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Del Rosario J, Coletta S, Kim SH, Mobille Z, Peelman K, Williams B, Otsuki AJ, Del Castillo Valerio A, Worden K, Blanpain LT, Lovell L, Choi H, Haider B. Lateral inhibition in V1 controls neural & perceptual contrast sensitivity. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.11.10.566605. [PMID: 38014014 PMCID: PMC10680635 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.10.566605] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
Lateral inhibition is a central principle for sensory system function. It is thought to operate by the activation of inhibitory neurons that restrict the spatial spread of sensory excitation. Much work on the role of inhibition in sensory systems has focused on visual cortex; however, the neurons, computations, and mechanisms underlying cortical lateral inhibition remain debated, and its importance for visual perception remains unknown. Here, we tested how lateral inhibition from PV or SST neurons in mouse primary visual cortex (V1) modulates neural and perceptual sensitivity to stimulus contrast. Lateral inhibition from PV neurons reduced neural and perceptual sensitivity to visual contrast in a uniform subtractive manner, whereas lateral inhibition from SST neurons more effectively changed the slope (or gain) of neural and perceptual contrast sensitivity. A neural circuit model identified spatially extensive lateral projections from SST neurons as the key factor, and we confirmed this with anatomy and direct subthreshold measurements of a larger spatial footprint for SST versus PV lateral inhibition. Together, these results define cell-type specific computational roles for lateral inhibition in V1, and establish their unique consequences on sensitivity to contrast, a fundamental aspect of the visual world.
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Cone JJ, Mitchell AO, Parker RK, Maunsell JHR. Stimulus-dependent differences in cortical versus subcortical contributions to visual detection in mice. Curr Biol 2024; 34:1940-1952.e5. [PMID: 38640924 PMCID: PMC11080572 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.061] [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: 08/29/2023] [Revised: 02/08/2024] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/21/2024]
Abstract
The primary visual cortex (V1) and the superior colliculus (SC) both occupy stations early in the processing of visual information. They have long been thought to perform distinct functions, with the V1 supporting the perception of visual features and the SC regulating orienting to visual inputs. However, growing evidence suggests that the SC supports the perception of many of the same visual features traditionally associated with the V1. To distinguish V1 and SC contributions to visual processing, it is critical to determine whether both areas causally contribute to the detection of specific visual stimuli. Here, mice reported changes in visual contrast or luminance near their perceptual threshold while white noise patterns of optogenetic stimulation were delivered to V1 or SC inhibitory neurons. We then performed a reverse correlation analysis on the optogenetic stimuli to estimate a neuronal-behavioral kernel (NBK), a moment-to-moment estimate of the impact of V1 or SC inhibition on stimulus detection. We show that the earliest moments of stimulus-evoked activity in the SC are critical for the detection of both luminance and contrast changes. Strikingly, there was a robust stimulus-aligned modulation in the V1 contrast-detection NBK but no sign of a comparable modulation for luminance detection. The data suggest that behavioral detection of visual contrast depends on both V1 and SC spiking, whereas mice preferentially use SC activity to detect changes in luminance. Electrophysiological recordings showed that neurons in both the SC and V1 responded strongly to both visual stimulus types, while the reverse correlation analysis reveals when these neuronal signals actually contribute to visually guided behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jackson J Cone
- Department of Neurobiology and Neuroscience Institute, University of Chicago, 5812 S. Ellis Ave. MC 0912, Suite P-400, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
| | - Autumn O Mitchell
- Department of Neurobiology and Neuroscience Institute, University of Chicago, 5812 S. Ellis Ave. MC 0912, Suite P-400, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Rachel K Parker
- Department of Neurobiology and Neuroscience Institute, University of Chicago, 5812 S. Ellis Ave. MC 0912, Suite P-400, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - John H R Maunsell
- Department of Neurobiology and Neuroscience Institute, University of Chicago, 5812 S. Ellis Ave. MC 0912, Suite P-400, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
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Nivinsky Margalit S, Slovin H. Encoding luminance surfaces in the visual cortex of mice and monkeys: difference in responses to edge and center. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae165. [PMID: 38652553 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae165] [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: 11/25/2023] [Revised: 03/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Luminance and spatial contrast provide information on the surfaces and edges of objects. We investigated neural responses to black and white surfaces in the primary visual cortex (V1) of mice and monkeys. Unlike primates that use their fovea to inspect objects with high acuity, mice lack a fovea and have low visual acuity. It thus remains unclear whether monkeys and mice share similar neural mechanisms to process surfaces. The animals were presented with white or black surfaces and the population responses were measured at high spatial and temporal resolution using voltage-sensitive dye imaging. In mice, the population response to the surface was not edge-dominated with a tendency to center-dominance, whereas in monkeys the response was edge-dominated with a "hole" in the center of the surface. The population response to the surfaces in both species exhibited suppression relative to a grating stimulus. These results reveal the differences in spatial patterns to luminance surfaces in the V1 of mice and monkeys and provide evidence for a shared suppression process relative to grating.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shany Nivinsky Margalit
- The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Hamutal Slovin
- The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel
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Deng K, Schwendeman PS, Guan Y. Predicting Single Neuron Responses of the Primary Visual Cortex with Deep Learning Model. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2024; 11:e2305626. [PMID: 38350735 PMCID: PMC11022733 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202305626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Revised: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/15/2024]
Abstract
Modeling neuron responses to stimuli can shed light on next-generation technologies such as brain-chip interfaces. Furthermore, high-performing models can serve to help formulate hypotheses and reveal the mechanisms underlying neural responses. Here the state-of-the-art computational model is presented for predicting single neuron responses to natural stimuli in the primary visual cortex (V1) of mice. The algorithm incorporates object positions and assembles multiple models with different train-validation data, resulting in a 15%-30% improvement over the existing models in cross-subject predictions and ranking first in the SENSORIUM 2022 Challenge, which benchmarks methods for neuron-specific prediction based on thousands of images. Importantly, The model reveals evidence that the spatial organizations of V1 are conserved across mice. This model will serve as an important noninvasive tool for understanding and utilizing the response patterns of primary visual cortex neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaiwen Deng
- Department of Computational Medicine and BioinformaticsUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMI48105USA
| | | | - Yuanfang Guan
- Department of Computational Medicine and BioinformaticsUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMI48105USA
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5
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Poudel S, Jin J, Rahimi-Nasrabadi H, Dellostritto S, Dul MW, Viswanathan S, Alonso JM. Contrast Sensitivity of ON and OFF Human Retinal Pathways in Myopia. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e1487232023. [PMID: 38050109 PMCID: PMC10860621 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1487-23.2023] [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: 08/07/2023] [Revised: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The human visual cortex processes light and dark stimuli with ON and OFF pathways that are differently modulated by luminance contrast. We have previously demonstrated that ON cortical pathways have higher contrast sensitivity than OFF cortical pathways and the difference increases with luminance range (defined as the maximum minus minimum luminance in the scene). Here, we demonstrate that these ON-OFF cortical differences are already present in the human retina and that retinal responses measured with electroretinography are more affected by reductions in luminance range than cortical responses measured with electroencephalography. Moreover, we show that ON-OFF pathway differences measured with electroretinography become more pronounced in myopia, a visual disorder that elongates the eye and blurs vision at far distance. We find that, as the eye axial length increases across subjects, ON retinal pathways become less responsive, slower in response latency, less sensitive, and less effective and slower at driving pupil constriction. Based on these results, we conclude that myopia is associated with a deficit in ON pathway function that decreases the ability of the retina to process low contrast and regulate retinal illuminance in bright environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabina Poudel
- Department of Biological and Visual Sciences, State University of New York College of Optometry, New York, New York 10036
| | - Jianzhong Jin
- Department of Biological and Visual Sciences, State University of New York College of Optometry, New York, New York 10036
| | - Hamed Rahimi-Nasrabadi
- Department of Biological and Visual Sciences, State University of New York College of Optometry, New York, New York 10036
| | - Stephen Dellostritto
- Department of Biological and Visual Sciences, State University of New York College of Optometry, New York, New York 10036
| | - Mitchell W Dul
- Department of Biological and Visual Sciences, State University of New York College of Optometry, New York, New York 10036
| | - Suresh Viswanathan
- Department of Biological and Visual Sciences, State University of New York College of Optometry, New York, New York 10036
| | - Jose-Manuel Alonso
- Department of Biological and Visual Sciences, State University of New York College of Optometry, New York, New York 10036
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6
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Cone JJ, Mitchell AO, Parker RK, Maunsell JHR. Temporal weighting of cortical and subcortical spikes reveals stimulus dependent differences in their contributions to behavior. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.08.23.554473. [PMID: 37662213 PMCID: PMC10473714 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.23.554473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/05/2023]
Abstract
The primary visual cortex (V1) and the superior colliculus (SC) both occupy stations early in the processing of visual information. They have long been thought to perform distinct functions, with V1 supporting perception of visual features and the SC regulating orienting to visual inputs. However, growing evidence suggests that the SC supports perception of many of the same visual features traditionally associated with V1. To distinguish V1 and SC contributions to visual processing, it is critical to determine whether both areas causally contribute to perception of specific visual stimuli. Here, mice reported changes in visual contrast or luminance near perceptual threshold while we presented white noise patterns of optogenetic stimulation to V1 or SC inhibitory neurons. We then performed a reverse correlation analysis on the optogenetic stimuli to estimate a neuronal-behavioral kernel (NBK), a moment-to-moment estimate of the impact of V1 or SC inhibition on stimulus detection. We show that the earliest moments of stimulus-evoked activity in SC are critical for detection of both luminance or contrast changes. Strikingly, there was a robust stimulus-aligned modulation in the V1 contrast-detection NBK, but no sign of a comparable modulation for luminance detection. The data suggest that perception of visual contrast depends on both V1 and SC spiking, whereas mice preferentially use SC activity to detect changes in luminance. Electrophysiological recordings showed that neurons in both SC and V1 responded strongly to both visual stimulus types, while the reverse correlation analysis reveals when these neuronal signals actually contribute to visually-guided behaviors.
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7
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Dai W, Wang T, Li Y, Yang Y, Zhang Y, Kang J, Wu Y, Yu H, Xing D. Dynamic Recruitment of the Feedforward and Recurrent Mechanism for Black-White Asymmetry in the Primary Visual Cortex. J Neurosci 2023; 43:5668-5684. [PMID: 37487737 PMCID: PMC10401654 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0168-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Black and white information is asymmetrically distributed in natural scenes, evokes asymmetric neuronal responses, and causes asymmetric perceptions. Recognizing the universality and essentiality of black-white asymmetry in visual information processing, the neural substrates for black-white asymmetry remain unclear. To disentangle the role of the feedforward and recurrent mechanisms in the generation of cortical black-white asymmetry, we recorded the V1 laminar responses and LGN responses of anesthetized cats of both sexes. In a cortical column, we found that black-white asymmetry starts at the input layer and becomes more pronounced in the output layer. We also found distinct dynamics of black-white asymmetry between the output layer and the input layer. Specifically, black responses dominate in all layers after stimulus onset. After stimulus offset, black and white responses are balanced in the input layer, but black responses still dominate in the output layer. Compared with that in the input layer, the rebound response in the output layer is significantly suppressed. The relative suppression strength evoked by white stimuli is notably stronger and depends on the location within the ON-OFF cortical map. A model with delayed and polarity-selective cortical suppression explains black-white asymmetry in the output layer, within which prominent recurrent connections are identified by Granger causality analysis. In addition to black-white asymmetry in response strength, the interlaminar differences in spatial receptive field varied dynamically. Our findings suggest that the feedforward and recurrent mechanisms are dynamically recruited for the generation of black-white asymmetry in V1.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Black-white asymmetry is universal and essential in visual information processing, yet the neural substrates for cortical black-white asymmetry remain unknown. Leveraging V1 laminar recordings, we provided the first laminar pattern of black-white asymmetry in cat V1 and found distinct dynamics of black-white asymmetry between the output layer and the input layer. Comparing black-white asymmetry across three visual hierarchies, the LGN, V1 input layer, and V1 output layer, we demonstrated that the feedforward and recurrent mechanisms are dynamically recruited for the generation of cortical black-white asymmetry. Our findings not only enhance our understanding of laminar processing within a cortical column but also elucidate how feedforward connections and recurrent connections interact to shape neuronal response properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weifeng Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Tian Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
- College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Yang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Yi Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Yange Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Jian Kang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Yujie Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Hongbo Yu
- School of Life Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Dajun Xing
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
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Jauch I, Kamm J, Benn L, Rettig L, Friederich HC, Tesarz J, Kuner T, Wieland S. 2MDR, a Microcomputer-Controlled Visual Stimulation Device for Psychotherapy-Like Treatments of Mice. eNeuro 2023; 10:10/6/ENEURO.0394-22.2023. [PMID: 37268421 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0394-22.2023] [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: 09/14/2022] [Revised: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental disorders can be treated by an established psychotherapy called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). In EMDR, patients are confronted with traumatic memories while they are stimulated with alternating bilateral stimuli (ABS). How ABS affects the brain and whether ABS could be adapted to different patients or mental disorders is unknown. Interestingly, ABS reduced conditioned fear in mice. Yet, an approach to systematically test complex visual stimuli and compare respective differences in emotional processing based on semiautomated/automated behavioral analysis is lacking. We developed 2MDR (MultiModal Visual Stimulation to Desensitize Rodents), a novel, open-source, low-cost, customizable device that can be integrated in and transistor-transistor logic (TTL) controlled by commercial rodent behavioral setups. 2MDR allows the design and precise steering of multimodal visual stimuli in the head direction of freely moving mice. Optimized videography allows semiautomatic analysis of rodent behavior during visual stimulation. Detailed building, integration, and treatment instructions along with open-source software provide easy access for inexperienced users. Using 2MDR, we confirmed that EMDR-like ABS persistently improves fear extinction in mice and showed for the first time that ABS-mediated anxiolytic effects strongly depend on physical stimulus properties such as ABS brightness. 2MDR not only enables researchers to interfere with mouse behavior in an EMDR-like setting, but also demonstrates that visual stimuli can be used as a noninvasive brain stimulation to differentially alter emotional processing in mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isa Jauch
- Department of Functional Neuroanatomy, Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jan Kamm
- Department of Functional Neuroanatomy, Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Luca Benn
- Department of Functional Neuroanatomy, Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Lukas Rettig
- Department of Functional Neuroanatomy, Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Hans-Christoph Friederich
- Department of General Internal and Psychosomatic Medicine, Heidelberg University and Heidelberg University Hospital, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jonas Tesarz
- Department of General Internal and Psychosomatic Medicine, Heidelberg University and Heidelberg University Hospital, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Thomas Kuner
- Department of Functional Neuroanatomy, Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Sebastian Wieland
- Department of Functional Neuroanatomy, Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology, Heidelberg University, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
- Department of General Internal and Psychosomatic Medicine, Heidelberg University and Heidelberg University Hospital, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany
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Shin D, Peelman K, Lien AD, Del Rosario J, Haider B. Narrowband gamma oscillations propagate and synchronize throughout the mouse thalamocortical visual system. Neuron 2023; 111:1076-1085.e8. [PMID: 37023711 PMCID: PMC10112544 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2022] [Revised: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023]
Abstract
Oscillations of neural activity permeate sensory systems. In the visual system, broadband gamma oscillations (30-80 Hz) are thought to act as a communication mechanism underlying perception. However, these oscillations show widely varying frequency and phase, providing constraints for coordinating spike timing across areas. Here, we examined Allen Brain Observatory data and performed causal experiments to show that narrowband gamma (NBG) oscillations (50-70 Hz) propagate and synchronize throughout the awake mouse visual system. Lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) neurons fired precisely relative to NBG phase in primary visual cortex (V1) and multiple higher visual areas (HVAs). NBG neurons across areas showed a higher likelihood of functional connectivity and stronger visual responses; remarkably, NBG neurons in LGN, preferring bright (ON) versus dark (OFF), fired at distinct NBG phases aligned across the cortical hierarchy. NBG oscillations may thus serve to coordinate spike timing across brain areas and facilitate communication of distinct visual features during perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Donghoon Shin
- Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA; Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA; Bioengineering, UCSF - UC Berkeley Joint PhD Program, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Kayla Peelman
- Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Anthony D Lien
- Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Joseph Del Rosario
- Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Bilal Haider
- Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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Poudel S, Rahimi-Nasrabadi H, Jin J, Najafian S, Alonso JM. Differences in visual stimulation between reading and walking and implications for myopia development. J Vis 2023; 23:3. [PMID: 37014657 PMCID: PMC10080958 DOI: 10.1167/jov.23.4.3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/11/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Visual input plays an important role in the development of myopia (nearsightedness), a visual disorder that blurs vision at far distances. The risk of myopia progression increases with the time spent reading and decreases with outdoor activity for reasons that remain poorly understood. To investigate the stimulus parameters driving this disorder, we compared the visual input to the retina of humans performing two tasks associated with different risks of myopia progression, reading and walking. Human subjects performed the two tasks while wearing glasses with cameras and sensors that recorded visual scenes and visuomotor activity. When compared with walking, reading black text in white background reduced spatiotemporal contrast in central vision and increased it in peripheral vision, leading to a pronounced reduction in the ratio of central/peripheral strength of visual stimulation. It also made the luminance distribution heavily skewed toward negative dark contrast in central vision and positive light contrast in peripheral vision, decreasing the central/peripheral stimulation ratio of ON visual pathways. It also decreased fixation distance, blink rate, pupil size, and head-eye coordination reflexes dominated by ON pathways. Taken together with previous work, these results support the hypothesis that reading drives myopia progression by understimulating ON visual pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabina Poudel
- Department of Biological and Visual Sciences, SUNY College of Optometry, New York, NY, USA
| | - Hamed Rahimi-Nasrabadi
- Department of Biological and Visual Sciences, SUNY College of Optometry, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jianzhong Jin
- Department of Biological and Visual Sciences, SUNY College of Optometry, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sohrab Najafian
- Department of Biological and Visual Sciences, SUNY College of Optometry, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jose-Manuel Alonso
- Department of Biological and Visual Sciences, SUNY College of Optometry, New York, NY, USA
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11
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Luminance Contrast Shifts Dominance Balance between ON and OFF Pathways in Human Vision. J Neurosci 2023; 43:993-1007. [PMID: 36535768 PMCID: PMC9908321 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1672-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Revised: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/10/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Human vision processes light and dark stimuli in visual scenes with separate ON and OFF neuronal pathways. In nature, stimuli lighter or darker than their local surround have different spatial properties and contrast distributions (Ratliff et al., 2010; Cooper and Norcia, 2015; Rahimi-Nasrabadi et al., 2021). Similarly, in human vision, we show that luminance contrast affects the perception of lights and darks differently. At high contrast, human subjects of both sexes locate dark stimuli faster and more accurately than light stimuli, which is consistent with a visual system dominated by the OFF pathway. However, at low contrast, they locate light stimuli faster and more accurately than dark stimuli, which is consistent with a visual system dominated by the ON pathway. Luminance contrast was strongly correlated with multiple ON/OFF dominance ratios estimated from light/dark ratios of performance errors, missed targets, or reaction times (RTs). All correlations could be demonstrated at multiple eccentricities of the central visual field with an ON-OFF perimetry test implemented in a head-mounted visual display. We conclude that high-contrast stimuli are processed faster and more accurately by OFF pathways than ON pathways. However, the OFF dominance shifts toward ON dominance when stimulus contrast decreases, as expected from the higher-contrast sensitivity of ON cortical pathways (Kremkow et al., 2014; Rahimi-Nasrabadi et al., 2021). The results highlight the importance of contrast polarity in visual field measurements and predict a loss of low-contrast vision in humans with ON pathway deficits, as demonstrated in animal models (Sarnaik et al., 2014).SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT ON and OFF retino-thalamo-cortical pathways respond differently to luminance contrast. In both animal models and humans, low contrasts drive stronger responses from ON pathways, whereas high contrasts drive stronger responses from OFF pathways. We demonstrate that these ON-OFF pathway differences have a correlate in human vision. At low contrast, humans locate light targets faster and more accurately than dark targets but, as contrast increases, dark targets become more visible than light targets. We also demonstrate that contrast is strongly correlated with multiple light/dark ratios of visual performance in central vision. These results provide a link between neuronal physiology and human vision while emphasizing the importance of stimulus polarity in measurements of visual fields and contrast sensitivity.
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12
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Dewell RB, Zhu Y, Eisenbrandt M, Morse R, Gabbiani F. Contrast polarity-specific mapping improves efficiency of neuronal computation for collision detection. eLife 2022; 11:e79772. [PMID: 36314775 PMCID: PMC9674337 DOI: 10.7554/elife.79772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurons receive information through their synaptic inputs, but the functional significance of how those inputs are mapped on to a cell's dendrites remains unclear. We studied this question in a grasshopper visual neuron that tracks approaching objects and triggers escape behavior before an impending collision. In response to black approaching objects, the neuron receives OFF excitatory inputs that form a retinotopic map of the visual field onto compartmentalized, distal dendrites. Subsequent processing of these OFF inputs by active membrane conductances allows the neuron to discriminate the spatial coherence of such stimuli. In contrast, we show that ON excitatory synaptic inputs activated by white approaching objects map in a random manner onto a more proximal dendritic field of the same neuron. The lack of retinotopic synaptic arrangement results in the neuron's inability to discriminate the coherence of white approaching stimuli. Yet, the neuron retains the ability to discriminate stimulus coherence for checkered stimuli of mixed ON/OFF polarity. The coarser mapping and processing of ON stimuli thus has a minimal impact, while reducing the total energetic cost of the circuit. Further, we show that these differences in ON/OFF neuronal processing are behaviorally relevant, being tightly correlated with the animal's escape behavior to light and dark stimuli of variable coherence. Our results show that the synaptic mapping of excitatory inputs affects the fine stimulus discrimination ability of single neurons and document the resulting functional impact on behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ying Zhu
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
| | | | | | - Fabrizio Gabbiani
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of MedicineHoustonUnited States
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13
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Abstract
The primary visual cortex signals the onset of light and dark stimuli with ON and OFF cortical pathways. Here, we demonstrate that both pathways generate similar response increments to large homogeneous surfaces and their response average increases with surface brightness. We show that, in cat visual cortex, response dominance from ON or OFF pathways is bimodally distributed when stimuli are smaller than one receptive field center but unimodally distributed when they are larger. Moreover, whereas small bright stimuli drive opposite responses from ON and OFF pathways (increased versus suppressed activity), large bright surfaces drive similar response increments. We show that this size-brightness relation emerges because strong illumination increases the size of light surfaces in nature and both ON and OFF cortical neurons receive input from ON thalamic pathways. We conclude that visual scenes are perceived as brighter when the average response increments from ON and OFF cortical pathways become stronger. Mazade et al. find that the visual cortex encodes brightness differently for small than large stimuli. Bright small stimuli drive cortical pathways signaling lights and suppress cortical pathways signaling darks. Conversely, large surfaces drive response increments from both pathways and appear brightest when the response average is strongest.
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14
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Shapiro JT, Gosselin EAR, Michaud NM, Crowder NA. Activating parvalbumin-expressing interneurons produces iceberg effects in mouse primary visual cortex neurons. Neurosci Lett 2022; 786:136804. [PMID: 35843471 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2022.136804] [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: 04/22/2022] [Revised: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
In the primary visual cortex (V1) inhibitory interneurons form a local circuit with excitatory pyramidal cells to produce distinct receptive field properties. Parvalbumin-expressing interneurons (Pvalb+) are the most common subclass of V1 interneurons, and studies of orientation tuning indicate they shape pyramidal stimulus selectivity by balancing excitation with inhibition relative to the spike threshold. The iceberg effect, where subthreshold responses have broader tuning than spiking responses, predicts that other receptive field properties besides orientation tuning should also be affected by this balance mediated by Pvalb+ cells. To test this, we measured receptive field size and visual latency of pyramidal cells while Pvalb+ activity was optogenetically increased. We found that amplifying Pvalb+ input to pyramidal cells significantly increased their latency and decreased their receptive field size, which corroborates the proposed role of Pvalb+ interneurons in sculpting pyramidal tuning by controlling cortical gain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jared T Shapiro
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Emily A R Gosselin
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Nicole M Michaud
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Nathan A Crowder
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada.
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15
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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] [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. Neurons in the early visual system respond preferentially to the onset or offset of light. Here the authors show that ON/OFF responses cluster in the mouse primary visual cortex, shaping the receptive fields of cortical cells.
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16
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Zhang Q, Cramer SR, Ma Z, Turner KL, Gheres KW, Liu Y, Drew PJ, Zhang N. Brain-wide ongoing activity is responsible for significant cross-trial BOLD variability. Cereb Cortex 2022; 32:5311-5329. [PMID: 35179203 PMCID: PMC9712744 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Revised: 01/09/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
A notorious issue of task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is its large cross-trial variability. To quantitatively characterize this variability, the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal can be modeled as a linear summation of a stimulation-relevant and an ongoing (i.e. stimulation-irrelevant) component. However, systematic investigation on the spatiotemporal features of the ongoing BOLD component and how these features affect the BOLD response is still lacking. Here we measured fMRI responses to light onsets and light offsets in awake rats. The neuronal response was simultaneously recorded with calcium-based fiber photometry. We established that between-region BOLD signals were highly correlated brain-wide at zero time lag, including regions that did not respond to visual stimulation, suggesting that the ongoing activity co-fluctuates across the brain. Removing this ongoing activity reduced cross-trial variability of the BOLD response by ~30% and increased its coherence with the Ca2+ signal. Additionally, the negative ongoing BOLD activity sometimes dominated over the stimulation-driven response and contributed to the post-stimulation BOLD undershoot. These results suggest that brain-wide ongoing activity is responsible for significant cross-trial BOLD variability, and this component can be reliably quantified and removed to improve the reliability of fMRI response. Importantly, this method can be generalized to virtually all fMRI experiments without changing stimulation paradigms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingqing Zhang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States,Center for Neural Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States
| | - Samuel R Cramer
- Center for Neural Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States,The Neuroscience Graduate Program, The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States
| | - Zilu Ma
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States,Center for Neural Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States
| | - Kevin L Turner
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States,Center for Neural Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States
| | - Kyle W Gheres
- Center for Neural Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States,Graduate Program in Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States
| | - Yikang Liu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States,Center for Neural Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States
| | - Patrick J Drew
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States,Center for Neural Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States,The Neuroscience Graduate Program, The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States,Graduate Program in Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States,Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, United States,Department of Neurosurgery, The Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, PA 17033, United States
| | - Nanyin Zhang
- Corresponding author: Biomedical Engineering and Electrical Engineering, Lloyd & Dorothy Foehr Huck Chair in Brain Imaging, The Huck Institutes of Life Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University, W-341 Millennium Science Complex, University Park, PA 16802, United States.
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17
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Ichinose T, Habib S. ON and OFF Signaling Pathways in the Retina and the Visual System. FRONTIERS IN OPHTHALMOLOGY 2022; 2:989002. [PMID: 36926308 PMCID: PMC10016624 DOI: 10.3389/fopht.2022.989002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Visual processing starts at the retina of the eye, and signals are then transferred primarily to the visual cortex and the tectum. In the retina, multiple neural networks encode different aspects of visual input, such as color and motion. Subsequently, multiple neural streams in parallel convey unique aspects of visual information to cortical and subcortical regions. Bipolar cells, which are the second order neurons of the retina, separate visual signals evoked by light and dark contrasts and encode them to ON and OFF pathways, respectively. The interplay between ON and OFF neural signals is the foundation for visual processing for object contrast which underlies higher order stimulus processing. ON and OFF pathways have been classically thought to signal in a mirror-symmetric manner. However, while these two pathways contribute synergistically to visual perception in some instances, they have pronounced asymmetries suggesting independent operation in other cases. In this review, we summarize the role of the ON-OFF dichotomy in visual signaling, aiming to contribute to the understanding of visual recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomomi Ichinose
- Department of Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan, USA
- Correspondence: Tomomi Ichinose, MD, PhD,
| | - Samar Habib
- Department of Ophthalmology, Visual and Anatomical Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan, USA
- Department of Medical Parasitology, Mansoura Faculty of Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
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18
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Caramellino R, Piasini E, Buccellato A, Carboncino A, Balasubramanian V, Zoccolan D. Rat sensitivity to multipoint statistics is predicted by efficient coding of natural scenes. eLife 2021; 10:e72081. [PMID: 34872633 PMCID: PMC8651284 DOI: 10.7554/elife.72081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Efficient processing of sensory data requires adapting the neuronal encoding strategy to the statistics of natural stimuli. Previously, in Hermundstad et al., 2014, we showed that local multipoint correlation patterns that are most variable in natural images are also the most perceptually salient for human observers, in a way that is compatible with the efficient coding principle. Understanding the neuronal mechanisms underlying such adaptation to image statistics will require performing invasive experiments that are impossible in humans. Therefore, it is important to understand whether a similar phenomenon can be detected in animal species that allow for powerful experimental manipulations, such as rodents. Here we selected four image statistics (from single- to four-point correlations) and trained four groups of rats to discriminate between white noise patterns and binary textures containing variable intensity levels of one of such statistics. We interpreted the resulting psychometric data with an ideal observer model, finding a sharp decrease in sensitivity from two- to four-point correlations and a further decrease from four- to three-point. This ranking fully reproduces the trend we previously observed in humans, thus extending a direct demonstration of efficient coding to a species where neuronal and developmental processes can be interrogated and causally manipulated.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Eugenio Piasini
- Computational Neuroscience Initiative, University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaUnited States
| | - Andrea Buccellato
- Visual Neuroscience Lab, International School for Advanced StudiesTriesteItaly
| | - Anna Carboncino
- Visual Neuroscience Lab, International School for Advanced StudiesTriesteItaly
| | - Vijay Balasubramanian
- Computational Neuroscience Initiative, University of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaUnited States
| | - Davide Zoccolan
- Visual Neuroscience Lab, International School for Advanced StudiesTriesteItaly
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19
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Speed A, Haider B. Probing mechanisms of visual spatial attention in mice. Trends Neurosci 2021; 44:822-836. [PMID: 34446296 PMCID: PMC8484049 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2021.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2021] [Revised: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The role of spatial attention for visual perception has been thoroughly studied in primates, but less so in mice. Several behavioral tasks in mice reveal spatial attentional effects, with similarities to observations in primates. Pairing these tasks with large-scale, cell-type-specific techniques could enable deeper access to underlying mechanisms, and help define the utility and limitations of resolving attentional effects on visual perception and neural activity in mice. In this Review, we evaluate behavioral and neural evidence for visual spatial attention in mice; assess how specializations of the mouse visual system and behavioral repertoire impact interpretation of spatial attentional effects; and outline how several measurement and manipulation techniques in mice could precisely test and refine models of attentional modulation across scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anderson Speed
- Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Bilal Haider
- Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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20
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Mulholland HN, Smith GB. Visual processing: Systematic variation in light-dark bias across visual space. Curr Biol 2021; 31:R1095-R1097. [PMID: 34582820 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.07.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Detecting changes in luminance is a fundamental property of the visual system. A new study shows that lights and darks are represented differently across visual space, with strong OFF bias in central vision and balanced ON/OFF in the periphery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haleigh N Mulholland
- Optical Imaging and Brain Science Medical Discovery Team, Department of Neuroscience, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Gordon B Smith
- Optical Imaging and Brain Science Medical Discovery Team, Department of Neuroscience, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
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