1
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Liu ML, Liu YP, Guo XX, Wu ZY, Zhang XT, Roe AW, Hu JM. Orientation selectivity mapping in the visual cortex. Prog Neurobiol 2024; 240:102656. [PMID: 39009108 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2024.102656] [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: 01/27/2024] [Revised: 06/17/2024] [Accepted: 07/05/2024] [Indexed: 07/17/2024]
Abstract
The orientation map is one of the most well-studied functional maps of the visual cortex. However, results from the literature are of different qualities. Clear boundaries among different orientation domains and blurred uncertain distinctions were shown in different studies. These unclear imaging results will lead to an inaccuracy in depicting cortical structures, and the lack of consideration in experimental design will also lead to biased depictions of the cortical features. How we accurately define orientation domains will impact the entire field of research. In this study, we test how spatial frequency (SF), stimulus size, location, chromatic, and data processing methods affect the orientation functional maps (including a large area of dorsal V4, and parts of dorsal V1) acquired by intrinsic signal optical imaging. Our results indicate that, for large imaging fields, large grating stimuli with mixed SF components should be considered to acquire the orientation map. A diffusion model image enhancement based on the difference map could further improve the map quality. In addition, the similar outcomes of achromatic and chromatic gratings indicate two alternative types of afferents from LGN, pooling in V1 to generate cue-invariant orientation selectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mei-Lan Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029, China; Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Yi-Peng Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029, China
| | - Xin-Xia Guo
- Department of Neurosurgery of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029, China
| | - Zhi-Yi Wu
- Eye Center, Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310010, China
| | - Xiao-Tong Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029, China; MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310012, China; College of Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310000, China
| | - Anna Wang Roe
- Department of Neurosurgery of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029, China; Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, College of Biomedical Engineering and Instrument Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China; MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310012, China; The State Key Laboratory of Brain-Machine Intelligence, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
| | - Jia-Ming Hu
- Department of Neurosurgery of the Second Affiliated Hospital, Interdisciplinary Institute of Neuroscience and Technology, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310029, China; MOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain-machine Integration, School of Brain Science and Brain Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310012, China.
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2
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Holt CJ, Miller KD, Ahmadian Y. The stabilized supralinear network accounts for the contrast dependence of visual cortical gamma oscillations. PLoS Comput Biol 2024; 20:e1012190. [PMID: 38935792 PMCID: PMC11236182 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1012190] [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: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 07/10/2024] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024] Open
Abstract
When stimulated, neural populations in the visual cortex exhibit fast rhythmic activity with frequencies in the gamma band (30-80 Hz). The gamma rhythm manifests as a broad resonance peak in the power-spectrum of recorded local field potentials, which exhibits various stimulus dependencies. In particular, in macaque primary visual cortex (V1), the gamma peak frequency increases with increasing stimulus contrast. Moreover, this contrast dependence is local: when contrast varies smoothly over visual space, the gamma peak frequency in each cortical column is controlled by the local contrast in that column's receptive field. No parsimonious mechanistic explanation for these contrast dependencies of V1 gamma oscillations has been proposed. The stabilized supralinear network (SSN) is a mechanistic model of cortical circuits that has accounted for a range of visual cortical response nonlinearities and contextual modulations, as well as their contrast dependence. Here, we begin by showing that a reduced SSN model without retinotopy robustly captures the contrast dependence of gamma peak frequency, and provides a mechanistic explanation for this effect based on the observed non-saturating and supralinear input-output function of V1 neurons. Given this result, the local dependence on contrast can trivially be captured in a retinotopic SSN which however lacks horizontal synaptic connections between its cortical columns. However, long-range horizontal connections in V1 are in fact strong, and underlie contextual modulation effects such as surround suppression. We thus explored whether a retinotopically organized SSN model of V1 with strong excitatory horizontal connections can exhibit both surround suppression and the local contrast dependence of gamma peak frequency. We found that retinotopic SSNs can account for both effects, but only when the horizontal excitatory projections are composed of two components with different patterns of spatial fall-off with distance: a short-range component that only targets the source column, combined with a long-range component that targets columns neighboring the source column. We thus make a specific qualitative prediction for the spatial structure of horizontal connections in macaque V1, consistent with the columnar structure of cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caleb J Holt
- Department of Physics, Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, United States of America
| | - Kenneth D Miller
- Deptartment of Neuroscience, Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, Swartz Program in Theoretical Neuroscience, Kavli Institute for Brain Science, College of Physicians and Surgeons, and Morton B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Yashar Ahmadian
- Department of Engineering, Computational and Biological Learning Lab, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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3
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Burkhalter A, Ji W, Meier AM, D’Souza RD. Modular horizontal network within mouse primary visual cortex. Front Neuroanat 2024; 18:1364675. [PMID: 38650594 PMCID: PMC11033472 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2024.1364675] [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: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Interactions between feedback connections from higher cortical areas and local horizontal connections within primary visual cortex (V1) were shown to play a role in contextual processing in different behavioral states. Layer 1 (L1) is an important part of the underlying network. This cell-sparse layer is a target of feedback and local inputs, and nexus for contacts onto apical dendrites of projection neurons in the layers below. Importantly, L1 is a site for coupling inputs from the outside world with internal information. To determine whether all of these circuit elements overlap in L1, we labeled the horizontal network within mouse V1 with anterograde and retrograde viral tracers. We found two types of local horizontal connections: short ones that were tangentially limited to the representation of the point image, and long ones which reached beyond the receptive field center, deep into its surround. The long connections were patchy and terminated preferentially in M2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor-negative (M2-) interpatches. Anterogradely labeled inputs overlapped in M2-interpatches with apical dendrites of retrogradely labeled L2/3 and L5 cells, forming module-selective loops between topographically distant locations. Previous work showed that L1 of M2-interpatches receive inputs from the lateral posterior thalamic nucleus (LP) and from a feedback network from areas of the medial dorsal stream, including the secondary motor cortex. Together, these findings suggest that interactions in M2-interpatches play a role in processing visual inputs produced by object-and self-motion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas Burkhalter
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Weiqing Ji
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
| | - Andrew M. Meier
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
- Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, College of Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Rinaldo D. D’Souza
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, United States
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4
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Oldenburg IA, Hendricks WD, Handy G, Shamardani K, Bounds HA, Doiron B, Adesnik H. The logic of recurrent circuits in the primary visual cortex. Nat Neurosci 2024; 27:137-147. [PMID: 38172437 PMCID: PMC10774145 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01510-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Recurrent cortical activity sculpts visual perception by refining, amplifying or suppressing visual input. However, the rules that govern the influence of recurrent activity remain enigmatic. We used ensemble-specific two-photon optogenetics in the mouse visual cortex to isolate the impact of recurrent activity from external visual input. We found that the spatial arrangement and the visual feature preference of the stimulated ensemble and the neighboring neurons jointly determine the net effect of recurrent activity. Photoactivation of these ensembles drives suppression in all cells beyond 30 µm but uniformly drives activation in closer similarly tuned cells. In nonsimilarly tuned cells, compact, cotuned ensembles drive net suppression, while diffuse, cotuned ensembles drive activation. Computational modeling suggests that highly local recurrent excitatory connectivity and selective convergence onto inhibitory neurons explain these effects. Our findings reveal a straightforward logic in which space and feature preference of cortical ensembles determine their impact on local recurrent activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian Antón Oldenburg
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- The Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA.
| | - William D Hendricks
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- The Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Gregory Handy
- Department of Neurobiology and Statistics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
- Grossman Center for Quantitative Biology and Human Behavior, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
- Department of Mathematics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
| | - Kiarash Shamardani
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
- Department of Neurology and Neurological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Hayley A Bounds
- The Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Brent Doiron
- Department of Neurobiology and Statistics, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
- Grossman Center for Quantitative Biology and Human Behavior, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Hillel Adesnik
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
- The Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA.
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5
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Kristensen SS, Jörntell H. Differential encoding of temporally evolving color patterns across nearby V1 neurons. Front Cell Neurosci 2023; 17:1249522. [PMID: 37920202 PMCID: PMC10618616 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2023.1249522] [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: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Whereas studies of the V1 cortex have focused mainly on neural line orientation preference, color inputs are also known to have a strong presence among these neurons. Individual neurons typically respond to multiple colors and nearby neurons have different combinations of preferred color inputs. However, the computations performed by V1 neurons on such color inputs have not been extensively studied. Here we aimed to address this issue by studying how different V1 neurons encode different combinations of inputs composed of four basic colors. We quantified the decoding accuracy of individual neurons from multi-electrode array recordings, comparing multiple individual neurons located within 2 mm along the vertical axis of the V1 cortex of the anesthetized rat. We found essentially all V1 neurons to be good at decoding spatiotemporal patterns of color inputs and they did so by encoding them in different ways. Quantitative analysis showed that even adjacent neurons encoded the specific input patterns differently, suggesting a local cortical circuitry organization which tends to diversify rather than unify the neuronal responses to each given input. Using different pairs of monocolor inputs, we also found that V1 neocortical neurons had a diversified and rich color opponency across the four colors, which was somewhat surprising given the fact that rodent retina express only two different types of opsins. We propose that the processing of color inputs in V1 cortex is extensively composed of multiple independent circuitry components that reflect abstract functionalities resident in the internal cortical processing rather than the raw sensory information per se.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Henrik Jörntell
- Neural Basis of Sensorimotor Control, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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6
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Todo H, Chen T, Ye J, Li B, Todo Y, Tang Z. Single-layer perceptron artificial visual system for orientation detection. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1229275. [PMID: 37674518 PMCID: PMC10477450 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1229275] [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: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Orientation detection is an essential function of the visual system. In our previous works, we have proposed a new orientation detection mechanism based on local orientation-selective neurons. We assume that there are neurons solely responsible for orientation detection, with each neuron dedicated to detecting a specific local orientation. The global orientation is inferred from the local orientation information. Based on this mechanism, we propose an artificial visual system (AVS) by utilizing a single-layer of McCulloch-Pitts neurons to realize these local orientation-sensitive neurons and a layer of sum pooling to realize global orientation detection neurons. We demonstrate that such a single-layer perceptron artificial visual system (AVS) is capable of detecting global orientation by identifying the orientation with the largest number of activated orientation-selective neurons as the global orientation. To evaluate the effectiveness of this single-layer perceptron AVS, we perform computer simulations. The results show that the AVS works perfectly for global orientation detection, aligning with the majority of physiological experiments and models. Moreover, we compare the performance of the single-layer perceptron AVS with that of a traditional convolutional neural network (CNN) on orientation detection tasks. We find that the single-layer perceptron AVS outperforms CNN in various aspects, including identification accuracy, noise resistance, computational and learning cost, hardware implementation feasibility, and biological plausibility.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tianqi Chen
- Division of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Jiazhen Ye
- Chengfang Financial Information Technology Service Corporation, Beijing, China
| | - Bin Li
- Division of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Yuki Todo
- Division of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Zheng Tang
- Department of Intelligence Information Systems, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan
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7
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Gu M, Li X, Liang S, Zhu J, Sun P, He Y, Yu H, Li R, Zhou Z, Lyu J, Li SC, Budinger E, Zhou Y, Jia H, Zhang J, Chen X. Rabies virus-based labeling of layer 6 corticothalamic neurons for two-photon imaging in vivo. iScience 2023; 26:106625. [PMID: 37250327 PMCID: PMC10214394 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106625] [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: 01/11/2023] [Revised: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Neocortical layer 6 (L6) is less understood than other more superficial layers, largely owing to limitations of performing high-resolution investigations in vivo. Here, we show that labeling with the Challenge Virus Standard (CVS) rabies virus strain enables high-quality imaging of L6 neurons by conventional two-photon microscopes. CVS virus injection into the medial geniculate body can selectively label L6 neurons in the auditory cortex. Only three days after injection, dendrites and cell bodies of L6 neurons could be imaged across all cortical layers. Ca2+ imaging in awake mice showed that sound stimulation evokes neuronal responses from cell bodies with minimal contamination from neuropil signals. In addition, dendritic Ca2+ imaging revealed significant responses from spines and trunks across all layers. These results demonstrate a reliable method capable of rapid, high-quality labeling of L6 neurons that can be readily extended to other brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miaoqing Gu
- School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
- Advanced Institute for Brain and Intelligence, School of Medicine, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Xiuli Li
- Brain Research Center and State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns, and Combined Injury, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China
| | - Shanshan Liang
- Brain Research Center and State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns, and Combined Injury, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China
| | - Jiahui Zhu
- Advanced Institute for Brain and Intelligence, School of Medicine, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Pei Sun
- Brain Research Center and State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns, and Combined Injury, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China
| | - Yong He
- Brain Research Center and State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns, and Combined Injury, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China
| | - Haipeng Yu
- Department of Neurobiology, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medicine, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China
| | - Ruijie Li
- Brain Research Center and State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns, and Combined Injury, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China
| | - Zhenqiao Zhou
- Brain Research Instrument Innovation Center, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215163, China
| | - Jing Lyu
- Brain Research Instrument Innovation Center, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215163, China
| | - Sunny C. Li
- Advanced Institute for Brain and Intelligence, School of Medicine, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
| | - Eike Budinger
- Combinatorial NeuroImaging Core Facility, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, 39118 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Yi Zhou
- Advanced Institute for Brain and Intelligence, School of Medicine, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
- Department of Neurobiology, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medicine, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China
| | - Hongbo Jia
- School of Physical Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
- Brain Research Instrument Innovation Center, Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Suzhou 215163, China
- Combinatorial NeuroImaging Core Facility, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, 39118 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Jianxiong Zhang
- Brain Research Center and State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns, and Combined Injury, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China
| | - Xiaowei Chen
- Brain Research Center and State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns, and Combined Injury, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China
- Guangyang Bay Laboratory, Chongqing Institute for Brain and Intelligence, Chongqing 400064, China
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8
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Holt CJ, Miller KD, Ahmadian Y. The stabilized supralinear network accounts for the contrast dependence of visual cortical gamma oscillations. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.11.540442. [PMID: 37214812 PMCID: PMC10197697 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.11.540442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
When stimulated, neural populations in the visual cortex exhibit fast rhythmic activity with frequencies in the gamma band (30-80 Hz). The gamma rhythm manifests as a broad resonance peak in the power-spectrum of recorded local field potentials, which exhibits various stimulus dependencies. In particular, in macaque primary visual cortex (V1), the gamma peak frequency increases with increasing stimulus contrast. Moreover, this contrast dependence is local: when contrast varies smoothly over visual space, the gamma peak frequency in each cortical column is controlled by the local contrast in that column's receptive field. No parsimonious mechanistic explanation for these contrast dependencies of V1 gamma oscillations has been proposed. The stabilized supralinear network (SSN) is a mechanistic model of cortical circuits that has accounted for a range of visual cortical response nonlinearities and contextual modulations, as well as their contrast dependence. Here, we begin by showing that a reduced SSN model without retinotopy robustly captures the contrast dependence of gamma peak frequency, and provides a mechanistic explanation for this effect based on the observed non-saturating and supralinear input-output function of V1 neurons. Given this result, the local dependence on contrast can trivially be captured in a retinotopic SSN which however lacks horizontal synaptic connections between its cortical columns. However, long-range horizontal connections in V1 are in fact strong, and underlie contextual modulation effects such as surround suppression. We thus explored whether a retinotopically organized SSN model of V1 with strong excitatory horizontal connections can exhibit both surround suppression and the local contrast dependence of gamma peak frequency. We found that retinotopic SSNs can account for both effects, but only when the horizontal excitatory projections are composed of two components with different patterns of spatial fall-off with distance: a short-range component that only targets the source column, combined with a long-range component that targets columns neighboring the source column. We thus make a specific qualitative prediction for the spatial structure of horizontal connections in macaque V1, consistent with the columnar structure of cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caleb J Holt
- Institute of Neuroscience, Department of Physics, University of Oregon, OR, USA
| | - Kenneth D Miller
- Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, Swartz Program in Theoretical Neuroscience, Kavli Institute for Brain Science, and Dept. of Neuroscience, College of Physicians and Surgeons and Morton B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, NY, USA
| | - Yashar Ahmadian
- Computational and Biological Learning Lab, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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9
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Munz M, Bharioke A, Kosche G, Moreno-Juan V, Brignall A, Rodrigues TM, Graff-Meyer A, Ulmer T, Haeuselmann S, Pavlinic D, Ledergerber N, Gross-Scherf B, Rózsa B, Krol J, Picelli S, Cowan CS, Roska B. Pyramidal neurons form active, transient, multilayered circuits perturbed by autism-associated mutations at the inception of neocortex. Cell 2023; 186:1930-1949.e31. [PMID: 37071993 PMCID: PMC10156177 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2023.03.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2022] [Revised: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/20/2023]
Abstract
Cortical circuits are composed predominantly of pyramidal-to-pyramidal neuron connections, yet their assembly during embryonic development is not well understood. We show that mouse embryonic Rbp4-Cre cortical neurons, transcriptomically closest to layer 5 pyramidal neurons, display two phases of circuit assembly in vivo. At E14.5, they form a multi-layered circuit motif, composed of only embryonic near-projecting-type neurons. By E17.5, this transitions to a second motif involving all three embryonic types, analogous to the three adult layer 5 types. In vivo patch clamp recordings and two-photon calcium imaging of embryonic Rbp4-Cre neurons reveal active somas and neurites, tetrodotoxin-sensitive voltage-gated conductances, and functional glutamatergic synapses, from E14.5 onwards. Embryonic Rbp4-Cre neurons strongly express autism-associated genes and perturbing these genes interferes with the switch between the two motifs. Hence, pyramidal neurons form active, transient, multi-layered pyramidal-to-pyramidal circuits at the inception of neocortex, and studying these circuits could yield insights into the etiology of autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Munz
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Neural Circuit Laboratories, Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Arjun Bharioke
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Neural Circuit Laboratories, Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Georg Kosche
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Verónica Moreno-Juan
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Alexandra Brignall
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Tiago M Rodrigues
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Alexandra Graff-Meyer
- Neural Circuit Laboratories, Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Talia Ulmer
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Neural Circuit Laboratories, Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Stephanie Haeuselmann
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Dinko Pavlinic
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Nicole Ledergerber
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Neural Circuit Laboratories, Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Brigitte Gross-Scherf
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Neural Circuit Laboratories, Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Balázs Rózsa
- Two-Photon Imaging Center, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Jacek Krol
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Neural Circuit Laboratories, Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Simone Picelli
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Cameron S Cowan
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Botond Roska
- Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel, Basel, Switzerland; Department of Ophthalmology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
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10
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Li VJ, Chorghay Z, Ruthazer ES. A Guide for the Multiplexed: The Development of Visual Feature Maps in the Brain. Neuroscience 2023; 508:62-75. [PMID: 35952996 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2022.07.026] [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: 04/15/2022] [Revised: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Neural maps are found ubiquitously in the brain, where they encode a wide range of behaviourally relevant features into neural space. Developmental studies have shown that animals devote a great deal of resources to establish consistently patterned organization in neural circuits throughout the nervous system, but what purposes maps serve beneath their often intricate appearance and composition is a topic of active debate and exploration. In this article, we review the general mechanisms of map formation, with a focus on the visual system, and then survey notable organizational properties of neural maps: the multiplexing of feature representations through a nested architecture, the interspersing of fine-scale heterogeneity within a globally smooth organization, and the complex integration at the microcircuit level that enables a high dimensionality of information encoding. Finally, we discuss the roles of maps in cortical functions, including input segregation, feature extraction and routing of circuit outputs for higher order processing, as well as the evolutionary basis for the properties we observe in neural maps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa J Li
- Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, McGill University, 3801 University St. Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Zahraa Chorghay
- Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, McGill University, 3801 University St. Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Edward S Ruthazer
- Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, McGill University, 3801 University St. Montreal, Quebec H3A 2B4, Canada
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11
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Wallace MN, Zobay O, Hardman E, Thompson Z, Dobbs P, Chakrabarti L, Palmer AR. The large numbers of minicolumns in the primary visual cortex of humans, chimpanzees and gorillas are related to high visual acuity. Front Neuroanat 2022; 16:1034264. [PMID: 36439196 PMCID: PMC9681811 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2022.1034264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Minicolumns are thought to be a fundamental neural unit in the neocortex and their replication may have formed the basis of the rapid cortical expansion that occurred during primate evolution. We sought evidence of minicolumns in the primary visual cortex (V-1) of three great apes, three rodents and representatives from three other mammalian orders: Eulipotyphla (European hedgehog), Artiodactyla (domestic pig) and Carnivora (ferret). Minicolumns, identified by the presence of a long bundle of radial, myelinated fibers stretching from layer III to the white matter of silver-stained sections, were found in the human, chimpanzee, gorilla and guinea pig V-1. Shorter bundles confined to one or two layers were found in the other species but represent modules rather than minicolumns. The inter-bundle distance, and hence density of minicolumns, varied systematically both within a local area that might represent a hypercolumn but also across the whole visual field. The distance between all bundles had a similar range for human, chimpanzee, gorilla, ferret and guinea pig: most bundles were 20-45 μm apart. By contrast, the space between bundles was greater for the hedgehog and pig (20-140 μm). The mean density of minicolumns was greater in tangential sections of the gorilla and chimpanzee (1,243-1,287 bundles/mm2) than in human (314-422 bundles/mm2) or guinea pig (643 bundles/mm2). The minicolumnar bundles did not form a hexagonal lattice but were arranged in thin curving and branched bands separated by thicker bands of neuropil/somata. Estimates of the total number of modules/minicolumns within V-1 were strongly correlated with visual acuity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark N. Wallace
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Institute of Hearing Research, University Park, Nottingham, United Kingdom
- Hearing Sciences, Mental Health and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Oliver Zobay
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Institute of Hearing Research, University Park, Nottingham, United Kingdom
- School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Hearing Sciences—Scottish Section, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Eden Hardman
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Institute of Hearing Research, University Park, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Zoe Thompson
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Institute of Hearing Research, University Park, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Phillipa Dobbs
- Veterinary Department, Twycross Zoo, East Midland Zoological Society, Atherstone, United Kingdom
| | - Lisa Chakrabarti
- School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Alan R. Palmer
- Medical Research Council (MRC) Institute of Hearing Research, University Park, Nottingham, United Kingdom
- Hearing Sciences, Mental Health and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
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12
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Tuning instability of non-columnar neurons in the salt-and-pepper whisker map in somatosensory cortex. Nat Commun 2022; 13:6611. [PMID: 36329010 PMCID: PMC9633707 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34261-1] [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: 12/02/2021] [Accepted: 10/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Rodent sensory cortex contains salt-and-pepper maps of sensory features, whose structure is not fully known. Here we investigated the structure of the salt-and-pepper whisker somatotopic map among L2/3 pyramidal neurons in somatosensory cortex, in awake mice performing one-vs-all whisker discrimination. Neurons tuned for columnar (CW) and non-columnar (non-CW) whiskers were spatially intermixed, with co-tuned neurons forming local (20 µm) clusters. Whisker tuning was markedly unstable in expert mice, with 35-46% of pyramidal cells significantly shifting tuning over 5-18 days. Tuning instability was highly concentrated in non-CW tuned neurons, and thus was structured in the map. Instability of non-CW neurons was unchanged during chronic whisker paralysis and when mice discriminated individual whiskers, suggesting it is an inherent feature. Thus, L2/3 combines two distinct components: a stable columnar framework of CW-tuned cells that may promote spatial perceptual stability, plus an intermixed, non-columnar surround with highly unstable tuning.
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13
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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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14
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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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15
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Kobayashi S, O'Hashi K, Kobayashi M. Repetitive nociceptive stimulation increases spontaneous neural activation similar to nociception-induced activity in mouse insular cortex. Sci Rep 2022; 12:15190. [PMID: 36071208 PMCID: PMC9452502 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-19562-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent noninvasive neuroimaging technology has revealed that spatiotemporal patterns of cortical spontaneous activity observed in chronic pain patients are different from those in healthy subjects, suggesting that the spontaneous cortical activity plays a key role in the induction and/or maintenance of chronic pain. However, the mechanisms of the spontaneously emerging activities supposed to be induced by nociceptive inputs remain to be established. In the present study, we investigated spontaneous cortical activities in sessions before and after electrical stimulation of the periodontal ligament (PDL) by applying wide-field and two-photon calcium imaging to anesthetized GCaMP6s transgenic mice. First, we identified the sequential cortical activation patterns from the primary somatosensory and secondary somatosensory cortices to the insular cortex (IC) by PDL stimulation. We, then found that spontaneous IC activities that exhibited a similar spatiotemporal cortical pattern to evoked activities by PDL stimulation increased in the session after repetitive PDL stimulation. At the single-cell level, repetitive PDL stimulation augmented the synchronous neuronal activity. These results suggest that cortical plasticity induced by the repetitive stimulation leads to the frequent PDL stimulation-evoked-like spontaneous IC activation. This nociception-induced spontaneous activity in IC may be a part of mechanisms that induces chronic pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shutaro Kobayashi
- Department of Pharmacology, Nihon University School of Dentistry, 1-8-13 Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 101-8310, Japan.,Department of Oral Surgery, Nihon University School of Dentistry, 1-8-13 Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 101-8310, Japan
| | - Kazunori O'Hashi
- Department of Pharmacology, Nihon University School of Dentistry, 1-8-13 Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 101-8310, Japan. .,Division of Oral and Craniomaxillofacial Research, Dental Research Center, Nihon University School of Dentistry, 1-8-13 Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 101-8310, Japan. .,Department of Mental Disorder Research, National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry (NCNP), 4-1-1 Ogawa-Higashi, Kodaira, Tokyo, 187-8502, Japan.
| | - Masayuki Kobayashi
- Department of Pharmacology, Nihon University School of Dentistry, 1-8-13 Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 101-8310, Japan. .,Division of Oral and Craniomaxillofacial Research, Dental Research Center, Nihon University School of Dentistry, 1-8-13 Kanda-Surugadai, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 101-8310, Japan. .,Molecular Imaging Research Center, RIKEN, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0047, Japan.
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16
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Distractibility and impulsivity neural states are distinct from selective attention and modulate the implementation of spatial attention. Nat Commun 2022; 13:4796. [PMID: 35970856 PMCID: PMC9378734 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32385-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
In the context of visual attention, it has been classically assumed that missing the response to a target or erroneously selecting a distractor occurs as a consequence of the (miss)allocation of attention in space. In the present paper, we challenge this view and provide evidence that, in addition to encoding spatial attention, prefrontal neurons also encode a distractibility-to-impulsivity state. Using supervised dimensionality reduction techniques in prefrontal neuronal recordings in monkeys, we identify two partially overlapping neuronal subpopulations associated either with the focus of attention or overt behaviour. The degree of overlap accounts for the behavioral gain associated with the good allocation of attention. We further describe the neural variability accounting for distractibility-to-impulsivity behaviour by a two dimensional state associated with optimality in task and responsiveness. Overall, we thus show that behavioral performance arises from the integration of task-specific neuronal processes and pre-existing neuronal states describing task-independent behavioral states. Failing to detect relevant information has been assumed to be a consequence of misallocation of attention. Here, the authors present findings showing that optimal behavioral performance results from the absence of interference between internal neural states and attention control.
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17
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Kondo S, Kiyohara Y, Ohki K. Response Selectivity of the Lateral Posterior Nucleus Axons Projecting to the Mouse Primary Visual Cortex. Front Neural Circuits 2022; 16:825735. [PMID: 35296036 PMCID: PMC8918919 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2022.825735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurons in the mouse primary visual cortex (V1) exhibit characteristic response selectivity to visual stimuli, such as orientation, direction and spatial frequency selectivity. Since V1 receives thalamic visual inputs from the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) and lateral posterior nucleus (LPN), the response selectivity of the V1 neurons could be influenced mostly by these inputs. However, it remains unclear how these two thalamic inputs contribute to the response selectivity of the V1 neurons. In this study, we examined the orientation, direction and spatial frequency selectivity of the LPN axons projecting to V1 and compared their response selectivity with our previous results of the LGN axons in mice. For this purpose, the genetically encoded calcium indicator, GCaMP6s, was locally expressed in the LPN using the adeno-associated virus (AAV) infection method. Visual stimulations were presented, and axonal imaging was conducted in V1 by two-photon calcium imaging in vivo. We found that LPN axons primarily terminate in layers 1 and 5 and, to a lesser extent, in layers 2/3 and 4 of V1, while LGN axons mainly terminate in layer 4 and, to a lesser extent, in layers 1 and 2/3 of V1. LPN axons send highly orientation- and direction-selective inputs to all the examined layers in V1, whereas LGN axons send highly orientation- and direction-selective inputs to layers 1 and 2/3 but low orientation and direction selective inputs to layer 4 in V1. The distribution of preferred orientation and direction was strongly biased toward specific orientations and directions in LPN axons, while weakly biased to cardinal orientations and directions in LGN axons. In spatial frequency tuning, both the LPN and LGN axons send selective inputs to V1. The distribution of preferred spatial frequency was more diverse in the LPN axons than in the LGN axons. In conclusion, LPN inputs to V1 are functionally different from LGN inputs and may have different roles in the orientation, direction and spatial frequency tuning of the V1 neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satoru Kondo
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- World Premier International Research Center – International Research Center for Neurointelligence (WPI-IRCN), The University of Tokyo Institutes for Advanced Study (UTIAS), Tokyo, Japan
- *Correspondence: Satoru Kondo,
| | - Yuko Kiyohara
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kenichi Ohki
- Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- World Premier International Research Center – International Research Center for Neurointelligence (WPI-IRCN), The University of Tokyo Institutes for Advanced Study (UTIAS), Tokyo, Japan
- Institute for AI and Beyond, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- Kenichi Ohki,
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18
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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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19
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Shiramatsu TI, Mori K, Ishizu K, Takahashi H. Auditory, Visual, and Cross-Modal Mismatch Negativities in the Rat Auditory and Visual Cortices. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:721476. [PMID: 34602996 PMCID: PMC8484534 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.721476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 08/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
When the brain tries to acquire an elaborate model of the world, multisensory integration should contribute to building predictions based on the various pieces of information, and deviance detection should repeatedly update these predictions by detecting “errors” from the actual sensory inputs. Accumulating evidence such as a hierarchical organization of the deviance-detection system indicates that the deviance-detection system can be interpreted in the predictive coding framework. Herein, we targeted mismatch negativity (MMN) as a type of prediction-error signal and investigated the relationship between multisensory integration and MMN. In particular, we studied whether and how cross-modal information processing affected MMN in rodents. We designed a new surface microelectrode array and simultaneously recorded visual and auditory evoked potentials from the visual and auditory cortices of rats under anesthesia. Then, we mapped MMNs for five types of deviant stimuli: single-modal deviants in (i) the visual oddball and (ii) auditory oddball paradigms, eliciting single-modal MMN; (iii) congruent audio-visual deviants, (iv) incongruent visual deviants, and (v) incongruent auditory deviants in the audio-visual oddball paradigm, eliciting cross-modal MMN. First, we demonstrated that visual MMN exhibited deviance detection properties and that the first-generation focus of visual MMN was localized in the visual cortex, as previously reported in human studies. Second, a comparison of MMN amplitudes revealed a non-linear relationship between single-modal and cross-modal MMNs. Moreover, congruent audio-visual MMN exhibited characteristics of both visual and auditory MMNs—its latency was similar to that of auditory MMN, whereas local blockage of N-methyl-D-aspartic acid receptors in the visual cortex diminished it as well as visual MMN. These results indicate that cross-modal information processing affects MMN without involving strong top-down effects, such as those of prior knowledge and attention. The present study is the first electrophysiological evidence of cross-modal MMN in animal models, and future studies on the neural mechanisms combining multisensory integration and deviance detection are expected to provide electrophysiological evidence to confirm the links between MMN and predictive coding theory.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kanato Mori
- Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Kotaro Ishizu
- Institute for Quantitative Biosciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hirokazu Takahashi
- Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
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20
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Jang J, Song M, Paik SB. Retino-Cortical Mapping Ratio Predicts Columnar and Salt-and-Pepper Organization in Mammalian Visual Cortex. Cell Rep 2021; 30:3270-3279.e3. [PMID: 32160536 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.02.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2019] [Revised: 12/27/2019] [Accepted: 02/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
In the mammalian primary visual cortex, neural tuning to stimulus orientation is organized in either columnar or salt-and-pepper patterns across species. For decades, this sharp contrast has spawned fundamental questions about the origin of functional architectures in visual cortex. However, it is unknown whether these patterns reflect disparate developmental mechanisms across mammalian taxa or simply originate from variation of biological parameters under a universal development process. In this work, after the analysis of data from eight mammalian species, we show that cortical organization is predictable by a single factor, the retino-cortical mapping ratio. Groups of species with or without columnar clustering are distinguished by the feedforward sampling ratio, and model simulations with controlled mapping conditions reproduce both types of organization. Prediction from the Nyquist theorem explains this parametric division of the patterns with high accuracy. Our results imply that evolutionary variation of physical parameters may induce development of distinct functional circuitry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaeson Jang
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Min Song
- 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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21
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Ferreiro DN, Conde-Ocazionez SA, Patriota JH, Souza LC, Oliveira MF, Wolf F, Schmidt KE. Spatial clustering of orientation preference in primary visual cortex of the large rodent agouti. iScience 2021; 24:101882. [PMID: 33354663 PMCID: PMC7744940 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2020] [Revised: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 11/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
All rodents investigated so far possess orientation-selective neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1) but - in contrast to carnivores and primates - no evidence of periodic maps with pinwheel-like structures. Theoretical studies debating whether phylogeny or universal principles determine development of pinwheels point to V1 size as a critical constraint. Thus, we set out to study maps of agouti, a big diurnal rodent with a V1 size comparable to cats'. In electrophysiology, we detected interspersed orientation and direction-selective neurons with a bias for horizontal contours, corroborated by homogeneous activation in optical imaging. Compatible with spatial clustering at short distance, nearby neurons tended to exhibit similar orientation preference. Our results argue against V1 size as a key parameter in determining the presence of periodic orientation maps. They are consistent with a phylogenetic influence on the map layout and development, potentially reflecting distinct retinal traits or interspecies differences in cortical circuitry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dardo N. Ferreiro
- Neurobiology of Vision Lab, Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
| | - Sergio A. Conde-Ocazionez
- Neurobiology of Vision Lab, Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
- Universidad de Santander, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Laboratorio de Neurociencias, Bucaramanga, Colombia
| | - João H.N. Patriota
- Neurobiology of Vision Lab, Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
| | - Luã C. Souza
- Neurobiology of Vision Lab, Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
| | - Moacir F. Oliveira
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, Universidade Federal Rural do Semiárido, Mossoró, Brazil
| | - Fred Wolf
- 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, Göttingen, Germany
- Campus Institute for Dynamics of Biological Networks, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Kerstin E. Schmidt
- Neurobiology of Vision Lab, Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
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22
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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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Disparity Sensitivity and Binocular Integration in Mouse Visual Cortex Areas. J Neurosci 2020; 40:8883-8899. [PMID: 33051348 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1060-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2020] [Revised: 09/18/2020] [Accepted: 09/22/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Binocular disparity, the difference between the two eyes' images, is a powerful cue to generate the 3D depth percept known as stereopsis. In primates, binocular disparity is processed in multiple areas of the visual cortex, with distinct contributions of higher areas to specific aspects of depth perception. Mice, too, can perceive stereoscopic depth, and neurons in primary visual cortex (V1) and higher-order, lateromedial (LM) and rostrolateral (RL) areas were found to be sensitive to binocular disparity. A detailed characterization of disparity tuning across mouse visual areas is lacking, however, and acquiring such data might help clarifying the role of higher areas for disparity processing and establishing putative functional correspondences to primate areas. We used two-photon calcium imaging in female mice to characterize the disparity tuning properties of neurons in visual areas V1, LM, and RL in response to dichoptically presented binocular gratings, as well as random dot correlograms (RDC). In all three areas, many neurons were tuned to disparity, showing strong response facilitation or suppression at optimal or null disparity, respectively, even in neurons classified as monocular by conventional ocular dominance (OD) measurements. Neurons in higher areas exhibited broader and more asymmetric disparity tuning curves compared with V1, as observed in primate visual cortex. Finally, we probed neurons' sensitivity to true stereo correspondence by comparing responses to correlated RDC (cRDC) and anticorrelated RDC (aRDC). Area LM, akin to primate ventral visual stream areas, showed higher selectivity for correlated stimuli and reduced anticorrelated responses, indicating higher-level disparity processing in LM compared with V1 and RL.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT A major cue for inferring 3D depth is disparity between the two eyes' images. Investigating how binocular disparity is processed in the mouse visual system will not only help delineating the role of mouse higher areas for visual processing, but also shed light on how the mammalian brain computes stereopsis. We found that binocular integration is a prominent feature of mouse visual cortex, as many neurons are selectively and strongly modulated by binocular disparity. Comparison of responses to correlated and anticorrelated random dot correlograms (RDC) revealed that lateromedial area (LM) is more selective to correlated stimuli, while less sensitive to anticorrelated stimuli compared with primary visual cortex (V1) and rostrolateral area (RL), suggesting higher-level disparity processing in LM, resembling primate ventral visual stream areas.
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24
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Ibbotson M, Jung YJ. Origins of Functional Organization in the Visual Cortex. Front Syst Neurosci 2020; 14:10. [PMID: 32194379 PMCID: PMC7063058 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2020.00010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2019] [Accepted: 02/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
How are the complex maps for orientation selectivity (OS) created in the primary visual cortex (V1)? Rodents and rabbits have a random distribution of OS preferences across V1 while in cats, ferrets, and all primates cells with similar OS preferences cluster together into relatively wide cortical columns. Given other clear similarities in the organization of the visual pathways, why is it that maps coding OS preferences are so radically different? Prominent models have been created of cortical OS mapping that incorporate Hebbian plasticity, intracortical interactions, and the properties of growing axons. However, these models suggest that the maps arise primarily through intracortical interactions. Here we focus on several other features of the visual system and brain that may influence V1 structure. These are: eye divergence, the total number of cells in V1, the thalamocortical networks, the topography of the retina and phylogeny. We outline the evidence for and against these factors contributing to map formation. One promising theory is that the central-to-peripheral ratio (CP ratio) of retinal cell density can be used to predict whether or not a species has pinwheel maps. Animals with high CP ratios (>7) have orientation columns while those with low CP ratios (<4) have random OS maps. The CP ratio is related to the total number of cells in cortex, which also appears to be a reasonable contributing factor. However, while these factors correlate with map structure to some extent, there is a gray area where certain species do not fit elegantly into the theory. A problem with the existing literature is that OS maps have been investigated in only a small number of mammals, from a small fraction of the mammalian phylogenetic tree. We suggest four species (agouti, fruit bat, sheep, and wallaby) that have a range of interesting characteristics, which sit at intermediate locations between primates and rodents, that make them good targets for filling in the missing gaps in the literature. We make predictions about the map structures of these species based on the organization of their brains and visual systems and, in doing so, set possible paths for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Ibbotson
- Australian College of Optometry, National Vision Research Institute, Carlton, VIC, Australia.,Department of Optometry and Vision Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Young Jun Jung
- Australian College of Optometry, National Vision Research Institute, Carlton, VIC, Australia.,Department of Optometry and Vision Science, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
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25
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Hartenstein V, Omoto JJ, Lovick JK. The role of cell lineage in the development of neuronal circuitry and function. Dev Biol 2020; 475:165-180. [PMID: 32017903 DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2020.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2018] [Revised: 01/23/2020] [Accepted: 01/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Complex nervous systems have a modular architecture, whereby reiterative groups of neurons ("modules") that share certain structural and functional properties are integrated into large neural circuits. Neurons develop from proliferating progenitor cells that, based on their location and time of appearance, are defined by certain genetic programs. Given that genes expressed by a given progenitor play a fundamental role in determining the properties of its lineage (i.e., the neurons descended from that progenitor), one efficient developmental strategy would be to have lineages give rise to the structural modules of the mature nervous system. It is clear that this strategy plays an important role in neural development of many invertebrate animals, notably insects, where the availability of genetic techniques has made it possible to analyze the precise relationship between neuronal origin and differentiation since several decades. Similar techniques, developed more recently in the vertebrate field, reveal that functional modules of the mammalian cerebral cortex are also likely products of developmentally defined lineages. We will review studies that relate cell lineage to circuitry and function from a comparative developmental perspective, aiming at enhancing our understanding of neural progenitors and their lineages, and translating findings acquired in different model systems into a common conceptual framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Volker Hartenstein
- Department of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
| | - Jaison J Omoto
- Department of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Jennifer K Lovick
- Department of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
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26
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D'Souza RD, Bista P, Meier AM, Ji W, Burkhalter A. Spatial Clustering of Inhibition in Mouse Primary Visual Cortex. Neuron 2019; 104:588-600.e5. [PMID: 31623918 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.09.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2019] [Revised: 08/08/2019] [Accepted: 09/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Whether mouse visual cortex contains orderly feature maps is debated. The overlapping pattern of geniculocortical inputs with M2 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor-rich patches in layer 1 (L1) suggests a non-random architecture. Here, we found that L1 inputs from the lateral posterior thalamus (LP) avoid patches and target interpatches. Channelrhodopsin-2-assisted mapping of excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) in L2/3 shows that the relative excitation of parvalbumin-expressing interneurons (PVs) and pyramidal neurons (PNs) by dLGN, LP, and cortical feedback is distinct and depends on whether the neurons reside in clusters aligned with patches or interpatches. Paired recordings from PVs and PNs show that unitary inhibitory postsynaptic currents (uIPSCs) are larger in interpatches than in patches. The spatial clustering of inhibition is matched by dense clustering of PV terminals in interpatches. The results show that the excitation/inhibition balance across V1 is organized into patch and interpatch subnetworks, which receive distinct long-range inputs and are specialized for the processing of distinct spatiotemporal features.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rinaldo D D'Souza
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Pawan Bista
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Andrew M Meier
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Weiqing Ji
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Andreas Burkhalter
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
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27
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Nakagawa N, Hosoya T. Slow Dynamics in Microcolumnar Gap Junction Network of Developing Neocortical Pyramidal Neurons. Neuroscience 2019; 406:554-562. [PMID: 30794844 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2019.02.013] [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: 08/02/2018] [Revised: 12/24/2018] [Accepted: 02/11/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Gap junctions mediate electrical coupling between neurons and modulate their firing activity. In mouse neocortical layer 5, the major types of pyramidal neurons organize into cell type-specific microcolumns that exhibit modular neuronal activity. During cortical development, microcolumn neurons are electrically coupled in a cell type-specific manner at the stage of synaptogenesis, forming a dense network of gap junctions. However, modulation of neuronal activity by the gap junction network has not been examined. Here, we show that the electrical coupling induces amplification and slow synchronization of action potentials. This slow synchronization is mediated by electrical transmission that is an order of magnitude slower than that of gap junction-coupled neurons of other types. Theoretical and structural analyses suggested that apical dendrites are a major site of electrical coupling, providing slow electrical transmission. These results suggest that the gap junction network organizes neuronal activity of developing cortical circuit modules with unique slow dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nao Nakagawa
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
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28
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Tischbirek CH, Noda T, Tohmi M, Birkner A, Nelken I, Konnerth A. In Vivo Functional Mapping of a Cortical Column at Single-Neuron Resolution. Cell Rep 2019; 27:1319-1326.e5. [DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2018] [Revised: 02/26/2019] [Accepted: 03/29/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
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29
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HOSOYA T. The basic repeating modules of the cerebral cortical circuit. PROCEEDINGS OF THE JAPAN ACADEMY. SERIES B, PHYSICAL AND BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES 2019; 95:303-311. [PMID: 31406055 PMCID: PMC6766449 DOI: 10.2183/pjab.95.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2019] [Accepted: 03/08/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The fundamental organization of the cerebral cortical circuit is still poorly understood. In particular, it is unclear whether the diverse cell types form modular units that are repeated across the cortex. We discovered that the major cell types in cortical layer 5 form a lattice structure. Distinct types of excitatory and inhibitory neurons form cell type-specific radial clusters termed microcolumns. Microcolumns are present in diverse cortical areas, such as the visual, motor, and language areas, and are organized into periodic hexagonal lattice structures. Individual microcolumns have modular synaptic circuits and exhibit modular neuronal activity, suggesting that each of them functions as an information processing unit. Microcolumn development is suggested to be independent of cell lineage but coordinated by gap junctions. Thus, neurons in cortical layer 5 organize into a brainwide lattice structure of functional microcolumns, suggesting that parallel processing by massively repeated microcolumns underlie diverse cortical functions, such as sensory perception, motor control, and language processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toshihiko HOSOYA
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wako, Saitama, Japan
- Ricoh Biomedical Research Department, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan
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30
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Chevée M, Brown SP. The development of local circuits in the neocortex: recent lessons from the mouse visual cortex. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2018; 53:103-109. [PMID: 30053693 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2018.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2018] [Revised: 06/14/2018] [Accepted: 06/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Precise synaptic connections among neurons in the neocortex generate the circuits that underlie a broad repertoire of cortical functions including perception, learning and memory, and complex problem solving. The specific patterns and properties of these synaptic connections are fundamental to the computations cortical neurons perform. How such specificity arises in cortical circuits has remained elusive. Here, we first consider the cell-type, subcellular and synaptic specificity required for generating mature patterns of cortical connectivity and responses. Next, we focus on recent progress in understanding how the synaptic connections among excitatory cortical projection neurons are established during development using the primary visual cortex of the mouse as a model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxime Chevée
- Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology Graduate Program, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Solange P Brown
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
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31
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Functional organization of intrinsic and feedback presynaptic inputs in the primary visual cortex. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2018; 115:E5174-E5182. [PMID: 29760100 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1719711115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
In the primary visual cortex (V1) of many mammalian species, neurons are spatially organized according to their preferred orientation into a highly ordered map. However, whether and how the various presynaptic inputs to V1 neurons are organized relative to the neuronal orientation map remain unclear. To address this issue, we constructed genetically encoded calcium indicators targeting axon boutons in two colors and used them to map the organization of axon boutons of V1 intrinsic and V2-V1 feedback projections in tree shrews. Both connections are spatially organized into maps according to the preferred orientations of axon boutons. Dual-color calcium imaging showed that V1 intrinsic inputs are precisely aligned to the orientation map of V1 cell bodies, while the V2-V1 feedback projections are aligned to the V1 map with less accuracy. Nonselective integration of intrinsic presynaptic inputs around the dendritic tree is sufficient to reproduce cell body orientation preference. These results indicate that a precisely aligned map of intrinsic inputs could reinforce the neuronal map in V1, a principle that may be prevalent for brain areas with function maps.
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32
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Maruoka H, Nakagawa N, Tsuruno S, Sakai S, Yoneda T, Hosoya T. Lattice system of functionally distinct cell types in the neocortex. Science 2017; 358:610-615. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aam6125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2017] [Accepted: 09/25/2017] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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33
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López-Hidalgo M, Kellner V, Schummers J. Astrocyte Calcium Responses to Sensory Input: Influence of Circuit Organization and Experimental Factors. Front Neural Circuits 2017; 11:16. [PMID: 28381991 PMCID: PMC5360724 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2017.00016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2017] [Accepted: 02/24/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Vered Kellner
- Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience Jupiter, FL, USA
| | - James Schummers
- Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience Jupiter, FL, USA
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34
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Scholl B, Rylee J, Luci JJ, Priebe NJ, Padberg J. Orientation selectivity in the visual cortex of the nine-banded armadillo. J Neurophysiol 2017; 117:1395-1406. [PMID: 28053246 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00851.2016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2016] [Revised: 01/03/2017] [Accepted: 01/03/2017] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Orientation selectivity in primary visual cortex (V1) has been proposed to reflect a canonical computation performed by the neocortical circuitry. Although orientation selectivity has been reported in all mammals examined to date, the degree of selectivity and the functional organization of selectivity vary across mammalian clades. The differences in degree of orientation selectivity are large, from reports in marsupials that only a small subset of neurons are selective to studies in carnivores, in which it is rare to find a neuron lacking selectivity. Furthermore, the functional organization in cortex varies in that the primate and carnivore V1 is characterized by an organization in which nearby neurons share orientation preference while other mammals such as rodents and lagomorphs either lack or have only extremely weak clustering. To gain insight into the evolutionary emergence of orientation selectivity, we examined the nine-banded armadillo, a species within the early placental clade Xenarthra. Here we use a combination of neuroimaging, histological, and electrophysiological methods to identify the retinofugal pathways, locate V1, and for the first time examine the functional properties of V1 neurons in the armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) V1. Individual neurons were strongly sensitive to the orientation and often the direction of drifting gratings. We uncovered a wide range of orientation preferences but found a bias for horizontal gratings. The presence of strong orientation selectivity in armadillos suggests that the circuitry responsible for this computation is common to all placental mammals.NEW & NOTEWORTHY The current study shows that armadillo primary visual cortex (V1) neurons share the signature properties of V1 neurons of primates, carnivorans, and rodents. Furthermore, these neurons exhibit a degree of selectivity for stimulus orientation and motion direction similar to that found in primate V1. Our findings in armadillo visual cortex suggest that the functional properties of V1 neurons emerged early in the mammalian lineage, near the time of the divergence of marsupials.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Johnathan Rylee
- Department of Biology, University of Central Arkansas, Conway, Arkansas
| | - Jeffrey J Luci
- Department of Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas; and
| | - Nicholas J Priebe
- Department of Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas; and.,Center for Learning and Memory, Center for Perceptual Systems, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas
| | - Jeffrey Padberg
- Department of Biology, University of Central Arkansas, Conway, Arkansas;
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