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Aboutorabi E, Baloni Ray S, Kaping D, Shahbazi F, Treue S, Esghaei M. Phase of neural oscillations as a reference frame for attention-based routing in visual cortex. Prog Neurobiol 2024; 233:102563. [PMID: 38142770 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2023.102563] [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: 06/21/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023]
Abstract
Selective attention allows the brain to efficiently process the image projected onto the retina, selectively focusing neural processing resources on behaviorally relevant visual information. While previous studies have documented the crucial role of the action potential rate of single neurons in relaying such information, little is known about how the activity of single neurons relative to their neighboring network contributes to the efficient representation of attended stimuli and transmission of this information to downstream areas. Here, we show in the dorsal visual pathway of monkeys (medial superior temporal area) that neurons fire spikes preferentially at a specific phase of the ongoing population beta (∼20 Hz) oscillations of the surrounding local network. This preferred spiking phase shifts towards a later phase when monkeys selectively attend towards (rather than away from) the receptive field of the neuron. This shift of the locking phase is positively correlated with the speed at which animals report a visual change. Furthermore, our computational modeling suggests that neural networks can manipulate the preferred phase of coupling by imposing differential synaptic delays on postsynaptic potentials. This distinction between the locking phase of neurons activated by the spatially attended stimulus vs. that of neurons activated by the unattended stimulus, may enable the neural system to discriminate relevant from irrelevant sensory inputs and consequently filter out distracting stimuli information by aligning the spikes which convey relevant/irrelevant information to distinct phases linked to periods of better/worse perceptual sensitivity for higher cortices. This strategy may be used to reserve the narrow windows of highest perceptual efficacy to the processing of the most behaviorally relevant information, ensuring highly efficient responses to attended sensory events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ehsan Aboutorabi
- Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada; Robarts Research Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sonia Baloni Ray
- Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology, New Delhi, India
| | - Daniel Kaping
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Farhad Shahbazi
- Department of Physics, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran
| | - Stefan Treue
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany; Faculty for Biology and Psychology, University of Goettingen, Germany; Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Moein Esghaei
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany; Westa Higher Education Center, Karaj, Iran.
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2
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Wu R, Yang PF, Wang F, Liu Q, Gore JC, Chen LM. Differential Recovery of Submodality Touch Neurons and Interareal Communication in Sensory Input-Deprived Area 3b and S2 Cortices. J Neurosci 2022; 42:9330-9342. [PMID: 36379707 PMCID: PMC9794378 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0034-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2021] [Revised: 08/09/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Cortical reactivation and regain of interareal functional connections have been linked to the recovery of hand grasping behavior after loss of sensory inputs in primates. We investigated contributions of neurons in two hierarchically organized somatosensory areas, 3b and S2, by characterizing local field potential (LFP) and multiunit spiking activity in five states (rest, stimulus-on, sustained, stimulus-off, and induced) and interareal communication after grasping behavior of dorsal column lesioned male squirrel monkeys had mostly recovered. Compared with normal cortex, fMRI, LFP, and spiking response magnitudes to step indentations were significantly weaker. The sustained component of the spiking recovered much better than the stimulus-off response. Correlation between overall spiking and γ LFP remained strong within each recovered areas 3b and S2. The interareal correlations of γ LFP were severely disrupted, except in the resting and stimulus-on periods. Interareal correlation of spiking was disrupted in the stimulus-off period only. In summary, submodality of low threshold mechanoreceptive neurons recovered differentially in input-deprived area 3b and S2 when impaired global hand grasping behavior returned. Slow-adapting-like neurons recovered, whereas rapid-adapting-like neurons did not. Interareal communications were also severely compromised. We propose that slow-adapting-like neurons and afferents in recovered area 3b and S2 mediate recovery of impaired grasping behavior after dorsal column tract lesion.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Sensory feedback is essential for execution of hand grasping behavior in primates. Reactivations of somatosensory cortices have been attributed to recovery of such behavior after loss of sensory inputs via largely unknown mechanisms. In input-deprived area 3b and S2 cortex, after hand grasping behavior mostly recovered, we found slow-adapting-like neurons were greatly recovered, whereas rapid-adapting-like neurons did not. Communications between area 3b and S2 neurons were severely compromised. We suggest that recovery of slow-adapting-like neurons in input-deprived area 3b and S2 may mediate the recovery of hand grasping behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruiqi Wu
- Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232
- Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, Institutes of Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
- Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Technology, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Pai-Feng Yang
- Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232
- Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232
| | - Feng Wang
- Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232
- Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232
| | - Qing Liu
- Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232
- Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232
| | - John C Gore
- Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232
- Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232
- Department of Biomedical Engineer, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232
| | - Li Min Chen
- Vanderbilt University Institute of Imaging Science, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37232
- Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee 37232
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3
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Frequency modulation of cortical rhythmicity governs behavioral variability, excitability and synchrony of neurons in the visual cortex. Sci Rep 2022; 12:20914. [PMID: 36463385 PMCID: PMC9719482 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-25264-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Research in cognitive neuroscience has renewed the idea that brain oscillations are a core organization implicated in fundamental brain functions. Growing evidence reveals that the characteristic features of these oscillations, including power, phase and frequency, are highly non-stationary, fluctuating alongside alternations in sensation, cognition and behavior. However, there is little consensus on the functional implications of the instantaneous frequency variation in cortical excitability and concomitant behavior. Here, we capitalized on intracortical electrophysiology in the macaque monkey's visual area MT performing a visuospatial discrimination task with visual cues. We observed that the instantaneous frequency of the theta-alpha oscillations (4-13 Hz) is modulated among specific neurons whose RFs overlap with the cued stimulus location. Interestingly, we found that such frequency modulation is causally correlated with MT excitability at both scales of individual and ensemble of neurons. Moreover, studying the functional relevance of frequency variations indicated that the average theta-alpha frequencies foreshadow the monkey's reaction time. Our results also revealed that the neural synchronization strength alters with the average frequency shift in theta-alpha oscillations, suggesting frequency modulation is critical for mutually adjusting MTs' rhythms. Overall, our findings propose that theta-alpha frequency variations modulate MT's excitability, regulate mutual neurons' rhythmicity and indicate variability in behavior.
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4
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Davis ZW, Muller L, Reynolds JH. Spontaneous Spiking Is Governed by Broadband Fluctuations. J Neurosci 2022; 42:5159-5172. [PMID: 35606140 PMCID: PMC9236292 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1899-21.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2021] [Revised: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Populations of cortical neurons generate rhythmic fluctuations in their ongoing spontaneous activity. These fluctuations can be seen in the local field potential (LFP), which reflects summed return currents from synaptic activity in the local population near a recording electrode. The LFP is spectrally broad, and many researchers view this breadth as containing many narrowband oscillatory components that may have distinct functional roles. This view is supported by the observation that the phase of narrowband oscillations is often correlated with cortical excitability and can relate to the timing of spiking activity and the fidelity of sensory evoked responses. Accordingly, researchers commonly tune in to these channels by narrowband filtering the LFP. Alternatively, neural activity may be fundamentally broadband and composed of transient, nonstationary rhythms that are difficult to approximate as oscillations. In this view, the instantaneous state of the broad ensemble relates directly to the excitability of the local population with no particular allegiance to any frequency band. To test between these alternatives, we asked whether the spiking activity of neocortical neurons in marmoset of either sex is better aligned with the phase of the LFP within narrow frequency bands or with a broadband measure. We find that the phase of broadband LFP fluctuations provides a better predictor of spike timing than the phase after filtering in narrow bands. These results challenge the view of the neocortex as a system composed of narrowband oscillators and supports a view in which neural activity fluctuations are intrinsically broadband.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Research into the dynamical state of neural populations often attributes unique significance to the state of narrowband oscillatory components. However, rhythmic fluctuations in cortical activity are nonstationary and broad spectrum. We find that the timing of spontaneous spiking activity is better captured by the state of broadband fluctuations over any latent oscillatory component. These results suggest narrowband interpretations of rhythmic population activity may be limited, and broader representations may provide higher fidelity in describing moment-to-moment fluctuations in cortical activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary W Davis
- Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California 92037
| | - Lyle Muller
- Department of Applied Mathematics, Western University, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada
- Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - John H Reynolds
- Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California 92037
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Jiang H, Kokkinos V, Ye S, Urban A, Bagić A, Richardson M, He B. Interictal SEEG Resting-State Connectivity Localizes the Seizure Onset Zone and Predicts Seizure Outcome. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2022; 9:e2200887. [PMID: 35545899 PMCID: PMC9218648 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202200887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2022] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Localization of epileptogenic zone currently requires prolonged intracranial recordings to capture seizure, which may take days to weeks. The authors developed a novel method to identify the seizure onset zone (SOZ) and predict seizure outcome using short-time resting-state stereotacticelectroencephalography (SEEG) data. In a cohort of 27 drug-resistant epilepsy patients, the authors estimated the information flow via directional connectivity and inferred the excitation-inhibition ratio from the 1/f power slope. They hypothesized that the antagonism of information flow at multiple frequencies between SOZ and non-SOZ underlying the relatively stable epilepsy resting state could be related to the disrupted excitation-inhibition balance. They found flatter 1/f power slope in non-SOZ regions compared to the SOZ, with dominant information flow from non-SOZ to SOZ regions. Greater differences in resting-state information flow between SOZ and non-SOZ regions are associated with favorable seizure outcome. By integrating a balanced random forest model with resting-state connectivity, their method localized the SOZ with an accuracy of 88% and predicted the seizure outcome with an accuracy of 92% using clinically determined SOZ. Overall, this study suggests that brief resting-state SEEG data can significantly facilitate the identification of SOZ and may eventually predict seizure outcomes without requiring long-term ictal recordings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haiteng Jiang
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringCarnegie Mellon UniversityPittsburghPA15213USA
- Department of NeurobiologyAffiliated Mental Health Center & Hangzhou Seventh People's HospitalZhejiang University School of MedicineHangzhou310013P. R. China
- NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical NeurobiologyMOE Frontier Science Center for Brain Science and Brain‐machine IntegrationSchool of Brain Science and Brain MedicineZhejiang UniversityHangzhou310058P. R. China
| | - Vasileios Kokkinos
- University of Pittsburgh Comprehensive Epilepsy CenterDepartment of NeurologyUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPA15232USA
- Massachusetts General HospitalBostonMA02114USA
| | - Shuai Ye
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringCarnegie Mellon UniversityPittsburghPA15213USA
| | - Alexandra Urban
- University of Pittsburgh Comprehensive Epilepsy CenterDepartment of NeurologyUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPA15232USA
| | - Anto Bagić
- University of Pittsburgh Comprehensive Epilepsy CenterDepartment of NeurologyUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPA15232USA
| | - Mark Richardson
- University of Pittsburgh Comprehensive Epilepsy CenterDepartment of NeurologyUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPA15232USA
- Massachusetts General HospitalBostonMA02114USA
| | - Bin He
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringCarnegie Mellon UniversityPittsburghPA15213USA
- Neuroscience InstituteCarnegie Mellon UniversityPittsburghPA15213USA
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6
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Dynamic coupling of oscillatory neural activity and its roles in visual attention. Trends Neurosci 2022; 45:323-335. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2022.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2021] [Revised: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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7
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Han C, Wang T, Yang Y, Wu Y, Li Y, Dai W, Zhang Y, Wang B, Yang G, Cao Z, Kang J, Wang G, Li L, Yu H, Yeh CI, Xing D. Multiple gamma rhythms carry distinct spatial frequency information in primary visual cortex. PLoS Biol 2021; 19:e3001466. [PMID: 34932558 PMCID: PMC8691622 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 11/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Gamma rhythms in many brain regions, including the primary visual cortex (V1), are thought to play a role in information processing. Here, we report a surprising finding of 3 narrowband gamma rhythms in V1 that processed distinct spatial frequency (SF) signals and had different neural origins. The low gamma (LG; 25 to 40 Hz) rhythm was generated at the V1 superficial layer and preferred a higher SF compared with spike activity, whereas both the medium gamma (MG; 40 to 65 Hz), generated at the cortical level, and the high gamma HG; (65 to 85 Hz), originated precortically, preferred lower SF information. Furthermore, compared with the rates of spike activity, the powers of the 3 gammas had better performance in discriminating the edge and surface of simple objects. These findings suggest that gamma rhythms reflect the neural dynamics of neural circuitries that process different SF information in the visual system, which may be crucial for multiplexing SF information and synchronizing different features of an object.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuanliang Han
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Tian Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yi Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yujie Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Weifeng Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yange Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Bin Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Guanzhong Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Ziqi Cao
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Jian Kang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Gang Wang
- Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Liang Li
- Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Hongbo Yu
- Vision Research Laboratory, Center for Brain Science Research and School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Chun-I Yeh
- Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, China
| | - Dajun Xing
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
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8
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Orczyk JJ, Barczak A, Costa-Faidella J, Kajikawa Y. Cross Laminar Traveling Components of Field Potentials due to Volume Conduction of Non-Traveling Neuronal Activity in Macaque Sensory Cortices. J Neurosci 2021; 41:7578-7590. [PMID: 34321312 PMCID: PMC8425975 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3225-20.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2020] [Revised: 06/25/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Field potentials (FPs) reflect neuronal activities in the brain, and often exhibit traveling peaks across recording sites. While traveling FPs are interpreted as propagation of neuronal activity, not all studies directly reveal such propagating patterns of neuronal activation. Neuronal activity is associated with transmembrane currents that form dipoles and produce negative and positive fields. Thereby, FP components reverse polarity between those fields and have minimal amplitudes at the center of dipoles. Although their amplitudes could be smaller, FPs are never flat even around these reversals. What occurs around the reversal has not been addressed explicitly, although those are rationally in the middle of active neurons. We show that sensory FPs around the reversal appeared with peaks traveling across cortical laminae in macaque sensory cortices. Interestingly, analyses of current source density did not depict traveling patterns but lamina-delimited current sinks and sources. We simulated FPs produced by volume conduction of a simplified 2 dipoles' model mimicking sensory cortical laminar current source density components. While FPs generated by single dipoles followed the temporal patterns of the dipole moments without traveling peaks, FPs generated by concurrently active dipole moments appeared with traveling components in the vicinity of dipoles by superimposition of individually non-traveling FPs generated by single dipoles. These results indicate that not all traveling FP are generated by traveling neuronal activity, and that recording positions need to be taken into account to describe FP peak components around active neuronal populations.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Field potentials (FPs) generated by neuronal activity in the brain occur with fields of opposite polarity. Likewise, in the cerebral cortices, they have mirror-imaged waveforms in upper and lower layers. We show that FPs appear like traveling across the cortical layers. Interestingly, the traveling FPs occur without traveling components of current source density, which represents transmembrane currents associated with neuronal activity. These seemingly odd findings are explained using current source density models of multiple dipoles. Concurrently active, non-traveling dipoles produce FPs as mixtures of FPs produced by individual dipoles, and result in traveling FP waveforms as the mixing ratio depends on the distances from those dipoles. The results suggest that not all traveling FP components are associated with propagating neuronal activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- John J Orczyk
- Translational Neuroscience Division, Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New York 10962
| | - Annamaria Barczak
- Translational Neuroscience Division, Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New York 10962
| | - Jordi Costa-Faidella
- Translational Neuroscience Division, Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New York 10962
- Brainlab - Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia 08035, Spain
- Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia 08035, Spain
- Institut de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu, Esplugues de Llobregat, Spain, Barcelona, Catalonia 08950
| | - Yoshinao Kajikawa
- Translational Neuroscience Division, Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, New York 10962
- Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016
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Dynamics of coherent activity between cortical areas defines a two-stage process of top-down attention. Exp Brain Res 2021; 239:2767-2779. [PMID: 34241642 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-021-06166-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 06/23/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Analysing a visual scene requires the brain to briefly keep in memory potentially relevant items of that scene and then direct attention to their locations for detailed processing. To reveal the neuronal basis of the underlying working memory and top-down attention processes, we trained macaques to match two patterns presented with a delay between them. As the above processes are likely to require communication between brain regions, and the parietal cortex is known to be involved in spatial attention, we simultaneously recorded neuronal activities from the interconnected parietal and middle temporal areas. We found that mnemonic information about features of the first pattern was retained in coherent oscillating activity between the two areas in high-frequency bands, followed by coherent activity in lower frequency bands mediating top-down attention on the relevant spatial location. Oscillations maintaining featural information also modulated activity of the cells of the parietal cortex that mediate attention. This could potentially enable transfer of information to organize top-down signals necessary for selective attention. Our results provide evidence in support of a two-stage model of visual attention where the first stage involves creating a saliency map representing a visual scene and at the second stage attentional feedback is provided to cortical areas involved in detailed analysis of the attended parts of a scene.
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10
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Prakash SS, Das A, Kanth ST, Mayo JP, Ray S. Decoding of Attentional State Using High-Frequency Local Field Potential Is As Accurate As Using Spikes. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:4314-4328. [PMID: 33866366 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2020] [Revised: 02/25/2021] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Local field potentials (LFPs) in visual cortex are reliably modulated when the subject's focus of attention is cued into versus out of the receptive field of the recorded sites, similar to modulation of spikes. However, human psychophysics studies have used an additional attention condition, neutral cueing, for decades. The effect of neutral cueing on spikes was examined recently and found to be intermediate between cued and uncued conditions. However, whether LFPs are also precise enough to represent graded states of attention is unknown. We found in rhesus monkeys that LFPs during neutral cueing were also intermediate between cued and uncued conditions. For a single electrode, attention was more discriminable using high frequency (>30 Hz) LFP power than spikes, which is expected because LFP represents a population signal and therefore is expected to be less noisy than spikes. However, previous studies have shown that when multiple electrodes are used, spikes can outperform LFPs. Surprisingly, in our study, spikes did not outperform LFPs when discriminability was computed using multiple electrodes, even though the LFP activity was highly correlated across electrodes compared with spikes. These results constrain the spatial scale over which attention operates and highlight the usefulness of LFPs in studying attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Surya S Prakash
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
| | - Aritra Das
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
| | - Sidrat Tasawoor Kanth
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India.,IISc Mathematics Initiative, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
| | - J Patrick Mayo
- Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Supratim Ray
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India.,IISc Mathematics Initiative, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India
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11
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Veith VK, Quigley C, Treue S. Cholinergic manipulations affect sensory responses but not attentional enhancement in macaque MT. BMC Biol 2021; 19:49. [PMID: 33726757 PMCID: PMC7967954 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-021-00993-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Attentional modulation in the visual cortex of primates is characterized by multiplicative changes of sensory responses with changes in the attentional state of the animal. The cholinergic system has been linked to such gain changes in V1. Here, we aim to determine if a similar link exists in macaque area MT. While rhesus monkeys performed a top-down spatial attention task, we locally injected a cholinergic agonist or antagonist and recorded single-cell activity. RESULTS Although we confirmed cholinergic influences on sensory responses, there was no additional cholinergic effect on the attentional gain changes. Neither a muscarinic blockage nor a local increase in acetylcholine led to a significant change in the magnitude of spatial attention effects on firing rates. CONCLUSIONS This suggests that the cellular mechanisms of attentional modulation in the extrastriate cortex cannot be directly inferred from those in the primary visual cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vera Katharina Veith
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Cliodhna Quigley
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany.,Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Stefan Treue
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany. .,Faculty for Biology and Psychology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany. .,Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany.
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12
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Long-range phase synchronization of high-frequency oscillations in human cortex. Nat Commun 2020; 11:5363. [PMID: 33097714 PMCID: PMC7584610 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18975-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2019] [Accepted: 09/03/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Inter-areal synchronization of neuronal oscillations at frequencies below ~100 Hz is a pervasive feature of neuronal activity and is thought to regulate communication in neuronal circuits. In contrast, faster activities and oscillations have been considered to be largely local-circuit-level phenomena without large-scale synchronization between brain regions. We show, using human intracerebral recordings, that 100–400 Hz high-frequency oscillations (HFOs) may be synchronized between widely distributed brain regions. HFO synchronization expresses individual frequency peaks and exhibits reliable connectivity patterns that show stable community structuring. HFO synchronization is also characterized by a laminar profile opposite to that of lower frequencies. Importantly, HFO synchronization is both transiently enhanced and suppressed in separate frequency bands during a response-inhibition task. These findings show that HFO synchronization constitutes a functionally significant form of neuronal spike-timing relationships in brain activity and thus a mesoscopic indication of neuronal communication per se. High-frequency oscillations (HFOs) are common in mammalian brains and have been assumed to be strictly local. Using human intracerebral recordings, the authors find that HFOs can be phase synchronized across long distances between active cortical sites during resting and task states, which may reflect neuronal communication.
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13
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Phase of firing coding of learning variables across the fronto-striatal network during feature-based learning. Nat Commun 2020; 11:4669. [PMID: 32938940 PMCID: PMC7495418 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18435-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex and striatum form a recurrent network whose spiking activity encodes multiple types of learning-relevant information. This spike-encoded information is evident in average firing rates, but finer temporal coding might allow multiplexing and enhanced readout across the connected network. We tested this hypothesis in the fronto-striatal network of nonhuman primates during reversal learning of feature values. We found that populations of neurons encoding choice outcomes, outcome prediction errors, and outcome history in their firing rates also carry significant information in their phase-of-firing at a 10–25 Hz band-limited beta frequency at which they synchronize across lateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex and anterior striatum when outcomes were processed. The phase-of-firing code exceeds information that can be obtained from firing rates alone and is evident for inter-areal connections between anterior cingulate cortex, lateral prefrontal cortex and anterior striatum. For the majority of connections, the phase-of-firing information gain is maximal at phases of the beta cycle that were offset from the preferred spiking phase of neurons. Taken together, these findings document enhanced information of three important learning variables at specific phases of firing in the beta cycle at an inter-areally shared beta oscillation frequency during goal-directed behavior. The average spiking frequency in the fronto-striatal network encodes multiple types of learning-relevant information. Here, the authors show that populations of neurons in non-human primates also carry significant information in their phase-of-firing when learning-relevant outcomes are processed.
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14
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Zuo Y, Huang Y, Wu D, Wang Q, Wang Z. Spike Phase Shift Relative to Beta Oscillations Mediates Modality Selection. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:5431-5448. [PMID: 32494807 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2020] [Revised: 04/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
How does the brain selectively process signals from stimuli of different modalities? Coherent oscillations may function in coordinating communication between neuronal populations simultaneously involved in such cognitive behavior. Beta power (12-30 Hz) is implicated in top-down cognitive processes. Here we test the hypothesis that the brain increases encoding and behavioral influence of a target modality by shifting the relationship of neuronal spike phases relative to beta oscillations between primary sensory cortices and higher cortices. We simultaneously recorded neuronal spike and local field potentials in the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) and the primary auditory cortex (A1) when male rats made choices to either auditory or visual stimuli. Neuronal spikes exhibited modality-related phase locking to beta oscillations during stimulus sampling, and the phase shift between neuronal subpopulations demonstrated faster top-down signaling from PPC to A1 neurons when animals attended to auditory rather than visual stimuli. Importantly, complementary to spike timing, spike phase predicted rats' attended-to target in single trials, which was related to the animals' performance. Our findings support a candidate mechanism that cortices encode targets from different modalities by shifting neuronal spike phase. This work may extend our understanding of the importance of spike phase as a coding and readout mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanfang Zuo
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science & Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Yanwang Huang
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science & Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.,School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Dingcheng Wu
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science & Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Qingxiu Wang
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science & Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Zuoren Wang
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science & Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.,School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
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15
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Crayen MA, Yurt P, Treue S, Esghaei M. Commentary: The causal role of α-oscillations in feature binding. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:753. [PMID: 32973423 PMCID: PMC7466719 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00753] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2020] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Max A Crayen
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany.,International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Pinar Yurt
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Stefan Treue
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Moein Esghaei
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany.,Royan Institute for Steam Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
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16
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Krug K. Coding Perceptual Decisions: From Single Units to Emergent Signaling Properties in Cortical Circuits. Annu Rev Vis Sci 2020; 6:387-409. [PMID: 32600168 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-vision-030320-041223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Spiking activity in single neurons of the primate visual cortex has been tightly linked to perceptual decisions. Any mechanism that reads out these perceptual signals to support behavior must respect the underlying neuroanatomy that shapes the functional properties of sensory neurons. Spatial distribution and timing of inputs to the next processing levels are critical, as conjoint activity of precursor neurons increases the spiking rate of downstream neurons and ultimately drives behavior. I set out how correlated activity might coalesce into a micropool of task-sensitive neurons signaling a particular percept to determine perceptual decision signals locally and for flexible interarea transmission depending on the task context. As data from more and more neurons and their complex interactions are analyzed, the space of computational mechanisms must be constrained based on what is plausible within neurobiological limits. This review outlines experiments to test the new perspectives offered by these extended methods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristine Krug
- Lehrstuhl für Sensorische Physiologie, Institut für Biologie, Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany; .,Leibniz-Institut für Neurobiologie, 39118 Magdeburg, Germany.,Department of Physiology, Anatomy, and Genetics, Oxford University, Oxford OX1 3PT, United Kingdom
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17
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Multiplexing rhythmic information by spike timing dependent plasticity. PLoS Comput Biol 2020; 16:e1008000. [PMID: 32598350 PMCID: PMC7351241 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2019] [Revised: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 05/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Rhythmic activity has been associated with a wide range of cognitive processes including the encoding of sensory information, navigation, the transfer of information and others. Rhythmic activity in the brain has also been suggested to be used for multiplexing information. Multiplexing is the ability to transmit more than one signal via the same channel. Here we focus on frequency division multiplexing, in which different signals are transmitted in different frequency bands. Recent work showed that spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) can facilitate the transfer of rhythmic activity downstream the information processing pathway. However, STDP has also been known to generate strong winner-take-all like competition between subgroups of correlated synaptic inputs. This competition between different rhythmicity channels, induced by STDP, may prevent the multiplexing of information. Thus, raising doubts whether STDP is consistent with the idea of multiplexing. This study explores whether STDP can facilitate the multiplexing of information across multiple frequency channels, and if so, under what conditions. We address this question in a modelling study, investigating the STDP dynamics of two populations synapsing downstream onto the same neuron in a feed-forward manner. Each population was assumed to exhibit rhythmic activity, albeit in a different frequency band. Our theory reveals that the winner-take-all like competitions between the two populations is limited, in the sense that different rhythmic populations will not necessarily fully suppress each other. Furthermore, we found that for a wide range of parameters, the network converged to a solution in which the downstream neuron responded to both rhythms. Yet, the synaptic weights themselves did not converge to a fixed point, rather remained dynamic. These findings imply that STDP can support the multiplexing of rhythmic information, and demonstrate how functionality (multiplexing of information) can be retained in the face of continuous remodeling of all the synaptic weights. The constraints on the types of STDP rules that can support multiplexing provide a natural test for our theory. Spike timing dependent plasticity (STDP) quantifies the change in the synaptic efficacy as a function of the temporal relationship between pre- and post-synaptic firing. STDP can be viewed as a microscopic unsupervised learning rule, and a wide range of such microscopic learning rules have been described empirically. Since there is no supervisor in unsupervised learning (which would provide with the system its goal), theoreticians have struggled with the question of the possible computational roles of the various STDP rules. Previous studies have focused on the possible contribution of STDP to the spontaneous development of spatial structure. However, the rich temporal repertoire of reported STDP rules has largely been ignored. Here we studied the contribution of STDP to the development of temporal structure. We show how STDP can shape synaptic efficacies to facilitate the transfer of rhythmic information downstream and to enable the multiplexing of information across different frequency channels. Our work emphasizes the relationship between the temporal structure of the STDP rule and the rhythmic activity it can support.
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18
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Attention amplifies neural representations of changes in sensory input at the expense of perceptual accuracy. Nat Commun 2020; 11:2128. [PMID: 32358494 PMCID: PMC7195455 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15989-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2019] [Accepted: 03/31/2020] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Attention enhances the neural representations of behaviorally relevant stimuli, typically by a push-pull increase of the neuronal response gain to attended vs. unattended stimuli. This selectively improves perception and consequently behavioral performance. However, to enhance the detectability of stimulus changes, attention might also distort neural representations, compromising accurate stimulus representation. We test this hypothesis by recording neural responses in the visual cortex of rhesus monkeys during a motion direction change detection task. We find that attention indeed amplifies the neural representation of direction changes, beyond a similar effect of adaptation. We further show that humans overestimate such direction changes, providing a perceptual correlate of our neurophysiological observations. Our results demonstrate that attention distorts the neural representations of abrupt sensory changes and consequently perceptual accuracy. This likely represents an evolutionary adaptive mechanism that allows sensory systems to flexibly forgo accurate representation of stimulus features to improve the encoding of stimulus change.
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19
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Murris SR, Arsenault JT, Vanduffel W. Frequency- and State-Dependent Network Effects of Electrical Stimulation Targeting the Ventral Tegmental Area in Macaques. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:4281-4296. [PMID: 32279076 PMCID: PMC7325806 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2019] [Revised: 01/06/2020] [Accepted: 01/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is a midbrain structure at the heart of the dopaminergic system underlying adaptive behavior. Endogenous firing rates of dopamine cells in the VTA vary from fast phasic bursts to slow tonic activity. Artificial perturbations of the VTA, through electrical or optogenetic stimulation methods, generate different and sometimes even contrasting behavioral outcomes depending on stimulation parameters such as frequency, amplitude, and pulse width. Here, we investigate the global functional effects of electrical stimulation frequency (10, 20, 50, and 100 Hz) of the VTA in rhesus monkeys. We stimulated 2 animals with chronic electrodes, either awake or anesthetized, while concurrently acquiring whole-brain functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signals. In the awake state, activity as a function of stimulation frequency followed an inverted U-shape in many cortical and subcortical structures, with highest activity observed at 20 and 50 Hz and lower activity at 10 and 100 Hz. Under anesthesia, the hemodynamic responses in connected brain areas were slightly positive at 10 Hz stimulation, but decreased linearly as a function of higher stimulation frequencies. A speculative explanation for the remarkable frequency dependence of stimulation-induced fMRI activity is that the VTA makes use of different frequency channels to communicate with different postsynaptic sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sjoerd R Murris
- Department of Neurosciences, Laboratory of Neuro- and Psychophysiology, KU Leuven Medical School, Leuven 3000, Belgium.,Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | - John T Arsenault
- Department of Neurosciences, Laboratory of Neuro- and Psychophysiology, KU Leuven Medical School, Leuven 3000, Belgium.,Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | - Wim Vanduffel
- Department of Neurosciences, Laboratory of Neuro- and Psychophysiology, KU Leuven Medical School, Leuven 3000, Belgium.,Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium.,Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.,Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02144, USA
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20
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Khamechian MB, Daliri MR. Decoding Adaptive Visuomotor Behavior Mediated by Non-linear Phase Coupling in Macaque Area MT. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:230. [PMID: 32317912 PMCID: PMC7147352 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2019] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The idea that a flexible behavior relies on synchronous neural activity within intra- and inter-associated cortical areas has been a matter of intense research in human and animal neuroscience. The neurophysiological mechanisms underlying this behavioral correlate of the synchronous activity are still unknown. It has been suggested that the strength of neural synchrony at the level of population is an important neural code to guide an efficient transformation of the sensory input into the behavioral action. In this study, we have examined the non-linear synchronization between neural ensembles in area MT of the macaque visual cortex by employing a non-linear cross-frequency coupling technique, namely bicoherence. We trained a macaque monkey to detect a brief change in the cued stimulus during a visuomotor detection task. The results show that the non-linear phase synchronization in the high-gamma frequency band (100-250 Hz) predicts the animal's reaction time. The strength of non-linear phase synchronization is selective to the target stimulus location. In addition, the non-linearity characteristics of neural synchronization are selectively modulated when the monkey covertly attends to the stimulus inside the neuron's receptive field. This additional evidence indicates that non-linear neuronal synchronization may be affected by a cognitive function like spatial attention. Our neural and behavioral observations reflect that two crucial processes may be involved in processing of visuomotor information in area MT: (I) a non-linear cortical process (measured by the bicoherence) and (II) a linear process (measured by the spectral power).
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Bagher Khamechian
- Neuroscience and Neuroengineering Research Lab, Biomedical Engineering Department, School of Electrical Engineering, Iran University of Science & Technology, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Reza Daliri
- Neuroscience and Neuroengineering Research Lab, Biomedical Engineering Department, School of Electrical Engineering, Iran University of Science & Technology, Tehran, Iran
- Cognitive Neurobiology Laboratory, School of Cognitive Sciences (SCS), Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), Tehran, Iran
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21
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Zareian B, Maboudi K, Daliri MR, Abrishami Moghaddam H, Treue S, Esghaei M. Attention strengthens across-trial pre-stimulus phase coherence in visual cortex, enhancing stimulus processing. Sci Rep 2020; 10:4837. [PMID: 32179777 PMCID: PMC7076023 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-61359-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2019] [Accepted: 02/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Attention selectively routes the most behaviorally relevant information from the stream of sensory inputs through the hierarchy of cortical areas. Previous studies have shown that visual attention depends on the phase of oscillatory brain activities. These studies mainly focused on the stimulus presentation period, rather than the pre-stimulus period. Here, we hypothesize that selective attention controls the phase of oscillatory neural activities to efficiently process relevant information. We document an attentional modulation of pre-stimulus inter-trial phase coherence (a measure of deviation between instantaneous phases of trials) of low frequency local field potentials (LFP) in visual area MT of macaque monkeys. Our data reveal that phase coherence increases following a spatial cue deploying attention towards the receptive field of the recorded neural population. We further show that the attentional enhancement of phase coherence is positively correlated with the modulation of the stimulus-induced firing rate, and importantly, a higher phase coherence is associated with a faster behavioral response. These results suggest a functional utilization of intrinsic neural oscillatory activities for an enhanced processing of upcoming stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Behzad Zareian
- Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, USA
| | - Kourosh Maboudi
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, USA
- School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mohammad Reza Daliri
- School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences, Tehran, Iran
- Neuroscience and Neuroengineering Research Laboratory, Biomedical Engineering Department, School of Electrical Engineering, Iran University of Science and Technology, 16846-13114, Tehran, Iran
| | - Hamid Abrishami Moghaddam
- Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Khajeh Nasir Toosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran
| | - Stefan Treue
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany
- Faculty of Biology and Psychology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Goettingen, Germany
- Leibniz-ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Moein Esghaei
- School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany.
- Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.
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22
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Routing information flow by separate neural synchrony frequencies allows for "functionally labeled lines" in higher primate cortex. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:12506-12515. [PMID: 31147468 PMCID: PMC6589668 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1819827116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Dynamical coordination of the neural activity between individual neurons is known to have a key role in the efficient transfer of sensory information to associative areas. Here, we report a role of interneuronal synchrony within the high-gamma (180 to 220 Hz) frequency range of activity in macaque area MT (a visual area in the dorsal visual pathway) in determining behavioral performance. This is, however, in contrast to previous reports for the ventral visual pathway (such as area V4), where only gamma range (40 to 70 Hz) was observed to play a role. We propose that such a difference between the functional coordination in different visual pathways might be used to unambiguously identify the source of input to the higher areas. Efficient transfer of sensory information to higher (motor or associative) areas in primate visual cortical areas is crucial for transforming sensory input into behavioral actions. Dynamically increasing the level of coordination between single neurons has been suggested as an important contributor to this efficiency. We propose that differences between the functional coordination in different visual pathways might be used to unambiguously identify the source of input to the higher areas, ensuring a proper routing of the information flow. Here we determined the level of coordination between neurons in area MT in macaque visual cortex in a visual attention task via the strength of synchronization between the neurons’ spike timing relative to the phase of oscillatory activities in local field potentials. In contrast to reports on the ventral visual pathway, we observed the synchrony of spikes only in the range of high gamma (180 to 220 Hz), rather than gamma (40 to 70 Hz) (as reported previously) to predict the animal’s reaction speed. This supports a mechanistic role of the phase of high-gamma oscillatory activity in dynamically modulating the efficiency of neuronal information transfer. In addition, for inputs to higher cortical areas converging from the dorsal and ventral pathway, the distinct frequency bands of these inputs can be leveraged to preserve the identity of the input source. In this way source-specific oscillatory activity in primate cortex can serve to establish and maintain “functionally labeled lines” for dynamically adjusting cortical information transfer and multiplexing converging sensory signals.
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