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Xia R, Chen X, Engel TA, Moore T. Common and distinct neural mechanisms of attention. Trends Cogn Sci 2024; 28:554-567. [PMID: 38388258 PMCID: PMC11153008 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.01.005] [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: 08/03/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Despite a constant deluge of sensory stimulation, only a fraction of it is used to guide behavior. This selective processing is generally referred to as attention, and much research has focused on the neural mechanisms controlling it. Recently, research has broadened to include more ways by which different species selectively process sensory information, whether due to the sensory input itself or to different behavioral and brain states. This work has produced a complex and disjointed body of evidence across different species and forms of attention. However, it has also provided opportunities to better understand the breadth of attentional mechanisms. Here, we summarize the evidence that suggests that different forms of selective processing are supported by mechanisms both common and distinct.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruobing Xia
- Department of Neurobiology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Xiaomo Chen
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Tatiana A Engel
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Tirin Moore
- Department of Neurobiology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
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2
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McFarlan AR, Guo C, Gomez I, Weinerman C, Liang TA, Sjöström PJ. The spike-timing-dependent plasticity of VIP interneurons in motor cortex. Front Cell Neurosci 2024; 18:1389094. [PMID: 38706517 PMCID: PMC11066220 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2024.1389094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/07/2024] Open
Abstract
The plasticity of inhibitory interneurons (INs) plays an important role in the organization and maintenance of cortical microcircuits. Given the many different IN types, there is an even greater diversity in synapse-type-specific plasticity learning rules at excitatory to excitatory (E→I), I→E, and I→I synapses. I→I synapses play a key disinhibitory role in cortical circuits. Because they typically target other INs, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) INs are often featured in I→I→E disinhibition, which upregulates activity in nearby excitatory neurons. VIP IN dysregulation may thus lead to neuropathologies such as epilepsy. In spite of the important activity regulatory role of VIP INs, their long-term plasticity has not been described. Therefore, we characterized the phenomenology of spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) at inputs and outputs of genetically defined VIP INs. Using a combination of whole-cell recording, 2-photon microscopy, and optogenetics, we explored I→I STDP at layer 2/3 (L2/3) VIP IN outputs onto L5 Martinotti cells (MCs) and basket cells (BCs). We found that VIP IN→MC synapses underwent causal long-term depression (LTD) that was presynaptically expressed. VIP IN→BC connections, however, did not undergo any detectable plasticity. Conversely, using extracellular stimulation, we explored E→I STDP at inputs to VIP INs which revealed long-term potentiation (LTP) for both causal and acausal timings. Taken together, our results demonstrate that VIP INs possess synapse-type-specific learning rules at their inputs and outputs. This suggests the possibility of harnessing VIP IN long-term plasticity to control activity-related neuropathologies such as epilepsy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda R. McFarlan
- Centre for Research in Neuroscience, BRaIN Program, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Connie Guo
- Centre for Research in Neuroscience, BRaIN Program, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Integrated Program in Neuroscience, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Isabella Gomez
- Centre for Research in Neuroscience, BRaIN Program, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Chaim Weinerman
- Centre for Research in Neuroscience, BRaIN Program, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Tasha A. Liang
- Centre for Research in Neuroscience, BRaIN Program, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - P. Jesper Sjöström
- Centre for Research in Neuroscience, BRaIN Program, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal General Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
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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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Galván Fraile J, Scherr F, Ramasco JJ, Arkhipov A, Maass W, Mirasso CR. Modeling circuit mechanisms of opposing cortical responses to visual flow perturbations. PLoS Comput Biol 2024; 20:e1011921. [PMID: 38452057 PMCID: PMC10950248 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011921] [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: 10/12/2023] [Revised: 03/19/2024] [Accepted: 02/18/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024] Open
Abstract
In an ever-changing visual world, animals' survival depends on their ability to perceive and respond to rapidly changing motion cues. The primary visual cortex (V1) is at the forefront of this sensory processing, orchestrating neural responses to perturbations in visual flow. However, the underlying neural mechanisms that lead to distinct cortical responses to such perturbations remain enigmatic. In this study, our objective was to uncover the neural dynamics that govern V1 neurons' responses to visual flow perturbations using a biologically realistic computational model. By subjecting the model to sudden changes in visual input, we observed opposing cortical responses in excitatory layer 2/3 (L2/3) neurons, namely, depolarizing and hyperpolarizing responses. We found that this segregation was primarily driven by the competition between external visual input and recurrent inhibition, particularly within L2/3 and L4. This division was not observed in excitatory L5/6 neurons, suggesting a more prominent role for inhibitory mechanisms in the visual processing of the upper cortical layers. Our findings share similarities with recent experimental studies focusing on the opposing influence of top-down and bottom-up inputs in the mouse primary visual cortex during visual flow perturbations.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. Galván Fraile
- Instituto de Física Interdisciplinar y Sistemas Complejos (IFISC), UIB-CSIC, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - Franz Scherr
- Institute of Theoretical Computer Science, Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria
| | - José J. Ramasco
- Instituto de Física Interdisciplinar y Sistemas Complejos (IFISC), UIB-CSIC, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - Anton Arkhipov
- Allen Institute, Seattle, Washington, United States of America
| | - Wolfgang Maass
- Institute of Theoretical Computer Science, Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria
| | - Claudio R. Mirasso
- Instituto de Física Interdisciplinar y Sistemas Complejos (IFISC), UIB-CSIC, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
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Myers-Joseph D, Wilmes KA, Fernandez-Otero M, Clopath C, Khan AG. Disinhibition by VIP interneurons is orthogonal to cross-modal attentional modulation in primary visual cortex. Neuron 2024; 112:628-645.e7. [PMID: 38070500 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.11.006] [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: 04/20/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/08/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Attentional modulation of sensory processing is a key feature of cognition; however, its neural circuit basis is poorly understood. A candidate mechanism is the disinhibition of pyramidal cells through vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and somatostatin (SOM)-positive interneurons. However, the interaction of attentional modulation and VIP-SOM disinhibition has never been directly tested. We used all-optical methods to bi-directionally manipulate VIP interneuron activity as mice performed a cross-modal attention-switching task. We measured the activities of VIP, SOM, and parvalbumin (PV)-positive interneurons and pyramidal neurons identified in the same tissue and found that although activity in all cell classes was modulated by both attention and VIP manipulation, their effects were orthogonal. Attention and VIP-SOM disinhibition relied on distinct patterns of changes in activity and reorganization of interactions between inhibitory and excitatory cells. Circuit modeling revealed a precise network architecture consistent with multiplexing strong yet non-interacting modulations in the same neural population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dylan Myers-Joseph
- Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, King's College London, London SE1 1UL, UK
| | | | | | - Claudia Clopath
- Department of Bioengineering, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Adil G Khan
- Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, King's College London, London SE1 1UL, UK.
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Lehnert J, Cha K, Halperin J, Yang K, Zheng DF, Khadra A, Cook EP, Krishnaswamy A. Visual attention to features and space in mice using reverse correlation. Curr Biol 2023; 33:3690-3701.e4. [PMID: 37611588 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.07.060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/27/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
Visual attention allows the brain to evoke behaviors based on the most important visual features. Mouse models offer immense potential to gain a circuit-level understanding of this phenomenon, yet how mice distribute attention across features and locations is not well understood. Here, we describe a new approach to address this limitation by training mice to detect weak vertical bars in a background of dynamic noise while spatial cues manipulate their attention. By adapting a reverse-correlation method from human studies, we linked behavioral decisions to stimulus features and locations. We show that mice deployed attention to a small rostral region of the visual field. Within this region, mice attended to multiple features (orientation, spatial frequency, contrast) that indicated the presence of weak vertical bars. This attentional tuning grew with training, multiplicatively scaled behavioral sensitivity, approached that of an ideal observer, and resembled the effects of attention in humans. Taken together, we demonstrate that mice can simultaneously attend to multiple features and locations of a visual stimulus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Lehnert
- Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3G 1Y6, Canada; Quantitative Life Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 1E3, Canada
| | - Kuwook Cha
- Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3G 1Y6, Canada
| | - Jamie Halperin
- Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3G 1Y6, Canada
| | - Kerry Yang
- Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3G 1Y6, Canada
| | - Daniel F Zheng
- Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3G 1Y6, Canada
| | - Anmar Khadra
- Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3G 1Y6, Canada; Quantitative Life Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 1E3, Canada; Centre for Applied Mathematics in Bioscience and Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3G 0B1, Canada
| | - Erik P Cook
- Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3G 1Y6, Canada; Quantitative Life Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 1E3, Canada; Centre for Applied Mathematics in Bioscience and Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3G 0B1, Canada.
| | - Arjun Krishnaswamy
- Department of Physiology, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3G 1Y6, Canada; Quantitative Life Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 1E3, Canada.
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Probing top-down information in neocortical layer 1. Trends Neurosci 2023; 46:20-31. [PMID: 36428192 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2022.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2022] [Revised: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Accurate perception of the environment is a constructive process that requires integration of external bottom-up sensory signals with internally generated top-down information. Decades of work have elucidated how sensory neocortex processes physical stimulus features. By contrast, examining how top-down information is encoded and integrated with bottom-up signals has been challenging using traditional neuroscience methods. Recent technological advances in functional imaging of brain-wide afferents in behaving mice have enabled the direct measurement of top-down information. Here, we review the emerging literature on encoding of these internally generated signals by different projection systems enriched in neocortical layer 1 during defined brain functions, including memory, attention, and predictive coding. Moreover, we identify gaps in current knowledge and highlight future directions for this rapidly advancing field.
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Kanamori T, Mrsic-Flogel TD. Independent response modulation of visual cortical neurons by attentional and behavioral states. Neuron 2022; 110:3907-3918.e6. [PMID: 36137550 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.08.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2022] [Revised: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Sensory processing is influenced by cognitive and behavioral states, but how these states interact to modulate responses of individual neurons is unknown. We trained mice in a visual discrimination task wherein they attended to different locations within a hemifield while running or sitting still, enabling us to examine how visual responses are modulated by spatial attention and running behavior. We found that spatial attention improved discrimination performance and strengthened visual responses of excitatory neurons in the primary visual cortex whose receptive fields overlapped with the attended location. Although individual neurons were modulated by both spatial attention and running, the magnitudes of these influences were not correlated. While running-dependent modulation was stable across days, attentional modulation was dynamic, influencing individual neurons to different degrees after repeated changes in attentional states. Thus, despite similar effects on neural responses, spatial attention and running act independently with different dynamics, implying separable mechanisms for their implementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takahiro Kanamori
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University College London, 25 Howland Street, London W1T 4JG, UK.
| | - Thomas D Mrsic-Flogel
- Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University College London, 25 Howland Street, London W1T 4JG, UK.
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Colonnese MT, Murata Y, Phillips MA. A new role for visual experience in top-down cortical development. Neuron 2021; 109:3400-3401. [PMID: 34735791 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.10.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
In this issue of Neuron, Ibrahim et al. (2021) examine the rules by which top-down connections are made on visual cortical layer 1 interneurons, discovering activity-dependent cooperative interactions with visual input that are specific to neurogliaform cells and anterior cingulate cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew T Colonnese
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA.
| | - Yasunobu Murata
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Marnie A Phillips
- Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
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