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Sun SH, Killian NJ, Pezaris JS. More than expected: extracellular waveforms and functional responses in monkey LGN. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.11.22.568065. [PMID: 38798485 PMCID: PMC11118448 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.22.568065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Unlike the exhaustive determination of cell types in the retina, key populations in the lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus (LGN) may have been missed. Here, we have begun to characterize the full range of extracellular neuronal responses in the LGN of awake monkeys using multi-electrodes during the presentation of colored noise visual stimuli to identify any previously overlooked signals. Extracellular spike waveforms of single units were classified into seven distinct classes, revealing previously unrecognized diversity: four negative-dominant classes that were narrow or broad, one triphasic class, and two positive-dominant classes. Based on their mapped receptive field (RF), these units were further categorized into either magnocellular (M), parvocellular (P), koniocellular (K), or non-RF (N). We found correlations between spike shape and mapped RF and response characteristics, with negative and narrow spiking waveform units predominantly associated with P and N RFs, and positive waveforms mostly linked to M RFs. Responses from positive waveforms exhibited shorter latencies, larger RF sizes, and were associated with larger eccentricities in the visual field than the other waveform classes. Additionally, N cells, those without an estimated RF, were consistently responsive to the visually presented mapping stimulus at a lower and more sustained rate than units with an RF. These findings suggest that the LGN cell population may be more diverse than previously believed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shi Hai Sun
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nathaniel J Killian
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - John S Pezaris
- Department of Neurosurgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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Martin PR. The Verriest Lecture: Pathways to color in the eye and brain. JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA. A, OPTICS, IMAGE SCIENCE, AND VISION 2023; 40:V1-V10. [PMID: 37133001 DOI: 10.1364/josaa.480106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
In common with the majority of New World monkeys, marmosets show polymorphic color vision by allelic variation of X-chromosome genes encoding opsin pigments in the medium/long wavelength range. Male marmosets are thus obligate dichromats ("red-green color blind"), whereas females carrying distinct alleles on X chromosomes show one of three trichromatic phenotypes. Marmosets thus represent a "natural knock-out" system enabling comparison of red-green color vision in dichromatic and trichromatic visual systems. Further, study of short-wave (blue) cone pathways in marmosets has provided insights into primitive visual pathways for depth perception and attention. These investigations represent a parallel line to clinical research on color vision defects that was pioneered in studies by Guy Verreist, whom we honor in this eponymous lecture.
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Rima S, Christoph Schmid M. V1-bypassing thalamo-cortical visual circuits in blindsight and developmental dyslexia. CURRENT OPINION IN PHYSIOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cophys.2020.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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4
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Zhu D, McEwan A, Eiber C. Microelectrode array electrical impedance tomography for fast functional imaging in the thalamus. Neuroimage 2019; 198:44-52. [PMID: 31108212 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.05.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2019] [Revised: 04/26/2019] [Accepted: 05/09/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT) has the potential to be able to observe functional tomographic images of neural activity in the brain at millisecond time-scales. Prior modelling and experimental work has shown that EIT is capable of imaging impedance changes from neural depolarisation in rat somatosensory cortex. Here, we investigate the feasibility of EIT for imaging impedance changes using a stereotaxically implanted microelectrode array in the thalamus. Microelectrode array EIT was simulated using an anatomically accurate marmoset brain model. Impedance imaging was validated and detectability estimated using physiological noise recorded from the marmoset visual thalamus. The results suggest that visual-input-driven impedance changes in visual subcortical bodies within 300 μm of the implanted array could be reliably reconstructed and localised, comparable to local field potential measurements. Furthermore, we demonstrated that microelectrode array EIT could reconstruct concurrent activity in multiple subcortical bodies simultaneously.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danyi Zhu
- School of Electrical and Information Engineering, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Alistair McEwan
- School of Electrical and Information Engineering, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia
| | - Calvin Eiber
- Save Sight Institute, The University of Sydney, 8 Macquarie St, Sydney, NSW, Australia; School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, Australia.
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De Franceschi G, Solomon SG. Visual response properties of neurons in the superficial layers of the superior colliculus of awake mouse. J Physiol 2018; 596:6307-6332. [PMID: 30281795 PMCID: PMC6292807 DOI: 10.1113/jp276964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2018] [Accepted: 09/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
KEY POINTS In rodents, including mice, the superior colliculus is the major target of the retina, but its visual response is not well characterized. In the present study, extracellular recordings from single nerve cells in the superficial layers of the superior colliculus were made in awake, head-restrained mice, and their responses to visual stimuli were measured. It was found that these neurons show brisk, highly sensitive and short latency visual responses, a preference for black over white stimuli, and diverse responses to moving patterns. At least five broad classes can be defined by variation in functional properties among units. The results of the present study demonstrate that eye movements have a measurable impact on visual responses in awake animals and show how they may be mitigated in analyses. ABSTRACT The mouse is an increasingly important animal model of visual function in health and disease. In mice, most retinal signals are routed through the superficial layers of the midbrain superior colliculus, and it is well established that much of the visual behaviour of mice relies on activity in the superior colliculus. The functional organization of visual signals in the mouse superior colliculus is, however, not well established in awake animals. We therefore made extracellular recordings from the superficial layers of the superior colliculus in awake mice, while the animals were viewing visual stimuli including flashed spots and drifting gratings. We find that neurons in the superficial layers of the superior colliculus of awake mouse generally show short latency, brisk responses. Receptive fields are usually 'ON-OFF' with a preference for black stimuli, and are weakly non-linear in response to gratings and other forms of luminance modulation. Population responses to drifting gratings are highly contrast sensitive, with a robust response to spatial frequencies above 0.3 cycles degree-1 and temporal frequencies above 15 Hz. The receptive fields are also often speed-tuned or direction-selective. Analysis of the response across multiple stimulus dimensions reveals at least five functionally distinct groups of units. We also find that eye movements affect measurements of receptive field properties in awake animals, and show how these may be mitigated in analyses. Qualitatively similar responses were obtained in urethane-anaesthetized animals, although receptive fields in awake animals had higher contrast sensitivity, shorter visual latency and a stronger response to high temporal frequencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gioia De Franceschi
- Institute of Behavioural Neuroscience, Department of Experimental Psychology
University College LondonLondonUK
| | - Samuel G. Solomon
- Institute of Behavioural Neuroscience, Department of Experimental Psychology
University College LondonLondonUK
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Receptive Field Properties of Koniocellular On/Off Neurons in the Lateral Geniculate Nucleus of Marmoset Monkeys. J Neurosci 2018; 38:10384-10398. [PMID: 30327419 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1679-18.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2018] [Revised: 09/12/2018] [Accepted: 10/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The koniocellular (K) layers of the primate dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus house a variety of visual receptive field types, not all of which have been fully characterized. Here we made single-cell recordings targeted to the K layers of diurnal New World monkeys (marmosets). A subset of recorded cells was excited by both increments and decrements of light intensity (on/off-cells). Histological reconstruction of the location of these cells confirmed that they are segregated to K layers; we therefore refer to these cells as K-on/off cells. The K-on/off cells show high contrast sensitivity, strong bandpass spatial frequency tuning, and their response magnitude is strongly reduced by stimuli larger than the excitatory receptive field (silent suppressive surrounds). Stationary counterphase gratings evoke unmodulated spike rate increases or frequency-doubled responses in K-on/off cells; such responses are largely independent of grating spatial phase. The K-on/off cells are not orientation or direction selective. Some (but not all) properties of K-on/off cells are consistent with those of local-edge-detector/impressed-by-contrast cells reported in studies of cat retina and geniculate, and broad-thorny ganglion cells recorded in macaque monkey retina. The receptive field properties of K-on/off cells and their preferential location in the ventral K layers (K1 and K2) make them good candidates for the direct projection from geniculate to extrastriate cortical area MT/V5. If so, they could contribute to visual information processing in the dorsal ("where" or "action") visual stream.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We characterize cells in an evolutionary ancient part of the visual pathway in primates. The cells are located in the lateral geniculate nucleus (the main visual afferent relay nucleus), in regions called koniocellular layers that are known to project to extrastriate visual areas as well as primary visual cortex. The cells show high contrast sensitivity and rapid, transient responses to light onset and offset. Their properties suggest they could contribute to visual processing in the dorsal ("where" or "action") visual stream.
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Eiber C, Pietersen A, Zeater N, Solomon S, Martin P. Chromatic summation and receptive field properties of blue-on and blue-off cells in marmoset lateral geniculate nucleus. Vision Res 2018; 151:41-52. [DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2017.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2017] [Revised: 08/04/2017] [Accepted: 09/13/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Brown A, Corner M, Crewther DP, Crewther SG. Human Flicker Fusion Correlates With Physiological Measures of Magnocellular Neural Efficiency. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:176. [PMID: 29867406 PMCID: PMC5960665 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2018] [Accepted: 04/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The rapidity with which the visual system can recover from stimulation in order to respond again has important implications for efficiently processing environmental stimuli in real time. To date, there has been little integration of the human psychophysical and physiological research underlying the neural mechanisms contributing to temporal limits on human visual perception. Hence, we investigated the relationship between achromatic flicker fusion frequency and temporal analysis of the magnocellular (M) and parvocellular (P) contributions to the achromatic non-linear multifocal Visual Evoked Potential (mfVEP) responses recorded from occipital scalp (Oz). It was hypothesized, on the basis of higher temporal cut-off frequencies reported for primate M vs. P neurons, that sinusoidal flicker fusion frequencies would negatively correlate with the amplitude of M- but not P-generated non-linearities of the mfVEP. This hypothesis was borne out in 72 typically developing young adults using a four-way forced choice sinusoidal flicker fusion task: amplitudes of all non-linearities that demonstrated a clear M-generated component correlated negatively with flicker thresholds. The strongest of these correlations were demonstrated by the main M non-linearity component (K2.1N70−P100) for both high contrast (r = −0.415, n = 64, p < 0.0005) and low contrast (r = −0.345 n = 63, p < 0.002) conditions, indicating that higher achromatic flicker fusion threshold is linked to a more efficient (smaller second order kernels) M system. None of the peaks related to P activity showed significant correlations. These results establish flicker thresholds as a functional correlate of M-pathway function as can be observed in the non-linear analysis of mfVEP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alyse Brown
- School of Psychological Science and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Molly Corner
- School of Psychological Science and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - David P Crewther
- Centre for Human Psychopharmacology, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Sheila G Crewther
- School of Psychological Science and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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Towards building a more complex view of the lateral geniculate nucleus: Recent advances in understanding its role. Prog Neurobiol 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2017.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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10
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Kóbor P, Petykó Z, Telkes I, Martin PR, Buzás P. Temporal properties of colour opponent receptive fields in the cat lateral geniculate nucleus. Eur J Neurosci 2017; 45:1368-1378. [PMID: 28391639 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13574] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2016] [Revised: 03/30/2017] [Accepted: 04/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The primordial form of mammalian colour vision relies on opponent interactions between inputs from just two cone types, 'blue' (S-) and 'green' (ML-) cones. We recently described the spatial receptive field structure of colour opponent blue-ON cells from the lateral geniculate nucleus of cats. Functional inputs from the opponent cone types were spatially coextensive and equally weighted, supporting their high chromatic and low achromatic sensitivity. Here, we studied relative cone weights, temporal frequency tuning and visual latency of cat blue-ON cells and non-opponent achromatic cells to temporally modulated cone-isolating and achromatic stimuli. We confirmed that blue-ON cells receive equally weighted antagonistic inputs from S- and ML-cones whereas achromatic cells receive exclusive ML-cone input. The temporal frequency tuning curves of S- and ML-cone inputs to blue-ON cells were tightly correlated between 1 and 48 Hz. Optimal temporal frequencies of blue-ON cells were around 3 Hz, whereas the frequency optimum of achromatic cells was close to 10 Hz. Most blue-ON cells showed negligible response to achromatic flicker across all frequencies tested. Latency to visual stimulation was significantly greater in blue-ON than in achromatic cells. The S- and ML-cone responses of blue-ON cells had on average, similar latencies to each other. Altogether, cat blue-ON cells showed remarkable balance of opponent cone inputs. Our results also confirm similarities to primate blue-ON cells suggesting that colour vision in mammals evolved on the basis of a sluggish pathway that is optimized for chromatic sensitivity at a wide range of spatial and temporal frequencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Péter Kóbor
- Institute of Physiology, Medical School, University of Pécs, 7624, Pécs, Hungary.,Centre for Neuroscience, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
| | - Zoltán Petykó
- Institute of Physiology, Medical School, University of Pécs, 7624, Pécs, Hungary.,Centre for Neuroscience, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
| | - Ildikó Telkes
- Institute of Physiology, Medical School, University of Pécs, 7624, Pécs, Hungary.,Centre for Neuroscience, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
| | - Paul R Martin
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,Save Sight Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Péter Buzás
- Institute of Physiology, Medical School, University of Pécs, 7624, Pécs, Hungary.,Centre for Neuroscience, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
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Pietersen ANJ, Cheong SK, Munn B, Gong P, Martin PR, Solomon SG. Relationship between cortical state and spiking activity in the lateral geniculate nucleus of marmosets. J Physiol 2017; 595:4475-4492. [PMID: 28116750 DOI: 10.1113/jp273569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2016] [Accepted: 01/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
KEY POINTS How parallel are the primate visual pathways? In the present study, we demonstrate that parallel visual pathways in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) show distinct patterns of interaction with rhythmic activity in the primary visual cortex (V1). In the V1 of anaesthetized marmosets, the EEG frequency spectrum undergoes transient changes that are characterized by fluctuations in delta-band EEG power. We show that, on multisecond timescales, spiking activity in an evolutionary primitive (koniocellular) LGN pathway is specifically linked to these slow EEG spectrum changes. By contrast, on subsecond (delta frequency) timescales, cortical oscillations can entrain spiking activity throughout the entire LGN. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that, in waking animals, the koniocellular pathway selectively participates in brain circuits controlling vigilance and attention. ABSTRACT The major afferent cortical pathway in the visual system passes through the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN), where nerve signals originating in the eye can first interact with brain circuits regulating visual processing, vigilance and attention. In the present study, we investigated how ongoing and visually driven activity in magnocellular (M), parvocellular (P) and koniocellular (K) layers of the LGN are related to cortical state. We recorded extracellular spiking activity in the LGN simultaneously with local field potentials (LFP) in primary visual cortex, in sufentanil-anaesthetized marmoset monkeys. We found that asynchronous cortical states (marked by low power in delta-band LFPs) are linked to high spike rates in K cells (but not P cells or M cells), on multisecond timescales. Cortical asynchrony precedes the increases in K cell spike rates by 1-3 s, implying causality. At subsecond timescales, the spiking activity in many cells of all (M, P and K) classes is phase-locked to delta waves in the cortical LFP, and more cells are phase-locked during synchronous cortical states than during asynchronous cortical states. The switch from low-to-high spike rates in K cells does not degrade their visual signalling capacity. By contrast, during asynchronous cortical states, the fidelity of visual signals transmitted by K cells is improved, probably because K cell responses become less rectified. Overall, the data show that slow fluctuations in cortical state are selectively linked to K pathway spiking activity, whereas delta-frequency cortical oscillations entrain spiking activity throughout the entire LGN, in anaesthetized marmosets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander N J Pietersen
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, University of Sydney, Australia.,Save Sight Institute, University of Sydney Eye Hospital Campus, Sydney, Australia
| | - Soon Keen Cheong
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, University of Sydney, Australia.,Save Sight Institute, University of Sydney Eye Hospital Campus, Sydney, Australia
| | - Brandon Munn
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, University of Sydney, Australia.,School of Physics, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Pulin Gong
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, University of Sydney, Australia.,School of Physics, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Paul R Martin
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, University of Sydney, Australia.,Save Sight Institute, University of Sydney Eye Hospital Campus, Sydney, Australia.,School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Samuel G Solomon
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, University of Sydney, Australia.,School of Medical Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.,Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, UK
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Zeater N, Cheong SK, Solomon SG, Dreher B, Martin PR. Binocular Visual Responses in the Primate Lateral Geniculate Nucleus. Curr Biol 2015; 25:3190-3195. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.10.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2015] [Revised: 09/30/2015] [Accepted: 10/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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13
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Solomon SG, Rosa MGP. A simpler primate brain: the visual system of the marmoset monkey. Front Neural Circuits 2014; 8:96. [PMID: 25152716 PMCID: PMC4126041 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2014.00096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2014] [Accepted: 07/22/2014] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans are diurnal primates with high visual acuity at the center of gaze. Although primates share many similarities in the organization of their visual centers with other mammals, and even other species of vertebrates, their visual pathways also show unique features, particularly with respect to the organization of the cerebral cortex. Therefore, in order to understand some aspects of human visual function, we need to study non-human primate brains. Which species is the most appropriate model? Macaque monkeys, the most widely used non-human primates, are not an optimal choice in many practical respects. For example, much of the macaque cerebral cortex is buried within sulci, and is therefore inaccessible to many imaging techniques, and the postnatal development and lifespan of macaques are prohibitively long for many studies of brain maturation, plasticity, and aging. In these and several other respects the marmoset, a small New World monkey, represents a more appropriate choice. Here we review the visual pathways of the marmoset, highlighting recent work that brings these advantages into focus, and identify where additional work needs to be done to link marmoset brain organization to that of macaques and humans. We will argue that the marmoset monkey provides a good subject for studies of a complex visual system, which will likely allow an important bridge linking experiments in animal models to humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel G Solomon
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London London, UK
| | - Marcello G P Rosa
- Department of Physiology, Monash University, Clayton, VIC Australia ; Monash Vision Group, Monash University, Clayton, VIC Australia ; Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, Monash University Node, Clayton, VIC Australia
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