1
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Yu Y, Adsit LM, Smith IT. Comprehensive software suite for functional analysis and synaptic input mapping of dendritic spines imaged in vivo. NEUROPHOTONICS 2024; 11:024307. [PMID: 38628980 PMCID: PMC11021036 DOI: 10.1117/1.nph.11.2.024307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2023] [Revised: 03/21/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024]
Abstract
Significance Advances in genetically encoded sensors and two-photon imaging have unlocked functional imaging at the level of single dendritic spines. Synaptic activity can be measured in real time in awake animals. However, tools are needed to facilitate the analysis of the large datasets acquired by the approach. Commonly available software suites for imaging calcium transients in cell bodies are ill-suited for spine imaging as dendritic spines have structural characteristics distinct from those of the cell bodies. We present an automated tuning analysis tool (AUTOTUNE), which provides analysis routines specifically developed for the extraction and analysis of signals from subcellular compartments, including dendritic subregions and spines. Aim Although the acquisition of in vivo functional synaptic imaging data is increasingly accessible, a hurdle remains in the computation-heavy analyses of the acquired data. The aim of this study is to overcome this barrier by offering a comprehensive software suite with a user-friendly interface for easy access to nonprogrammers. Approach We demonstrate the utility and effectiveness of our software with demo analyses of dendritic imaging data acquired from layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons in mouse V1 in vivo. A user manual and demo datasets are also provided. Results AUTOTUNE provides a robust workflow for analyzing functional imaging data from neuronal dendrites. Features include source image registration, segmentation of regions-of-interest and detection of structural turnover, fluorescence transient extraction and smoothing, subtraction of signals from putative backpropagating action potentials, and stimulus and behavioral parameter response tuning analyses. Conclusions AUTOTUNE is open-source and extendable for diverse functional synaptic imaging experiments. The ease of functional characterization of dendritic spine activity provided by our software can accelerate new functional studies that complement decades of morphological studies of dendrites, and further expand our understanding of neural circuits in health and in disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiyi Yu
- University of California, Santa Barbara, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Santa Barbara, California, United States
| | - Liam M. Adsit
- University of California, Santa Barbara, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Santa Barbara, California, United States
| | - Ikuko T. Smith
- University of California, Santa Barbara, Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Santa Barbara, California, United States
- University of California, Santa Barbara, Neuroscience Research Institute, Santa Barbara, California, United States
- University of California, Santa Barbara, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Santa Barbara, California, United States
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2
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Yu CH, Yu Y, Adsit LM, Chang JT, Barchini J, Moberly AH, Benisty H, Kim J, Young BK, Heng K, Farinella DM, Leikvoll A, Pavan R, Vistein R, Nanfito BR, Hildebrand DGC, Otero-Coronel S, Vaziri A, Goldberg JL, Ricci AJ, Fitzpatrick D, Cardin JA, Higley MJ, Smith GB, Kara P, Nielsen KJ, Smith IT, Smith SL. The Cousa objective: a long-working distance air objective for multiphoton imaging in vivo. Nat Methods 2024; 21:132-141. [PMID: 38129618 PMCID: PMC10776402 DOI: 10.1038/s41592-023-02098-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Multiphoton microscopy can resolve fluorescent structures and dynamics deep in scattering tissue and has transformed neural imaging, but applying this technique in vivo can be limited by the mechanical and optical constraints of conventional objectives. Short working distance objectives can collide with compact surgical windows or other instrumentation and preclude imaging. Here we present an ultra-long working distance (20 mm) air objective called the Cousa objective. It is optimized for performance across multiphoton imaging wavelengths, offers a more than 4 mm2 field of view with submicrometer lateral resolution and is compatible with commonly used multiphoton imaging systems. A novel mechanical design, wider than typical microscope objectives, enabled this combination of specifications. We share the full optical prescription, and report performance including in vivo two-photon and three-photon imaging in an array of species and preparations, including nonhuman primates. The Cousa objective can enable a range of experiments in neuroscience and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Che-Hang Yu
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
| | - Yiyi Yu
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Liam M Adsit
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Jeremy T Chang
- Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, Jupiter, FL, USA
| | - Jad Barchini
- Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, Jupiter, FL, USA
| | | | - Hadas Benisty
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Jinkyung Kim
- Department of Otolaryngology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Brent K Young
- Spencer Center for Vision Research, Byers Eye Institute, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | - Kathleen Heng
- Spencer Center for Vision Research, Byers Eye Institute, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA
- Neurosciences Interdepartmental Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Deano M Farinella
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Austin Leikvoll
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Rishaab Pavan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Rachel Vistein
- Department of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology, and Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Brandon R Nanfito
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, and Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | - Santiago Otero-Coronel
- Laboratory of Neural Systems, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
- Laboratory of Neurotechnology and Biophysics, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
- Kavli Neural Systems Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Alipasha Vaziri
- Laboratory of Neurotechnology and Biophysics, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
- Kavli Neural Systems Institute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jeffrey L Goldberg
- Spencer Center for Vision Research, Byers Eye Institute, School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| | - Anthony J Ricci
- Department of Otolaryngology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Gordon B Smith
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Prakash Kara
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Kristina J Nielsen
- Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, and Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Ikuko T Smith
- Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
- Department of Psychology and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
- Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA
| | - Spencer LaVere Smith
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
- Department of Psychology and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, USA.
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3
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Tang Y, Gervais C, Moffitt R, Nareddula S, Zimmermann M, Nadew YY, Quinn CJ, Saldarriaga V, Edens P, Chubykin AA. Visual experience induces 4-8 Hz synchrony between V1 and higher-order visual areas. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113482. [PMID: 37999977 PMCID: PMC10790627 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Visual perceptual experience induces persistent 4-8 Hz oscillations in the mouse primary visual cortex (V1), encoding visual familiarity. Recent studies suggest that higher-order visual areas (HVAs) are functionally specialized and segregated into information streams processing distinct visual features. However, whether visual memories are processed and stored within the distinct streams is not understood. We report here that V1 and lateromedial (LM), but not V1 and anterolateral, become more phase synchronized in 4-8 Hz after the entrainment of visual stimulus that maximally induces responses in LM. Directed information analysis reveals changes in the top-down functional connectivity between V1 and HVAs. Optogenetic inactivation of LM reduces post-stimulus oscillation peaks in V1 and impairs visual discrimination behavior. Our results demonstrate that 4-8 Hz familiarity-evoked oscillations are specific for the distinct visual features and are present in the corresponding HVAs, where they may be used for the inter-areal communication with V1 during memory-related behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Tang
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience, Purdue Autism Research Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Catherine Gervais
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience, Purdue Autism Research Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Rylann Moffitt
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience, Purdue Autism Research Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Sanghamitra Nareddula
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience, Purdue Autism Research Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Michael Zimmermann
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience, Purdue Autism Research Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Yididiya Y Nadew
- Department of Computer Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
| | | | - Violeta Saldarriaga
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience, Purdue Autism Research Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Paige Edens
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience, Purdue Autism Research Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
| | - Alexander A Chubykin
- Department of Biological Sciences, Purdue Institute for Integrative Neuroscience, Purdue Autism Research Center, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA.
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4
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Ahmad Z, Kelly KR, Freud E. Reduced perception-action dissociation in children with amblyopia. Neuropsychologia 2023; 191:108738. [PMID: 38007150 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 11/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/19/2023] [Indexed: 11/27/2023]
Abstract
The functional distinction between vision-for-perception and vision-for-action is a key aspect of understanding the primate visual system. While this dissociation has been well-established in adulthood, its development and dependence on typical visual experience remain unclear. To address these questions, we examined two groups of children: typically developed children and those with amblyopia, who presumably have a sub-optimal visual experience. The Ponzo illusion, known to impact perception but not visuomotor behaviors across age groups, was employed to assess the extent of dissociation. Participants engaged in two tasks involving the Ponzo illusion: a grasping task (vision-for-action) and a manual estimation task (vision-for-perception), with objects placed on the "close" and "far" surfaces of the illusion. Typically developed children displayed grasping movements that were unaffected by the illusion, as their grasping apertures were scaled based on object size, independent of its location. In contrast, children with amblyopia exhibited a clear susceptibility to the illusion, showing larger apertures for objects placed on the 'far' surface of the illusion, and smaller apertures for objects placed on the 'close' surface. Interestingly, both groups of children demonstrated similar susceptibility to the illusion during the perceptual task, with objects placed on the far surface being perceived as longer compared to objects placed on the close surface. These findings shed light on the impact of atypical visual development on the emergence of the dissociation between perception and action, highlighting the crucial role of typical visual experience in establishing this distinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoha Ahmad
- Department of Biology, York University, Canada; The Centre for Vision Research, York University, Canada.
| | - Krista R Kelly
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Waterloo, Canada; Retina Foundation of the Southwest, Dallas, USA
| | - Erez Freud
- The Centre for Vision Research, York University, Canada; Department of Psychology, York University, Canada
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5
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Zhou R, Xie X, Wang J, Ma B, Hao X. Why do children with autism spectrum disorder have abnormal visual perception? Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1087122. [PMID: 37255685 PMCID: PMC10225551 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1087122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with severe impairment in social functioning. Visual information processing provides nonverbal cues that support social interactions. ASD children exhibit abnormalities in visual orientation, continuous visual exploration, and visual-spatial perception, causing social dysfunction, and mechanisms underlying these abnormalities remain unclear. Transmission of visual information depends on the retina-lateral geniculate nucleus-visual cortex pathway. In ASD, developmental abnormalities occur in rapid expansion of the visual cortex surface area with constant thickness during early life, causing abnormal transmission of the peak of the visual evoked potential (P100). We hypothesized that abnormal visual perception in ASD are related to the abnormal visual information transmission and abnormal development of visual cortex in early life, what's more, explored the mechanisms of abnormal visual symptoms to provide suggestions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rongyi Zhou
- Department of Pediatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Xinyue Xie
- Department of Pediatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Jiaojiao Wang
- Henan Provincial People's Hospital, Henan Institute of Ophthalmology, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Bingxiang Ma
- Department of Pediatrics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Xin Hao
- Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
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6
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Horrocks EAB, Mareschal I, Saleem AB. Walking humans and running mice: perception and neural encoding of optic flow during self-motion. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20210450. [PMID: 36511417 PMCID: PMC9745880 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0450] [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] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Locomotion produces full-field optic flow that often dominates the visual motion inputs to an observer. The perception of optic flow is in turn important for animals to guide their heading and interact with moving objects. Understanding how locomotion influences optic flow processing and perception is therefore essential to understand how animals successfully interact with their environment. Here, we review research investigating how perception and neural encoding of optic flow are altered during self-motion, focusing on locomotion. Self-motion has been found to influence estimation and sensitivity for optic flow speed and direction. Nonvisual self-motion signals also increase compensation for self-driven optic flow when parsing the visual motion of moving objects. The integration of visual and nonvisual self-motion signals largely follows principles of Bayesian inference and can improve the precision and accuracy of self-motion perception. The calibration of visual and nonvisual self-motion signals is dynamic, reflecting the changing visuomotor contingencies across different environmental contexts. Throughout this review, we consider experimental research using humans, non-human primates and mice. We highlight experimental challenges and opportunities afforded by each of these species and draw parallels between experimental findings. These findings reveal a profound influence of locomotion on optic flow processing and perception across species. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'New approaches to 3D vision'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward A. B. Horrocks
- Institute of Behavioural Neuroscience, Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London WC1H 0AP, UK
| | - Isabelle Mareschal
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary, University of London, London E1 4NS, UK
| | - Aman B. Saleem
- Institute of Behavioural Neuroscience, Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London WC1H 0AP, UK
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7
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Tohmi M, Cang J. Rapid development of motion-streak coding in the mouse visual cortex. iScience 2022; 26:105778. [PMID: 36594036 PMCID: PMC9804142 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105778] [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: 01/06/2022] [Revised: 05/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite its importance, the development of higher visual areas (HVAs) at the cellular resolution remains largely unknown. Here, we conducted 2-photon calcium imaging of mouse HVAs lateromedial (LM) and anterolateral (AL) and V1 to observe developmental changes in visual response properties. HVA neurons showed selectivity for orientations and directions similar to V1 neurons at eye opening, which became sharper in the following weeks. Neurons in all areas over all developmental stages tended to respond selectively to dots moving along an axis perpendicular to their preferred orientation at slow speeds, suggesting a certain level of conventional motion coding already at eye opening. In contrast, at high speeds, many neurons responded to dots moving along the axis parallel to the preferred orientation in older animals but rarely after eye opening, indicating a lack of motion-streak coding in the earlier stage. Together, our results uncover the development of visual properties in HVAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manavu Tohmi
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA,Corresponding author
| | - Jianhua Cang
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA,Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
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8
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Modular strategy for development of the hierarchical visual network in mice. Nature 2022; 608:578-585. [PMID: 35922512 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05045-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Hierarchical and parallel networks are fundamental structures of the mammalian brain1-8. During development, lower- and higher-order thalamic nuclei and many cortical areas in the visual system form interareal connections and build hierarchical dorsal and ventral streams9-13. One hypothesis for the development of visual network wiring involves a sequential strategy wherein neural connections are sequentially formed alongside hierarchical structures from lower to higher areas14-17. However, this sequential strategy would be inefficient for building the entire visual network comprising numerous interareal connections. We show that neural pathways from the mouse retina to primary visual cortex (V1) or dorsal/ventral higher visual areas (HVAs) through lower- or higher-order thalamic nuclei form as parallel modules before corticocortical connections. Subsequently, corticocortical connections among V1 and HVAs emerge to combine these modules. Retina-derived activity propagating the initial parallel modules is necessary to establish retinotopic inter-module connections. Thus, the visual network develops in a modular manner involving initial establishment of parallel modules and their subsequent concatenation. Findings in this study raise the possibility that parallel modules from higher-order thalamic nuclei to HVAs act as templates for cortical ventral and dorsal streams and suggest that the brain has an efficient strategy for the development of a hierarchical network comprising numerous areas.
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9
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López-Bendito G, Aníbal-Martínez M, Martini FJ. Cross-Modal Plasticity in Brains Deprived of Visual Input Before Vision. Annu Rev Neurosci 2022; 45:471-489. [PMID: 35803589 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-neuro-111020-104222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Unimodal sensory loss leads to structural and functional changes in both deprived and nondeprived brain circuits. This process is broadly known as cross-modal plasticity. The evidence available indicates that cross-modal changes underlie the enhanced performances of the spared sensory modalities in deprived subjects. Sensory experience is a fundamental driver of cross-modal plasticity, yet there is evidence from early-visually deprived models supporting an additional role for experience-independent factors. These experience-independent factors are expected to act early in development and constrain neuronal plasticity at later stages. Here we review the cross-modal adaptations elicited by congenital or induced visual deprivation prior to vision. In most of these studies, cross-modal adaptations have been addressed at the structural and functional levels. Here, we also appraise recent data regarding behavioral performance in early-visually deprived models. However, further research is needed to explore how circuit reorganization affects their function and what brings about enhanced behavioral performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillermina López-Bendito
- Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UMH-CSIC), Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain; ,
| | - Mar Aníbal-Martínez
- Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UMH-CSIC), Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain; ,
| | - Francisco J Martini
- Instituto de Neurociencias de Alicante, Universidad Miguel Hernández-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (UMH-CSIC), Sant Joan d'Alacant, Spain; ,
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10
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Diversity of spatiotemporal coding reveals specialized visual processing streams in the mouse cortex. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3249. [PMID: 35668056 PMCID: PMC9170684 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29656-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The cerebral cortex contains diverse neural representations of the visual scene, each enabling distinct visual and spatial abilities. However, the extent to which representations are distributed or segregated across cortical areas remains poorly understood. By determining the spatial and temporal responses of >30,000 layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons, we characterize the functional organization of parallel visual streams across eight areas of the mouse cortex. While dorsal and ventral areas form complementary representations of spatiotemporal frequency, motion speed, and spatial patterns, the anterior and posterior dorsal areas show distinct specializations for fast and slow oriented contrasts. At the cellular level, while diverse spatiotemporal tuning lies along a continuum, oriented and non-oriented spatial patterns are encoded by distinct tuning types. The identified tuning types are present across dorsal and ventral streams. The data underscore the highly specific and highly distributed nature of visual cortical representations, which drives specialization of cortical areas and streams. The cerebral cortex contains different neural representations of the visual scene. Here, the authors show diverse and stereotyped tuning composing specialized representations in the dorsal and ventral areas of the mouse visual cortex, suggesting parallel processing channels and streams.
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11
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Yu Y, Stirman JN, Dorsett CR, Smith SL. Selective representations of texture and motion in mouse higher visual areas. Curr Biol 2022; 32:2810-2820.e5. [PMID: 35609609 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.04.091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2021] [Revised: 03/22/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The mouse visual cortex contains interconnected higher visual areas, but their functional specializations are unclear. Here, we used a data-driven approach to examine the representations of complex visual stimuli by L2/3 neurons across mouse higher visual areas, measured using large-field-of-view two-photon calcium imaging. Using specialized stimuli, we found higher fidelity representations of texture in area LM, compared to area AL. Complementarily, we found higher fidelity representations of motion in area AL, compared to area LM. We also observed this segregation of information in response to naturalistic videos. Finally, we explored how receptive field models of visual cortical neurons could produce the segregated representations of texture and motion we observed. These selective representations could aid in behaviors such as visually guided navigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiyi Yu
- Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Center for BioEngineering, Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Jeffrey N Stirman
- Neuroscience Research Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Christopher R Dorsett
- Neuroscience Research Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Spencer L Smith
- Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Center for BioEngineering, Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA.
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12
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Sedigh-Sarvestani M, Fitzpatrick D. What and Where: Location-Dependent Feature Sensitivity as a Canonical Organizing Principle of the Visual System. Front Neural Circuits 2022; 16:834876. [PMID: 35498372 PMCID: PMC9039279 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2022.834876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Traditionally, functional representations in early visual areas are conceived as retinotopic maps preserving ego-centric spatial location information while ensuring that other stimulus features are uniformly represented for all locations in space. Recent results challenge this framework of relatively independent encoding of location and features in the early visual system, emphasizing location-dependent feature sensitivities that reflect specialization of cortical circuits for different locations in visual space. Here we review the evidence for such location-specific encoding including: (1) systematic variation of functional properties within conventional retinotopic maps in the cortex; (2) novel periodic retinotopic transforms that dramatically illustrate the tight linkage of feature sensitivity, spatial location, and cortical circuitry; and (3) retinotopic biases in cortical areas, and groups of areas, that have been defined by their functional specializations. We propose that location-dependent feature sensitivity is a fundamental organizing principle of the visual system that achieves efficient representation of positional regularities in visual experience, and reflects the evolutionary selection of sensory and motor circuits to optimally represent behaviorally relevant information. Future studies are necessary to discover mechanisms underlying joint encoding of location and functional information, how this relates to behavior, emerges during development, and varies across species.
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13
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Unilateral resection of both cortical visual pathways in a pediatric patient alters action but not perception. Neuropsychologia 2022; 168:108182. [PMID: 35182580 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108182] [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: 05/07/2021] [Revised: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The human cortical visual system consists of two major pathways, a ventral pathway that subserves perception and a dorsal pathway that primarily subserves visuomotor control. Previous studies have found that children with cortical resections of the ventral visual pathway retain largely normal visuoperceptual abilities. Whether visually guided actions, supported by computations carried out by the dorsal pathway, follow a similar pattern of preservation remains unknown. To address this question, we examined visuoperceptual and visuomotor behaviors in a pediatric patient, TC, who underwent a cortical resection that included portions of the left ventral and dorsal pathways. We collected kinematic data when TC used her right and left hands to perceptually estimate the width of blocks that varied in width and length, and, separately, to grasp the same blocks. TC's perceptual estimation performance was comparable to that of controls, independent of the hand used. In contrast, relative to controls, she showed reduced visuomotor sensitivity to object shape and this was more evident when she grasped the objects with her contralesional right hand. These results provide novel evidence for a striking difference in the competence of the two visual pathways to cortical injuries acquired in childhood.
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14
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Optimizing intact skull intrinsic signal imaging for subsequent targeted electrophysiology across mouse visual cortex. Sci Rep 2022; 12:2063. [PMID: 35136111 PMCID: PMC8826313 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05932-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding brain function requires repeatable measurements of neural activity across multiple scales and multiple brain areas. In mice, large scale cortical neural activity evokes hemodynamic changes readily observable with intrinsic signal imaging (ISI). Pairing ISI with visual stimulation allows identification of primary visual cortex (V1) and higher visual areas (HVAs), typically through cranial windows that thin or remove the skull. These procedures can diminish long-term mechanical and physiological stability required for delicate electrophysiological measurements made weeks to months after imaging (e.g., in subjects undergoing behavioral training). Here, we optimized and directly validated an intact skull ISI system in mice. We first assessed how imaging quality and duration affect reliability of retinotopic maps in V1 and HVAs. We then verified ISI map retinotopy in V1 and HVAs with targeted, multi-site electrophysiology several weeks after imaging. Reliable ISI maps of V1 and multiple HVAs emerged with ~ 60 trials of imaging (65 ± 6 min), and these showed strong correlation to local field potential (LFP) retinotopy in superficial cortical layers (r2 = 0.74–0.82). This system is thus well-suited for targeted, multi-area electrophysiology weeks to months after imaging. We provide detailed instructions and code for other researchers to implement this system.
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15
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Spiteri S, Crewther D. Neural Mechanisms of Visual Motion Anomalies in Autism: A Two-Decade Update and Novel Aetiology. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:756841. [PMID: 34790092 PMCID: PMC8591069 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.756841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The 21st century has seen dramatic changes in our understanding of the visual physio-perceptual anomalies of autism and also in the structure and development of the primate visual system. This review covers the past 20 years of research into motion perceptual/dorsal stream anomalies in autism, as well as new understanding of the development of primate vision. The convergence of this literature allows a novel developmental hypothesis to explain the physiological and perceptual differences of the broad autistic spectrum. Central to these observations is the development of motion areas MT+, the seat of the dorsal cortical stream, central area of pre-attentional processing as well as being an anchor of binocular vision for 3D action. Such development normally occurs via a transfer of thalamic drive from the inferior pulvinar → MT to the anatomically stronger but later-developing LGN → V1 → MT connection. We propose that autistic variation arises from a slowing in the normal developmental attenuation of the pulvinar → MT pathway. We suggest that this is caused by a hyperactive amygdala → thalamic reticular nucleus circuit increasing activity in the PIm → MT via response gain modulation of the pulvinar and hence altering synaptic competition in area MT. We explore the probable timing of transfer in dominance of human MT from pulvinar to LGN/V1 driving circuitry and discuss the implications of the main hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Spiteri
- Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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16
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Rasmussen RN, Matsumoto A, Arvin S, Yonehara K. Binocular integration of retinal motion information underlies optic flow processing by the cortex. Curr Biol 2021; 31:1165-1174.e6. [PMID: 33484637 PMCID: PMC7987724 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.12.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Revised: 12/10/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Locomotion creates various patterns of optic flow on the retina, which provide the observer with information about their movement relative to the environment. However, it is unclear how these optic flow patterns are encoded by the cortex. Here, we use two-photon calcium imaging in awake mice to systematically map monocular and binocular responses to horizontal motion in four areas of the visual cortex. We find that neurons selective to translational or rotational optic flow are abundant in higher visual areas, whereas neurons suppressed by binocular motion are more common in the primary visual cortex. Disruption of retinal direction selectivity in Frmd7 mutant mice reduces the number of translation-selective neurons in the primary visual cortex and translation- and rotation-selective neurons as well as binocular direction-selective neurons in the rostrolateral and anterior visual cortex, blurring the functional distinction between primary and higher visual areas. Thus, optic flow representations in specific areas of the visual cortex rely on binocular integration of motion information from the retina. Translation- and rotation-selective neurons are abundant in higher visual areas Optic-flow-selective neurons in V1 and RL/A rely on retinal direction selectivity Retinal direction selectivity controls functional segregation between V1 and RL/A Binocular integration of retinal motion information underlies optic flow selectivity
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Affiliation(s)
- Rune Nguyen Rasmussen
- Danish Research Institute of Translational Neuroscience - DANDRITE, Nordic-EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine, Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Ole Worms Allé 8, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Akihiro Matsumoto
- Danish Research Institute of Translational Neuroscience - DANDRITE, Nordic-EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine, Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Ole Worms Allé 8, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Simon Arvin
- Danish Research Institute of Translational Neuroscience - DANDRITE, Nordic-EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine, Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Ole Worms Allé 8, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Keisuke Yonehara
- Danish Research Institute of Translational Neuroscience - DANDRITE, Nordic-EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine, Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Ole Worms Allé 8, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
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17
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Salinas KJ, Huh CYL, Zeitoun JH, Gandhi SP. Functional Differentiation of Mouse Visual Cortical Areas Depends upon Early Binocular Experience. J Neurosci 2021; 41:1470-1488. [PMID: 33376158 PMCID: PMC7896022 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0548-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2020] [Revised: 12/15/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The mammalian visual cortex contains multiple retinotopically defined areas that process distinct features of the visual scene. Little is known about what guides the functional differentiation of visual cortical areas during development. Recent studies in mice have revealed that visual input from the two eyes provides spatiotemporally distinct signals to primary visual cortex (V1), such that contralateral eye-dominated V1 neurons respond to higher spatial frequencies than ipsilateral eye-dominated neurons. To test whether binocular visual input drives the differentiation of visual cortical areas, we used two-photon calcium imaging to characterize the effects of juvenile monocular deprivation (MD) on the responses of neurons in V1 and two higher visual areas, LM (lateromedial) and PM (posteromedial). In adult mice of either sex, we find that MD prevents the emergence of distinct spatiotemporal tuning in V1, LM, and PM. We also find that, within each of these areas, MD reorganizes the distinct spatiotemporal tuning properties driven by the two eyes. Moreover, we find a relationship between speed tuning and ocular dominance in all three areas that MD preferentially disrupts in V1, but not in LM or PM. Together, these results reveal that balanced binocular vision during development is essential for driving the functional differentiation of visual cortical areas. The higher visual areas of mouse visual cortex may provide a useful platform for investigating the experience-dependent mechanisms that set up the specialized processing within neocortical areas during postnatal development.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Little is known about the factors guiding the emergence of functionally distinct areas in the brain. Using in vivo Ca2+ imaging, we recorded visually evoked activity from cells in V1 and higher visual areas LM (lateromedial) and PM (posteromedial) of mice. Neurons in these areas normally display distinct spatiotemporal tuning properties. We found that depriving one eye of normal input during development prevents the functional differentiation of visual areas. Deprivation did not disrupt the degree of speed tuning, a property thought to emerge in higher visual areas. Thus, some properties of visual cortical neurons are shaped by binocular experience, while others are resistant. Our study uncovers the fundamental role of binocular experience in the formation of distinct areas in visual cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirstie J Salinas
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697
| | - Carey Y L Huh
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697
| | - Jack H Zeitoun
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697
| | - Sunil P Gandhi
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697
- Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, California 92697
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18
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Kumar MG, Hu M, Ramanujan A, Sur M, Murthy HA. Functional parcellation of mouse visual cortex using statistical techniques reveals response-dependent clustering of cortical processing areas. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1008548. [PMID: 33539361 PMCID: PMC7888605 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2020] [Revised: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The visual cortex of the mouse brain can be divided into ten or more areas that each contain complete or partial retinotopic maps of the contralateral visual field. It is generally assumed that these areas represent discrete processing regions. In contrast to the conventional input-output characterizations of neuronal responses to standard visual stimuli, here we asked whether six of the core visual areas have responses that are functionally distinct from each other for a given visual stimulus set, by applying machine learning techniques to distinguish the areas based on their activity patterns. Visual areas defined by retinotopic mapping were examined using supervised classifiers applied to responses elicited by a range of stimuli. Using two distinct datasets obtained using wide-field and two-photon imaging, we show that the area labels predicted by the classifiers were highly consistent with the labels obtained using retinotopy. Furthermore, the classifiers were able to model the boundaries of visual areas using resting state cortical responses obtained without any overt stimulus, in both datasets. With the wide-field dataset, clustering neuronal responses using a constrained semi-supervised classifier showed graceful degradation of accuracy. The results suggest that responses from visual cortical areas can be classified effectively using data-driven models. These responses likely reflect unique circuits within each area that give rise to activity with stronger intra-areal than inter-areal correlations, and their responses to controlled visual stimuli across trials drive higher areal classification accuracy than resting state responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mari Ganesh Kumar
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Ming Hu
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Aadhirai Ramanujan
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Mriganka Sur
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Hema A Murthy
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
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19
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Siegle JH, Jia X, Durand S, Gale S, Bennett C, Graddis N, Heller G, Ramirez TK, Choi H, Luviano JA, Groblewski PA, Ahmed R, Arkhipov A, Bernard A, Billeh YN, Brown D, Buice MA, Cain N, Caldejon S, Casal L, Cho A, Chvilicek M, Cox TC, Dai K, Denman DJ, de Vries SEJ, Dietzman R, Esposito L, Farrell C, Feng D, Galbraith J, Garrett M, Gelfand EC, Hancock N, Harris JA, Howard R, Hu B, Hytnen R, Iyer R, Jessett E, Johnson K, Kato I, Kiggins J, Lambert S, Lecoq J, Ledochowitsch P, Lee JH, Leon A, Li Y, Liang E, Long F, Mace K, Melchior J, Millman D, Mollenkopf T, Nayan C, Ng L, Ngo K, Nguyen T, Nicovich PR, North K, Ocker GK, Ollerenshaw D, Oliver M, Pachitariu M, Perkins J, Reding M, Reid D, Robertson M, Ronellenfitch K, Seid S, Slaughterbeck C, Stoecklin M, Sullivan D, Sutton B, Swapp J, Thompson C, Turner K, Wakeman W, Whitesell JD, Williams D, Williford A, Young R, Zeng H, Naylor S, Phillips JW, Reid RC, Mihalas S, Olsen SR, Koch C. Survey of spiking in the mouse visual system reveals functional hierarchy. Nature 2021; 592:86-92. [PMID: 33473216 PMCID: PMC10399640 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-03171-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 178] [Impact Index Per Article: 59.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2019] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The anatomy of the mammalian visual system, from the retina to the neocortex, is organized hierarchically1. However, direct observation of cellular-level functional interactions across this hierarchy is lacking due to the challenge of simultaneously recording activity across numerous regions. Here we describe a large, open dataset-part of the Allen Brain Observatory2-that surveys spiking from tens of thousands of units in six cortical and two thalamic regions in the brains of mice responding to a battery of visual stimuli. Using cross-correlation analysis, we reveal that the organization of inter-area functional connectivity during visual stimulation mirrors the anatomical hierarchy from the Allen Mouse Brain Connectivity Atlas3. We find that four classical hierarchical measures-response latency, receptive-field size, phase-locking to drifting gratings and response decay timescale-are all correlated with the hierarchy. Moreover, recordings obtained during a visual task reveal that the correlation between neural activity and behavioural choice also increases along the hierarchy. Our study provides a foundation for understanding coding and signal propagation across hierarchically organized cortical and thalamic visual areas.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Xiaoxuan Jia
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA.
| | | | - Sam Gale
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Nile Graddis
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | | | - Hannah Choi
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA.,Department of Applied Mathematics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Amy Bernard
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Dillan Brown
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Nicolas Cain
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Linzy Casal
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Andrew Cho
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Timothy C Cox
- University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry, Kansas City, MO, USA
| | - Kael Dai
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Daniel J Denman
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA.,The University of Colorado Denver, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - David Feng
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Brian Hu
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Ross Hytnen
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | | | | | - India Kato
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | | | - Jerome Lecoq
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | | | - Arielle Leon
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Yang Li
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Fuhui Long
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Kyla Mace
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Lydia Ng
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Kiet Ngo
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | | | - Kat North
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | - Jed Perkins
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - David Reid
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | | | - Sam Seid
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Ben Sutton
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Jackie Swapp
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Rob Young
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Hongkui Zeng
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Sarah Naylor
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - R Clay Reid
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Shawn R Olsen
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA.
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20
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Tohmi M, Tanabe S, Cang J. Motion Streak Neurons in the Mouse Visual Cortex. Cell Rep 2021; 34:108617. [PMID: 33440151 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.108617] [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: 08/31/2020] [Revised: 10/22/2020] [Accepted: 12/17/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Motion streaks are smeared representation of fast-moving objects due to temporal integration. Here, we test for motion streak signals in mice with two-photon calcium imaging. For small dots moving at low speeds, neurons in primary visual cortex (V1) encode the component motion, with preferred direction along the axis perpendicular to their preferred orientation. At high speeds, V1 neurons prefer the direction along the axis parallel to their preferred orientation, as expected for encoding motion streaks. Whereas some V1 neurons (∼20%) display a switch of preferred motion axis with increasing speed, others (>40%) respond specifically to high speeds at the parallel axis. Motion streak neurons are also seen in higher visual lateromedial (LM), anterolateral (AL), and rostrolateral (RL) areas, but with higher transition speeds, and many still prefer the perpendicular axis even with fast motion. Our results thus indicate that diverse motion encoding exists in mouse visual cortex, with intriguing differences among visual areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manavu Tohmi
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA.
| | - Seiji Tanabe
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
| | - Jianhua Cang
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
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21
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Townsend LB, Jones KA, Dorsett CR, Philpot BD, Smith SL. Deficits in higher visual area representations in a mouse model of Angelman syndrome. J Neurodev Disord 2020; 12:28. [PMID: 33076843 PMCID: PMC7574469 DOI: 10.1186/s11689-020-09329-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2020] [Accepted: 09/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Sensory processing deficits are common in individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. One hypothesis is that deficits may be more detectable in downstream, “higher” sensory areas. A mouse model of Angelman syndrome (AS), which lacks expression of the maternally inherited Ube3a allele, has deficits in synaptic function and experience-dependent plasticity in the primary visual cortex. Thus, we hypothesized that AS model mice have deficits in visually driven neuronal responsiveness in downstream higher visual areas (HVAs). Methods Here, we used intrinsic signal optical imaging and two-photon calcium imaging to map visually evoked neuronal activity in the primary visual cortex and HVAs in response to an array of stimuli. Results We found a highly specific deficit in HVAs. Drifting gratings that changed speed caused a strong response in HVAs in wildtype mice, but this was not observed in littermate AS model mice. Further investigation with two-photon calcium imaging revealed the effect to be largely driven by aberrant responses of inhibitory interneurons, suggesting a cellular basis for higher level, stimulus-selective cortical dysfunction in AS. Conclusion Assaying downstream, or “higher” circuitry may provide a more sensitive measure for circuit dysfunction in mouse models of neurodevelopmental disorders. Trial registration Not applicable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leah B Townsend
- Neuroscience Curriculum, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Kelly A Jones
- Neuroscience Curriculum, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.,Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Christopher R Dorsett
- Neuroscience Curriculum, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Benjamin D Philpot
- Neuroscience Curriculum, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.,Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.,Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.,Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Spencer L Smith
- Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Neuroscience Research Institute, Center for BioEngineering, University of California Santa Barbara, 2002 BioEngineering Building; Mail code 5100, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106-5100, USA.
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22
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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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23
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Park WJ, Fine I. New insights into cortical development and plasticity: from molecules to behavior. CURRENT OPINION IN PHYSIOLOGY 2020; 16:50-60. [PMID: 32923755 PMCID: PMC7480792 DOI: 10.1016/j.cophys.2020.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The human brain contains 100 billion neurons, and each neuron can have up to 200,000 connections to other neurons. Recent advancements in neuroscience-ranging from molecular studies in animal models to behavioral studies in humans-have given us deeper insights into the development of this extraordinarily intricate system. Studies show a complex interaction between biological predispositions and environment; while the gross neuroanatomy and low-level functions develop early prior to receiving environmental inputs, functional selectivity is shaped through experience, governed by the maturation of local excitatory and inhibitory circuits and synaptic plasticity during sensitive periods early in development. Plasticity does not end with the closing of the early sensitive period - the environment continues to play an important role in learning throughout the lifespan. Recent work delineating the cascade of events that initiates, controls and ends sensitive periods, offers new hope of eventually being able to remediate various clinical conditions by selectively reopening plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Woon Ju Park
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
| | - Ione Fine
- Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
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24
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Laliberté G, Othman R, Vaucher E. Mesoscopic Mapping of Stimulus-Selective Response Plasticity in the Visual Pathways Modulated by the Cholinergic System. Front Neural Circuits 2020; 14:38. [PMID: 32719589 PMCID: PMC7350895 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2020.00038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2020] [Accepted: 05/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The cholinergic potentiation of visual conditioning enhances visual acuity and discrimination of the trained stimulus. To determine if this also induces long-term plastic changes on cortical maps and connectivity in the visual cortex and higher associative areas, mesoscopic calcium imaging was performed in head-fixed awake GCaMP6s adult mice before and after conditioning. The conditioned stimulus (0.03 cpd, 30°, 100% contrast, 1 Hz-drifting gratings) was presented 10 min daily for a week. Saline or Donepezil (DPZ, 0.3 mg/kg, s.c.), a cholinesterase inhibitor that potentiates cholinergic transmission, were injected prior to each conditioning session and compared to a sham-conditioned group. Cortical maps of resting state and evoked response to the monocular presentation of conditioned or non-conditioned stimulus (30°, 50 and 75% contrast; 90°, 50, 75, and 100% contrast) were established. Amplitude, duration, and latency of the peak response, as well as size of activation were measured in the primary visual cortex (V1), secondary visual areas (AL, A, AM, PM, LM, RL), retrosplenial cortex (RSC), and higher cortical areas. Visual stimulation increased calcium signaling in all primary and secondary visual areas, the RSC, but no other cortices. There were no significant effects of sham-conditioning or conditioning alone, but DPZ treatment during conditioning significantly decreased the integrated neuronal activity of superficial layers evoked by the conditioned stimulus in V1, AL, PM, and LM. The activity of downstream cortical areas was not changed. The size of the activated area was decreased in V1 and PM, and the signal-to-noise ratio was decreased in AL and PM. Interestingly, signal correlation was seen only between V1, the ventral visual pathway, and the RSC, and was decreased by DPZ administration. The resting state activity was slightly correlated and rarely affected by treatments, except between binocular and monocular V1 in both hemispheres. In conclusion, cholinergic potentiation of visual conditioning induced change in visual processing in the superficial cortical layers. This effect might be a key mechanism in the establishment of the fine cortical tuning in response to the conditioned visual stimulus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillaume Laliberté
- Laboratoire de Neurobiologie de la Cognition Visuelle, École d'Optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Rahmeh Othman
- Laboratoire de Neurobiologie de la Cognition Visuelle, École d'Optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.,Départment de Pharmacologie et Physiologie, Faculté de Médecine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Elvire Vaucher
- Laboratoire de Neurobiologie de la Cognition Visuelle, École d'Optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
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25
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Distributed and retinotopically asymmetric processing of coherent motion in mouse visual cortex. Nat Commun 2020; 11:3565. [PMID: 32678087 PMCID: PMC7366664 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17283-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2019] [Accepted: 06/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Perception of visual motion is important for a range of ethological behaviors in mammals. In primates, specific visual cortical regions are specialized for processing of coherent visual motion. However, whether mouse visual cortex has a similar organization remains unclear, despite powerful genetic tools available for measuring population neural activity. Here, we use widefield and 2-photon calcium imaging of transgenic mice to measure mesoscale and cellular responses to coherent motion. Imaging of primary visual cortex (V1) and higher visual areas (HVAs) during presentation of natural movies and random dot kinematograms (RDKs) reveals varied responsiveness to coherent motion, with stronger responses in dorsal stream areas compared to ventral stream areas. Moreover, there is considerable anisotropy within visual areas, such that neurons representing the lower visual field are more responsive to coherent motion. These results indicate that processing of visual motion in mouse cortex is distributed heterogeneously both across and within visual areas.
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Sato TK. Long-range connections enrich cortical computations. Neurosci Res 2020; 162:1-12. [PMID: 32470355 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2020.05.004] [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: 03/25/2020] [Revised: 04/28/2020] [Accepted: 05/15/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
The cerebral cortex can perform powerful computations, including those involved in higher cognitive functions. Cortical processing for such computations is executed by local circuits and is further enriched by long-range connectivity. This connectivity is activated under specific conditions and modulates local processing, providing flexibility in the computational performance of the cortex. For instance, long-range connectivity in the primary visual cortex exerts facilitatory impacts when the cortex is silent but suppressive impacts when the cortex is strongly sensory-stimulated. These dual impacts can be captured by a divisive gain control model. Recent methodological advances such as optogenetics, anatomical tracing, and two-photon microscopy have enabled neuroscientists to probe the circuit and synaptic bases of long-range connectivity in detail. Here, I review a series of evidence indicating essential roles of long-range connectivity in visual and hierarchical processing involving numerous cortical areas. I also describe an overview of the challenges encountered in investigating underlying synaptic mechanisms and highlight recent technical approaches that may overcome these difficulties and provide new insights into synaptic mechanisms for cortical processing involving long-range connectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatsuo K Sato
- Dept. of Physiology, Neuroscience Program, Biomedicine Discovery Inst., Monash University, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia; PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Saitama 332-0012, Japan.
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Saleem AB. Two stream hypothesis of visual processing for navigation in mouse. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2020; 64:70-78. [PMID: 32294570 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2020.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2019] [Revised: 03/17/2020] [Accepted: 03/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Vision research has traditionally been studied in stationary subjects observing stimuli, and rarely during navigation. Recent research using virtual reality environments for mice has revealed that responses even in the primary visual cortex are modulated by spatial context - identical scenes presented in different positions of a room can elicit different responses. Here, we review these results and discuss how information from visual areas can reach navigational areas of the brain. Based on the observation that mouse higher visual areas cover different parts of the visual field, we propose that spatial signals are processed along two-streams based on visual field coverage. Specifically, this hypothesis suggests that landmark related signals are processed by areas biased to the central field, and self-motion related signals are processed by areas biased to the peripheral field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aman B Saleem
- UCL Institute of Behavioural Neurosciences, Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, WC1H 0AP, UK.
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Rasmussen R, Matsumoto A, Dahlstrup Sietam M, Yonehara K. A segregated cortical stream for retinal direction selectivity. Nat Commun 2020; 11:831. [PMID: 32047156 PMCID: PMC7012930 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14643-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2019] [Accepted: 01/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual features extracted by retinal circuits are streamed into higher visual areas (HVAs) after being processed along the visual hierarchy. However, how specialized neuronal representations of HVAs are built, based on retinal output channels, remained unclear. Here, we addressed this question by determining the effects of genetically disrupting retinal direction selectivity on motion-evoked responses in visual stages from the retina to HVAs in mice. Direction-selective (DS) cells in the rostrolateral (RL) area that prefer higher temporal frequencies, and that change direction tuning bias as the temporal frequency of a stimulus increases, are selectively reduced upon retinal manipulation. DS cells in the primary visual cortex projecting to area RL, but not to the posteromedial area, were similarly affected. Therefore, the specific connectivity of cortico-cortical projection neurons routes feedforward signaling originating from retinal DS cells preferentially to area RL. We thus identify a cortical processing stream for motion computed in the retina. Visual features are streamed into higher visual areas (HVAs), but how representations in HVAs are built, based on retinal output channels, is unknown. Here, the authors show that specific connectivity of cortical neurons routes retina-originated direction-selective signaling into distinct HVAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rune Rasmussen
- Danish Research Institute of Translational Neuroscience-DANDRITE, Nordic-EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine, Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Akihiro Matsumoto
- Danish Research Institute of Translational Neuroscience-DANDRITE, Nordic-EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine, Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Monica Dahlstrup Sietam
- Danish Research Institute of Translational Neuroscience-DANDRITE, Nordic-EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine, Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Keisuke Yonehara
- Danish Research Institute of Translational Neuroscience-DANDRITE, Nordic-EMBL Partnership for Molecular Medicine, Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, 8000, Aarhus C, Denmark.
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Unique Spatial Integration in Mouse Primary Visual Cortex and Higher Visual Areas. J Neurosci 2020; 40:1862-1873. [PMID: 31949109 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1997-19.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2019] [Revised: 01/07/2020] [Accepted: 01/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Neurons in the visual system integrate over a wide range of spatial scales. This diversity is thought to enable both local and global computations. To understand how spatial information is encoded across the mouse visual system, we use two-photon imaging to measure receptive fields (RFs) and size-tuning in primary visual cortex (V1) and three downstream higher visual areas (HVAs: LM (lateromedial), AL (anterolateral), and PM (posteromedial)) in mice of both sexes. Neurons in PM, compared with V1 or the other HVAs, have significantly larger RF sizes and less surround suppression, independent of stimulus eccentricity or contrast. To understand how this specialization of RFs arises in the HVAs, we measured the spatial properties of V1 inputs to each area. Spatial integration of V1 axons was remarkably similar across areas and significantly different from the tuning of neurons in their target HVAs. Thus, unlike other visual features studied in this system, specialization of spatial integration in PM cannot be explained by specific projections from V1 to the HVAs. Further, the differences in RF properties could not be explained by differences in convergence of V1 inputs to the HVAs. Instead, our data suggest that distinct inputs from other areas or connectivity within PM may support the area's unique ability to encode global features of the visual scene, whereas V1, LM, and AL may be more specialized for processing local features.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Surround suppression is a common feature of visual processing whereby large stimuli are less effective at driving neuronal responses than smaller stimuli. This is thought to enhance efficiency in the population code and enable higher-order processing of visual information, such as figure-ground segregation. However, this comes at the expense of global computations. Here we find that surround suppression is not equally represented across mouse visual areas: primary visual cortex has substantially more surround suppression than higher visual areas, and one higher area has significantly less suppression than two others examined, suggesting that these areas have distinct functional roles. Thus, we have identified a novel dimension of specialization in the mouse visual cortex that may enable both local and global computations.
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La Chioma A, Bonhoeffer T, Hübener M. Area-Specific Mapping of Binocular Disparity across Mouse Visual Cortex. Curr Biol 2019; 29:2954-2960.e5. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.07.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2019] [Revised: 07/05/2019] [Accepted: 07/11/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Nonlinear Processing of Shape Information in Rat Lateral Extrastriate Cortex. J Neurosci 2019; 39:1649-1670. [PMID: 30617210 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1938-18.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2018] [Revised: 11/28/2018] [Accepted: 12/02/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
In rodents, the progression of extrastriate areas located laterally to primary visual cortex (V1) has been assigned to a putative object-processing pathway (homologous to the primate ventral stream), based on anatomical considerations. Recently, we found functional support for such attribution (Tafazoli et al., 2017), by showing that this cortical progression is specialized for coding object identity despite view changes, the hallmark property of a ventral-like pathway. Here, we sought to clarify what computations are at the base of such specialization. To this aim, we performed multielectrode recordings from V1 and laterolateral area LL (at the apex of the putative ventral-like hierarchy) of male adult rats, during the presentation of drifting gratings and noise movies. We found that the extent to which neuronal responses were entrained to the phase of the gratings sharply dropped from V1 to LL, along with the quality of the receptive fields inferred through reverse correlation. Concomitantly, the tendency of neurons to respond to different oriented gratings increased, whereas the sharpness of orientation tuning declined. Critically, these trends are consistent with the nonlinear summation of visual inputs that is expected to take place along the ventral stream, according to the predictions of hierarchical models of ventral computations and a meta-analysis of the monkey literature. This suggests an intriguing homology between the mechanisms responsible for building up shape selectivity and transformation tolerance in the visual cortex of primates and rodents, reasserting the potential of the latter as models to investigate ventral stream functions at the circuitry level.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Despite the growing popularity of rodents as models of visual functions, it remains unclear whether their visual cortex contains specialized modules for processing shape information. To addresses this question, we compared how neuronal tuning evolves from rat primary visual cortex (V1) to a downstream visual cortical region (area LL) that previous work has implicated in shape processing. In our experiments, LL neurons displayed a stronger tendency to respond to drifting gratings with different orientations while maintaining a sustained response across the whole duration of the drift cycle. These trends match the increased complexity of pattern selectivity and the augmented tolerance to stimulus translation found in monkey visual temporal cortex, thus revealing a homology between shape processing in rodents and primates.
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Abstract
The visual cortex of mice is a useful model for investigating the mammalian visual system. In primates, higher visual areas are classified into two parts, the dorsal stream (“where” pathway) and ventral stream (“what” pathway). The ventral stream is known to include a part of the temporal cortex. In mice, however, some cortical areas adjacent to the primary visual area (V1) in the occipital cortex are thought to be comparable to the ventral stream in primates, although the whole picture of the mouse ventral stream has never been elucidated. We performed wide-field Ca2+ imaging in awake mice to investigate visual responses in the mouse temporal cortex, and found that the postrhinal cortex (POR), posterior to the auditory cortex (AC), and the ectorhinal and temporal association cortices (ECT), ventral to the AC, showed clear visual responses to moving visual objects. The retinotopic maps in the POR and ECT were not clearly observed, and the amplitudes of the visual responses in the POR and ECT were less sensitive to the size of the objects, compared to visual responses in the V1. In the ECT, objects of different sizes activated different subareas. These findings strongly suggest that the mouse ventral stream extends to the ECT ventral to the AC, and that it has characteristic response properties that are markedly different from the response properties in the V1.
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The pial vasculature of the mouse develops according to a sensory-independent program. Sci Rep 2018; 8:9860. [PMID: 29959346 PMCID: PMC6026131 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-27910-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2018] [Accepted: 06/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The cerebral vasculature is organized to supply the brain’s metabolic needs. Sensory deprivation during the early postnatal period causes altered neural activity and lower metabolic demand. Neural activity is instructional for some aspects of vascular development, and deprivation causes changes in capillary density in the deprived brain region. However, it is not known if the pial arteriole network, which contains many leptomeningeal anastomoses (LMAs) that endow the network with redundancy against occlusions, is also affected by sensory deprivation. We quantified the effects of early-life sensory deprivation via whisker plucking on the densities of LMAs and penetrating arterioles (PAs) in anatomically-identified primary sensory regions (vibrissae cortex, forelimb/hindlimb cortex, visual cortex and auditory cortex) in mice. We found that the densities of penetrating arterioles were the same across cortical regions, though the hindlimb representation had a higher density of LMAs than other sensory regions. We found that the densities of PAs and LMAs, as well as quantitative measures of network topology, were not affected by sensory deprivation. Our results show that the postnatal development of the pial arterial network is robust to sensory deprivation.
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Han Y, Kebschull JM, Campbell RAA, Cowan D, Imhof F, Zador AM, Mrsic-Flogel TD. The logic of single-cell projections from visual cortex. Nature 2018; 556:51-56. [PMID: 29590093 DOI: 10.1038/nature26159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 174] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2017] [Accepted: 01/31/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Neocortical areas communicate through extensive axonal projections, but the logic of information transfer remains poorly understood, because the projections of individual neurons have not been systematically characterized. It is not known whether individual neurons send projections only to single cortical areas or distribute signals across multiple targets. Here we determine the projection patterns of 591 individual neurons in the mouse primary visual cortex using whole-brain fluorescence-based axonal tracing and high-throughput DNA sequencing of genetically barcoded neurons (MAPseq). Projections were highly diverse and divergent, collectively targeting at least 18 cortical and subcortical areas. Most neurons targeted multiple cortical areas, often in non-random combinations, suggesting that sub-classes of intracortical projection neurons exist. Our results indicate that the dominant mode of intracortical information transfer is not based on 'one neuron-one target area' mapping. Instead, signals carried by individual cortical neurons are shared across subsets of target areas, and thus concurrently contribute to multiple functional pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunyun Han
- Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medicine and Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.,Institute for Brain Research, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.,Biozentrum, University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Justus M Kebschull
- Watson School of Biological Sciences, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, USA.,Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, USA
| | | | - Devon Cowan
- Biozentrum, University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Fabia Imhof
- Biozentrum, University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Anthony M Zador
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, USA
| | - Thomas D Mrsic-Flogel
- Biozentrum, University of Basel, 4056 Basel, Switzerland.,Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, University College London, London, UK
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Tagge CA, Fisher AM, Minaeva OV, Gaudreau-Balderrama A, Moncaster JA, Zhang XL, Wojnarowicz MW, Casey N, Lu H, Kokiko-Cochran ON, Saman S, Ericsson M, Onos KD, Veksler R, Senatorov VV, Kondo A, Zhou XZ, Miry O, Vose LR, Gopaul KR, Upreti C, Nowinski CJ, Cantu RC, Alvarez VE, Hildebrandt AM, Franz ES, Konrad J, Hamilton JA, Hua N, Tripodis Y, Anderson AT, Howell GR, Kaufer D, Hall GF, Lu KP, Ransohoff RM, Cleveland RO, Kowall NW, Stein TD, Lamb BT, Huber BR, Moss WC, Friedman A, Stanton PK, McKee AC, Goldstein LE. Concussion, microvascular injury, and early tauopathy in young athletes after impact head injury and an impact concussion mouse model. Brain 2018; 141:422-458. [PMID: 29360998 PMCID: PMC5837414 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awx350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 258] [Impact Index Per Article: 43.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2017] [Revised: 10/02/2017] [Accepted: 10/29/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The mechanisms underpinning concussion, traumatic brain injury, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and the relationships between these disorders, are poorly understood. We examined post-mortem brains from teenage athletes in the acute-subacute period after mild closed-head impact injury and found astrocytosis, myelinated axonopathy, microvascular injury, perivascular neuroinflammation, and phosphorylated tau protein pathology. To investigate causal mechanisms, we developed a mouse model of lateral closed-head impact injury that uses momentum transfer to induce traumatic head acceleration. Unanaesthetized mice subjected to unilateral impact exhibited abrupt onset, transient course, and rapid resolution of a concussion-like syndrome characterized by altered arousal, contralateral hemiparesis, truncal ataxia, locomotor and balance impairments, and neurobehavioural deficits. Experimental impact injury was associated with axonopathy, blood-brain barrier disruption, astrocytosis, microgliosis (with activation of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells, TREM2), monocyte infiltration, and phosphorylated tauopathy in cerebral cortex ipsilateral and subjacent to impact. Phosphorylated tauopathy was detected in ipsilateral axons by 24 h, bilateral axons and soma by 2 weeks, and distant cortex bilaterally at 5.5 months post-injury. Impact pathologies co-localized with serum albumin extravasation in the brain that was diagnostically detectable in living mice by dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI. These pathologies were also accompanied by early, persistent, and bilateral impairment in axonal conduction velocity in the hippocampus and defective long-term potentiation of synaptic neurotransmission in the medial prefrontal cortex, brain regions distant from acute brain injury. Surprisingly, acute neurobehavioural deficits at the time of injury did not correlate with blood-brain barrier disruption, microgliosis, neuroinflammation, phosphorylated tauopathy, or electrophysiological dysfunction. Furthermore, concussion-like deficits were observed after impact injury, but not after blast exposure under experimental conditions matched for head kinematics. Computational modelling showed that impact injury generated focal point loading on the head and seven-fold greater peak shear stress in the brain compared to blast exposure. Moreover, intracerebral shear stress peaked before onset of gross head motion. By comparison, blast induced distributed force loading on the head and diffuse, lower magnitude shear stress in the brain. We conclude that force loading mechanics at the time of injury shape acute neurobehavioural responses, structural brain damage, and neuropathological sequelae triggered by neurotrauma. These results indicate that closed-head impact injuries, independent of concussive signs, can induce traumatic brain injury as well as early pathologies and functional sequelae associated with chronic traumatic encephalopathy. These results also shed light on the origins of concussion and relationship to traumatic brain injury and its aftermath.awx350media15713427811001.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chad A Tagge
- Molecular Aging and Development Laboratory, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- Boston University College of Engineering, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Andrew M Fisher
- Molecular Aging and Development Laboratory, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- Boston University College of Engineering, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Olga V Minaeva
- Molecular Aging and Development Laboratory, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- Boston University College of Engineering, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- Boston University Photonics Center, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Amanda Gaudreau-Balderrama
- Molecular Aging and Development Laboratory, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- Boston University College of Engineering, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Juliet A Moncaster
- Molecular Aging and Development Laboratory, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- Boston University Photonics Center, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
| | - Xiao-Lei Zhang
- Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA
| | - Mark W Wojnarowicz
- Molecular Aging and Development Laboratory, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
| | - Noel Casey
- Molecular Aging and Development Laboratory, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- The Center for Biometals and Metallomics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
| | - Haiyan Lu
- Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
| | - Olga N Kokiko-Cochran
- Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
| | - Sudad Saman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA 01854, USA
| | - Maria Ericsson
- Electron Microscope Facility, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | | | - Ronel Veksler
- Departments of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Physiology and Cell Biology, Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
| | - Vladimir V Senatorov
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Asami Kondo
- Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Xiao Z Zhou
- Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Omid Miry
- Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA
| | - Linnea R Vose
- Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA
| | - Katisha R Gopaul
- Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA
| | - Chirag Upreti
- Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA
| | - Christopher J Nowinski
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- Alzheimer’s Disease Center, CTE Program, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
| | - Robert C Cantu
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- Alzheimer’s Disease Center, CTE Program, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Emerson Hospital, Concord, MA 01742, USA
| | - Victor E Alvarez
- Alzheimer’s Disease Center, CTE Program, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130, USA
| | | | - Erich S Franz
- Molecular Aging and Development Laboratory, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- Boston University College of Engineering, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Janusz Konrad
- Boston University College of Engineering, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | | | - Ning Hua
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
| | - Yorghos Tripodis
- Alzheimer’s Disease Center, CTE Program, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02118, USA
| | | | | | - Daniela Kaufer
- Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
| | - Garth F Hall
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA 01854, USA
| | - Kun P Lu
- Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Richard M Ransohoff
- Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
| | - Robin O Cleveland
- Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 7DQ, UK
| | - Neil W Kowall
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- Alzheimer’s Disease Center, CTE Program, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130, USA
| | - Thor D Stein
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- Alzheimer’s Disease Center, CTE Program, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130, USA
| | - Bruce T Lamb
- Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
| | - Bertrand R Huber
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- Alzheimer’s Disease Center, CTE Program, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130, USA
- National Center for PTSD, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130, USA
| | - William C Moss
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94551, USA
| | - Alon Friedman
- Departments of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Physiology and Cell Biology, Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel
- Department of Medical Neuroscience, Brain Repair Center, Dalhousie University, Halifax, B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Patric K Stanton
- Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY 10595, USA
| | - Ann C McKee
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- Alzheimer’s Disease Center, CTE Program, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA 02130, USA
| | - Lee E Goldstein
- Molecular Aging and Development Laboratory, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- Boston University College of Engineering, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- Boston University Photonics Center, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
- Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- The Center for Biometals and Metallomics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
- Alzheimer’s Disease Center, CTE Program, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118, USA
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Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW The computational power of the brain arises from the complex interactions between neurons. One straightforward method to quantify the strength of neuronal interactions is by measuring correlation and coherence. Efforts to measure correlation have been advancing rapidly of late, spurred by the development of advanced recording technologies enabling recording from many neurons and brain areas simultaneously. This review highlights recent results that provide clues into the principles of neural coordination, connections to cognitive and neurological phenomena, and key directions for future research. RECENT FINDINGS The correlation structure of neural activity in the brain has important consequences for the encoding properties of neural populations. Recent studies have shown that this correlation structure is not fixed, but adapts in a variety of contexts in ways that appear beneficial to task performance. By studying these changes in biological neural networks and computational models, researchers have improved our understanding of the principles guiding neural communication. SUMMARY Correlation and coherence are highly informative metrics for studying coding and communication in the brain. Recent findings have emphasized how the brain modifies correlation structure dynamically in order to improve information-processing in a goal-directed fashion. One key direction for future research concerns how to leverage these dynamic changes for therapeutic purposes.
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Mice use robust and common strategies to discriminate natural scenes. Sci Rep 2018; 8:1379. [PMID: 29358739 PMCID: PMC5778028 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-19108-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2017] [Accepted: 12/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Mice use vision to navigate and avoid predators in natural environments. However, their visual systems are compact compared to other mammals, and it is unclear how well mice can discriminate ethologically relevant scenes. Here, we examined natural scene discrimination in mice using an automated touch-screen system. We estimated the discrimination difficulty using the computational metric structural similarity (SSIM), and constructed psychometric curves. However, the performance of each mouse was better predicted by the mean performance of other mice than SSIM. This high inter-mouse agreement indicates that mice use common and robust strategies to discriminate natural scenes. We tested several other image metrics to find an alternative to SSIM for predicting discrimination performance. We found that a simple, primary visual cortex (V1)-inspired model predicted mouse performance with fidelity approaching the inter-mouse agreement. The model involved convolving the images with Gabor filters, and its performance varied with the orientation of the Gabor filter. This orientation dependence was driven by the stimuli, rather than an innate biological feature. Together, these results indicate that mice are adept at discriminating natural scenes, and their performance is well predicted by simple models of V1 processing.
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Zhuang J, Wang Q, Takeno M, Waters J. Registration and Alignment Between in vivo Functional and Cytoarchitectonic Maps of Mouse Visual Cortex. Bio Protoc 2018; 8:e2731. [PMID: 29644256 DOI: 10.21769/bioprotoc.2731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022] Open
Abstract
This protocol describes a method for registration of in vivo cortical retinotopic map with cytochrome c oxidase (CO) labeled architectonic maps of the same mouse brain through the alignment of vascular fiducials. By recording surface blood vessel pattern and sequential alignment at each step, this method overcomes the challenge imposed by tissue distortion during perfusion, mounting, sectioning and histology procedures. This method can also be generalized to register and align other types of in vivo functional maps like ocular dominance map and spatial/temporal frequency tuning map with various anatomical maps of mouse cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Zhuang
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, United States
| | - Quanxin Wang
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, United States
| | - Marc Takeno
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, United States
| | - Jack Waters
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, United States
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Contralateral Bias of High Spatial Frequency Tuning and Cardinal Direction Selectivity in Mouse Visual Cortex. J Neurosci 2017; 37:10125-10138. [PMID: 28924011 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1484-17.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2017] [Revised: 09/01/2017] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Binocular mechanisms for visual processing are thought to enhance spatial acuity by combining matched input from the two eyes. Studies in the primary visual cortex of carnivores and primates have confirmed that eye-specific neuronal response properties are largely matched. In recent years, the mouse has emerged as a prominent model for binocular visual processing, yet little is known about the spatial frequency tuning of binocular responses in mouse visual cortex. Using calcium imaging in awake mice of both sexes, we show that the spatial frequency preference of cortical responses to the contralateral eye is ∼35% higher than responses to the ipsilateral eye. Furthermore, we find that neurons in binocular visual cortex that respond only to the contralateral eye are tuned to higher spatial frequencies. Binocular neurons that are well matched in spatial frequency preference are also matched in orientation preference. In contrast, we observe that binocularly mismatched cells are more mismatched in orientation tuning. Furthermore, we find that contralateral responses are more direction-selective than ipsilateral responses and are strongly biased to the cardinal directions. The contralateral bias of high spatial frequency tuning was found in both awake and anesthetized recordings. The distinct properties of contralateral cortical responses may reflect the functional segregation of direction-selective, high spatial frequency-preferring neurons in earlier stages of the central visual pathway. Moreover, these results suggest that the development of binocularity and visual acuity may engage distinct circuits in the mouse visual system.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Seeing through two eyes is thought to improve visual acuity by enhancing sensitivity to fine edges. Using calcium imaging of cellular responses in awake mice, we find surprising asymmetries in the spatial processing of eye-specific visual input in binocular primary visual cortex. The contralateral visual pathway is tuned to higher spatial frequencies than the ipsilateral pathway. At the highest spatial frequencies, the contralateral pathway strongly prefers to respond to visual stimuli along the cardinal (horizontal and vertical) axes. These results suggest that monocular, and not binocular, mechanisms set the limit of spatial acuity in mice. Furthermore, they suggest that the development of visual acuity and binocularity in mice involves different circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Shawn R. Olsen
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, Washington 98109
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Bale MR, Maravall M. Organization of sensory feature selectivity in the whisker system. Neuroscience 2017; 368:70-80. [PMID: 28918260 PMCID: PMC5798594 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.09.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2017] [Revised: 08/25/2017] [Accepted: 09/05/2017] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Neurons in the whisker system are selective to spatial and dynamical properties – features – of sensory stimuli. At each stage of the pathway, different neurons encode distinct features, generating a rich population representation. Whisker touch is robustly represented; neurons respond to touch-driven fast fluctuations in forces at the whisker base. Cortical neurons have more complex and context-dependent selectivity than subcortical, e.g., to collective whisker motion. Understanding how these signals are integrated to construct whisker-mediated percepts requires further research.
Our sensory receptors are faced with an onslaught of different environmental inputs. Each sensory event or encounter with an object involves a distinct combination of physical energy sources impinging upon receptors. In the rodent whisker system, each primary afferent neuron located in the trigeminal ganglion innervates and responds to a single whisker and encodes a distinct set of physical stimulus properties – features – corresponding to changes in whisker angle and shape and the consequent forces acting on the whisker follicle. Here we review the nature of the features encoded by successive stages of processing along the whisker pathway. At each stage different neurons respond to distinct features, such that the population as a whole represents diverse properties. Different neuronal types also have distinct feature selectivity. Thus, neurons at the same stage of processing and responding to the same whisker nevertheless play different roles in representing objects contacted by the whisker. This diversity, combined with the precise timing and high reliability of responses, enables populations at each stage to represent a wide range of stimuli. Cortical neurons respond to more complex stimulus properties – such as correlated motion across whiskers – than those at early subcortical stages. Temporal integration along the pathway is comparatively weak: neurons up to barrel cortex (BC) are sensitive mainly to fast (tens of milliseconds) fluctuations in whisker motion. The topographic organization of whisker sensitivity is paralleled by systematic organization of neuronal selectivity to certain other physical features, but selectivity to touch and to dynamic stimulus properties is distributed in “salt-and-pepper” fashion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael R Bale
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, United Kingdom
| | - Miguel Maravall
- Sussex Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, United Kingdom.
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Functional Segregation and Development of Mouse Higher Visual Areas. J Neurosci 2017; 37:9424-9437. [PMID: 28847805 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0731-17.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2017] [Revised: 07/21/2017] [Accepted: 08/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies suggest that higher visual areas (HVAs) in the mouse visual cortex are segregated anatomically into two visual streams, likely analogous to the ventral and dorsal streams in primates. However, HVAs in mice have yet to be characterized functionally. Moreover, it is unknown when the functional segregation of HVAs occurs during development. Here, we investigated spatiotemporal selectivity of HVAs and their development using wide-field calcium imaging. We found that lateral HVAs in the anatomical ventral stream shared similar spatiotemporal selectivity, whereas the spatiotemporal selectivity of anterior and medial HVAs in the anatomical dorsal stream was not uniform and these areas were segregated functionally into multiple groups. This functional segregation of HVAs developed and reached an adult-like pattern ∼10 d after eye opening (EO). These results suggest, not only the functional segregation of ventral and dorsal streams, but also the presence of multiple substreams in the dorsal stream, and indicate that the functional segregation of visual streams occurs gradually after EO.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Investigation of the spatiotemporal selectivity of nine higher visual areas (HVAs) in adult and developing mice revealed that lateral HVAs belonging to the putative ventral stream shared similar spatiotemporal selectivity, whereas the spatiotemporal selectivity of anterior and medial HVAs belonging to the putative dorsal stream was not uniform and these areas were segregated functionally into multiple groups. These results suggest the presence of multiple substreams within the putative dorsal stream for visuospatial processing. Furthermore, we found that initially immature functional segregation among HVAs developed to an adult-like pattern ∼10 d after eye opening. These results provide a foundation for using mouse HVAs as a model to understand parallel processing and its developmental mechanism.
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