excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs onto mutated neurons remained unchanged. Additionally, we found that inhibition of adenosine kinase, which affects adenosine metabolism and neuronal excitability, reduced the hyperexcitability of nonmutated neurons. INTERPRETATION This study shows that neurons carrying somatic mutations in MTOR lead to focal epileptogenesis via non-cell-autonomous hyperexcitability of nearby nonmutated neurons. ANN NEUROL 2021;90:285-299.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyun Yong Koh
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Jaeson Jang
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Sang Hyeon Ju
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Ryunhee Kim
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Gyu-Bon Cho
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Dong Seok Kim
- Department of Neurosurgery, Pediatric Epilepsy Clinics, Brain Korea 21 Project for Medical Science, Severance Children's Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jong-Woo Sohn
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Se-Bum Paik
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.,Program of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeong Ho Lee
- Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea.,SoVarGen, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
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22
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Crodelle J, McLaughlin DW. Modeling the role of gap junctions between excitatory neurons in the developing visual cortex. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1007915. [PMID: 34228707 PMCID: PMC8284639 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2020] [Revised: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent experiments in the developing mammalian visual cortex have revealed that gap junctions couple excitatory cells and potentially influence the formation of chemical synapses. In particular, cells that were coupled by a gap junction during development tend to share an orientation preference and are preferentially coupled by a chemical synapse in the adult cortex, a property that is diminished when gap junctions are blocked. In this work, we construct a simplified model of the developing mouse visual cortex including spike-timing-dependent plasticity of both the feedforward synaptic inputs and recurrent cortical synapses. We use this model to show that synchrony among gap-junction-coupled cells underlies their preference to form strong recurrent synapses and develop similar orientation preference; this effect decreases with an increase in coupling density. Additionally, we demonstrate that gap-junction coupling works, together with the relative timing of synaptic development of the feedforward and recurrent synapses, to determine the resulting cortical map of orientation preference. Gap junctions, or sites of direct electrical connections between neurons, have a significant presence in the cortex, both during development and in adulthood. Their primary function during either of these periods, however, is still poorly understood. In the adult cortex, gap junctions between local, inhibitory neurons have been shown to promote synchronous firing, a network characteristic thought to be important for learning, attention, and memory. During development, gap junctions between excitatory, pyramidal cells, have been conjectured to play a role in synaptic plasticity and the formation of cortical circuits. In the visual cortex, where neurons exhibit tuned responses to properties of visual input such as orientation and direction, recent experiments show that excitatory cells are coupled by gap junctions during the first postnatal week and are replaced by chemical synapses during the second week. In this work, we explore the possible contribution of gap-junction coupling during development to the formation of chemical synapses between the visual cortex from the thalamus and between cortical cells within the visual cortex. Specifically, using a mathematical model of the visual cortex during development, we identify the response properties of gap-junction-coupled cells and their influence on the formation of the cortical map of orientation preference.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Crodelle
- Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont, United States of America
- Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, NYU, New York, New York, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - David W. McLaughlin
- Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, NYU, New York, New York, United States of America
- Center for Neural Science, NYU, New York, New York, United States of America
- Neuroscience Institute of NYU Langone Health, New York, New York, United States of America
- New York University Shanghai, Shanghai, China
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23
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Kirchner JH, Gjorgjieva J. Emergence of local and global synaptic organization on cortical dendrites. Nat Commun 2021; 12:4005. [PMID: 34183661 PMCID: PMC8239006 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23557-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2021] [Accepted: 05/03/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Synaptic inputs on cortical dendrites are organized with remarkable subcellular precision at the micron level. This organization emerges during early postnatal development through patterned spontaneous activity and manifests both locally where nearby synapses are significantly correlated, and globally with distance to the soma. We propose a biophysically motivated synaptic plasticity model to dissect the mechanistic origins of this organization during development and elucidate synaptic clustering of different stimulus features in the adult. Our model captures local clustering of orientation in ferret and receptive field overlap in mouse visual cortex based on the receptive field diameter and the cortical magnification of visual space. Including action potential back-propagation explains branch clustering heterogeneity in the ferret and produces a global retinotopy gradient from soma to dendrite in the mouse. Therefore, by combining activity-dependent synaptic competition and species-specific receptive fields, our framework explains different aspects of synaptic organization regarding stimulus features and spatial scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan H. Kirchner
- grid.419505.c0000 0004 0491 3878Computation in Neural Circuits Group, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt, Germany ,grid.6936.a0000000123222966School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany
| | - Julijana Gjorgjieva
- grid.419505.c0000 0004 0491 3878Computation in Neural Circuits Group, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt, Germany ,grid.6936.a0000000123222966School of Life Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany
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24
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Kim G, Jang J, Paik SB. Periodic clustering of simple and complex cells in visual cortex. Neural Netw 2021; 143:148-160. [PMID: 34146895 DOI: 10.1016/j.neunet.2021.06.002] [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: 07/06/2020] [Revised: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 06/01/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1) are often classified as simple or complex cells, but it is debated whether they are discrete hierarchical classes of neurons or if they represent a continuum of variation within a single class of cells. Herein, we show that simple and complex cells may arise commonly from the feedforward projections from the retina. From analysis of the cortical receptive fields in cats, we show evidence that simple and complex cells originate from the periodic variation of ON-OFF segregation in the feedforward projection of retinal mosaics, by which they organize into periodic clusters in V1. From data in cats, we observed that clusters of simple and complex receptive fields correlate topographically with orientation maps, which supports our model prediction. Our results suggest that simple and complex cells are not two distinct neural populations but arise from common retinal afferents, simultaneous with orientation tuning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gwangsu Kim
- Department of Physics, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Jaeson Jang
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Se-Bum Paik
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea; Program of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea.
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25
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Song JH, Choi W, Song YH, Kim JH, Jeong D, Lee SH, Paik SB. Precise Mapping of Single Neurons by Calibrated 3D Reconstruction of Brain Slices Reveals Topographic Projection in Mouse Visual Cortex. Cell Rep 2021; 31:107682. [PMID: 32460016 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.107682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2019] [Revised: 03/04/2020] [Accepted: 05/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent breakthroughs in neuroanatomical tracing methods have helped unravel complicated neural connectivity in whole-brain tissue at single-cell resolution. However, in most cases, analysis of brain images remains dependent on highly subjective and sample-specific manual processing, preventing precise comparison across sample animals. In the present study, we introduce AMaSiNe, software for automated mapping of single neurons in the standard mouse brain atlas with annotated regions. AMaSiNe automatically calibrates misaligned and deformed slice samples to locate labeled neuronal positions from multiple brain samples into the standardized 3D Allen Mouse Brain Reference Atlas. We exploit the high fidelity and reliability of AMaSiNe to investigate the topographic structures of feedforward projections from the lateral geniculate nucleus to the primary visual area by reconstructing rabies-virus-injected brain slices in 3D space. Our results demonstrate that distinct organization of neural projections can be precisely mapped using AMaSiNe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Ho Song
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea; Information and Electronics Research Institute, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Woochul Choi
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea; Program of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - You-Hyang Song
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Jae-Hyun Kim
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Daun Jeong
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Seung-Hee Lee
- Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Se-Bum Paik
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea; Program of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea.
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26
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Martin KAC. Allometry: Alice in Pinwheel Land. Curr Biol 2021; 31:R186-R188. [PMID: 33621504 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Brain size scales with body weight, but a new study has discovered that key circuits in the visual cortex of one of the world's smallest primates, the mouse lemur, Microcebus murinus, are built at the same scale as their equivalents in larger-brained primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevan A C Martin
- Institute for NeuroInformatics, UZH/ETH, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland.
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27
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Song M, Jang J, Kim G, Paik SB. Projection of Orthogonal Tiling from the Retina to the Visual Cortex. Cell Rep 2021; 34:108581. [PMID: 33406438 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2020] [Revised: 10/22/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022] Open
Abstract
In higher mammals, the primary visual cortex (V1) is organized into diverse tuning maps of visual features. The topography of these maps intersects orthogonally, but it remains unclear how such a systematic relationship can develop. Here, we show that the orthogonal organization already exists in retinal ganglion cell (RGC) mosaics, providing a blueprint of the organization in V1. From analysis of the RGC mosaics data in monkeys and cats, we find that the ON-OFF RGC distance and ON-OFF angle of neighboring RGCs are organized into a topographic tiling across mosaics, analogous to the orthogonal intersection of cortical tuning maps. Our model simulation shows that the ON-OFF distance and angle in RGC mosaics correspondingly initiate ocular dominance/spatial frequency tuning and orientation tuning, resulting in the orthogonal intersection of cortical tuning maps. These findings suggest that the regularly structured ON-OFF patterns mirrored from the retina initiate the uniform representation of combinations of map features over the visual space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Song
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea; Program of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Jaeson Jang
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Gwangsu Kim
- Department of Physics, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Se-Bum Paik
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea; Program of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea.
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28
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Kim G, Jang J, Baek S, Song M, Paik SB. Visual number sense in untrained deep neural networks. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:7/1/eabd6127. [PMID: 33523851 PMCID: PMC7775775 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abd6127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2020] [Accepted: 11/03/2020] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Number sense, the ability to estimate numerosity, is observed in naïve animals, but how this cognitive function emerges in the brain remains unclear. Here, using an artificial deep neural network that models the ventral visual stream of the brain, we show that number-selective neurons can arise spontaneously, even in the complete absence of learning. We also show that the responses of these neurons can induce the abstract number sense, the ability to discriminate numerosity independent of low-level visual cues. We found number tuning in a randomly initialized network originating from a combination of monotonically decreasing and increasing neuronal activities, which emerges spontaneously from the statistical properties of bottom-up projections. We confirmed that the responses of these number-selective neurons show the single- and multineuron characteristics observed in the brain and enable the network to perform number comparison tasks. These findings provide insight into the origin of innate cognitive functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gwangsu Kim
- Department of Physics, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Jaeson Jang
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Seungdae Baek
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Min Song
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
- Program of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Se-Bum Paik
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea.
- Program of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
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Ho CLA, Zimmermann R, Flórez Weidinger JD, Prsa M, Schottdorf M, Merlin S, Okamoto T, Ikezoe K, Pifferi F, Aujard F, Angelucci A, Wolf F, Huber D. Orientation Preference Maps in Microcebus murinus Reveal Size-Invariant Design Principles in Primate Visual Cortex. Curr Biol 2020; 31:733-741.e7. [PMID: 33275889 PMCID: PMC9026768 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.11.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2020] [Revised: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 11/11/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
Orientation preference maps (OPMs) are a prominent feature of primary visual cortex (V1) organization in many primates and carnivores. In rodents, neurons are not organized in OPMs but are instead interspersed in a “salt and pepper” fashion, although clusters of orientation-selective neurons have been reported. Does this fundamental difference reflect the existence of a lower size limit for orientation columns (OCs) below which they cannot be scaled down with decreasing V1 size? To address this question, we examined V1 of one of the smallest living primates, the 60-g prosimian mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus). Using chronic intrinsic signal imaging, we found that mouse lemur V1 contains robust OCs, which are arranged in a pinwheel-like fashion. OC size in mouse lemurs was found to be only marginally smaller compared to the macaque, suggesting that these circuit elements are nearly incompressible. The spatial arrangement of pinwheels is well described by a common mathematical design of primate V1 circuit organization. In order to accommodate OPMs, we found that the mouse lemur V1 covers one-fifth of the cortical surface, which is one of the largest V1-to-cortex ratios found in primates. These results indicate that the primate-type visual cortical circuit organization is constrained by a size limitation and raises the possibility that its emergence might have evolved by disruptive innovation rather than gradual change. Orientation preference maps are a hallmark of V1 organization in all primates studied thus far, yet they are absent in rodents. It is uncertain whether these structures scale with body or brain size. Using intrinsic signal imaging, Ho et al. reveal the presence of such maps in the V1 of the world’s smallest primate, the mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus).
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun Lum Andy Ho
- University of Geneva, Department of Basic Neurosciences, Rue Michel Servet 1, Geneva 1211, Switzerland
| | - Robert Zimmermann
- University of Geneva, Department of Basic Neurosciences, Rue Michel Servet 1, Geneva 1211, Switzerland
| | | | - Mario Prsa
- University of Geneva, Department of Basic Neurosciences, Rue Michel Servet 1, Geneva 1211, Switzerland
| | - Manuel Schottdorf
- Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Am Faßberg 17, Göttingen 37077, Germany
| | - Sam Merlin
- Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, 65 Mario Capecchi Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA
| | - Tsuyoshi Okamoto
- Kyushu University, Faculty of Arts and Science, 744 Motooka Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan
| | - Koji Ikezoe
- Center for Information and Neural Networks, Osaka University and National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, 1-3 Yamadaoka Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Fabien Pifferi
- UMR CNRS/MNHN 7179, Mécanismes Adaptatifs et Evolution, 1 Avenue du Petit Chateau, Brunoy 91800, France
| | - Fabienne Aujard
- UMR CNRS/MNHN 7179, Mécanismes Adaptatifs et Evolution, 1 Avenue du Petit Chateau, Brunoy 91800, France
| | - Alessandra Angelucci
- Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, 65 Mario Capecchi Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA
| | - Fred Wolf
- Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Am Faßberg 17, Göttingen 37077, Germany; Campus Institute for Dynamics of Biological Networks, Hermann-Rein-Straße 3, Göttingen 37075, Germany; Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Hermann-Rein-Straße 3, Göttingen 37075, Germany; Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hermann-Rein-Straße 3, Göttingen 37075, Germany; Institute for Dynamics of Complex Systems, Georg-August University, Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1, Göttingen 37073, Germany
| | - Daniel Huber
- University of Geneva, Department of Basic Neurosciences, Rue Michel Servet 1, Geneva 1211, Switzerland.
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Ahn J, Phan HL, Cha S, Koo KI, Yoo Y, Goo YS. Synchrony of Spontaneous Burst Firing between Retinal Ganglion Cells Across Species. Exp Neurobiol 2020; 29:285-299. [PMID: 32921641 PMCID: PMC7492847 DOI: 10.5607/en20025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Revised: 08/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Neurons communicate with other neurons in response to environmental changes. Their goal is to transmit information to their targets reliably. A burst, which consists of multiple spikes within a short time interval, plays an essential role in enhancing the reliability of information transmission through synapses. In the visual system, retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), the output neurons of the retina, show bursting activity and transmit retinal information to the lateral geniculate neuron of the thalamus. In this study, to extend our interest to the population level, the burstings of multiple RGCs were simultaneously recorded using a multi-channel recording system. As the first step in network analysis, we focused on investigating the pairwise burst correlation between two RGCs. Furthermore, to assess if the population bursting is preserved across species, we compared the synchronized bursting of RGCs between marmoset monkey (callithrix jacchus), one species of the new world monkeys and mouse (C57BL/6J strain). First, monkey RGCs showed a larger number of spikes within a burst, while the inter-spike interval, burst duration, and inter-burst interval were smaller compared with mouse RGCs. Monkey RGCs showed a strong burst synchronization between RGCs, whereas mouse RGCs showed no correlated burst firing. Monkey RGC pairs showed significantly higher burst synchrony and mutual information than mouse RGC pairs did. Comprehensively, through this study, we emphasize that two species have a different bursting activity of RGCs and different burst synchronization suggesting two species have distinctive retinal processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jungryul Ahn
- Department of Physiology, Chungbuk National University School of Medicine, Cheongju 28644, Korea
| | - Huu Lam Phan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Ulsan, Ulsan 44610, Korea
| | - Seongkwang Cha
- Department of Physiology, Chungbuk National University School of Medicine, Cheongju 28644, Korea
| | - Kyo-In Koo
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Ulsan, Ulsan 44610, Korea
| | - Yongseok Yoo
- Department of Electronics Engineering, Incheon National University, Incheon 22012, Korea
| | - Yong Sook Goo
- Department of Physiology, Chungbuk National University School of Medicine, Cheongju 28644, Korea
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Kim J, Song M, Jang J, Paik SB. Spontaneous Retinal Waves Can Generate Long-Range Horizontal Connectivity in Visual Cortex. J Neurosci 2020; 40:6584-6599. [PMID: 32680939 PMCID: PMC7486661 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0649-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Revised: 06/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
In the primary visual cortex (V1) of higher mammals, long-range horizontal connections (LHCs) are observed to develop, linking iso-orientation domains of cortical tuning. It is unknown how this feature-specific wiring of circuitry develops before eye-opening. Here, we suggest that LHCs in V1 may originate from spatiotemporally structured feedforward activities generated from spontaneous retinal waves. Using model simulations based on the anatomy and observed activity patterns of the retina, we show that waves propagating in retinal mosaics can initialize the wiring of LHCs by coactivating neurons of similar tuning, whereas equivalent random activities cannot induce such organizations. Simulations showed that emerged LHCs can produce the patterned activities observed in V1, matching the topography of the underlying orientation map. The model can also reproduce feature-specific microcircuits in the salt-and-pepper organizations found in rodents. Our results imply that early peripheral activities contribute significantly to cortical development of functional circuits.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Long-range horizontal connections (LHCs) in the primary visual cortex (V1) are observed to emerge before the onset of visual experience, thereby selectively connecting iso-domains of orientation map. However, it is unknown how such feature-specific wirings develop before eye-opening. Here, we show that LHCs in V1 may originate from the feature-specific activation of cortical neurons by spontaneous retinal waves during early developmental stages. Our simulations of a visual cortex model show that feedforward activities from the retina initialize the spatial organization of activity patterns in V1, which induces visual feature-specific wirings in the V1 neurons. Our model also explains the origin of cortical microcircuits observed in rodents, suggesting that the proposed developmental mechanism is universally applicable to circuits of various mammalian species.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Min Song
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering
- Program of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | | | - Se-Bum Paik
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering
- Program of Brain and Cognitive Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
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