1
|
Dugan C, Zikopoulos B, Yazdanbakhsh A. A neural modeling approach to study mechanisms underlying the heterogeneity of visual spatial frequency sensitivity in schizophrenia. SCHIZOPHRENIA (HEIDELBERG, GERMANY) 2024; 10:63. [PMID: 39013944 PMCID: PMC11252134 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-024-00480-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 07/18/2024]
Abstract
Patients with schizophrenia exhibit abnormalities in spatial frequency sensitivity, and it is believed that these abnormalities indicate more widespread dysfunction and dysregulation of bottom-up processing. The early visual system, including the first-order Lateral Geniculate Nucleus of the thalamus (LGN) and the primary visual cortex (V1), are key contributors to spatial frequency sensitivity. Medicated and unmedicated patients with schizophrenia exhibit contrasting changes in spatial frequency sensitivity, thus making it a useful probe for examining potential effects of the disorder and antipsychotic medications in neural processing. We constructed a parameterized, rate-based neural model of on-center/off-surround neurons in the early visual system to investigate the impacts of changes to the excitatory and inhibitory receptive field subfields. By incorporating changes in both the excitatory and inhibitory subfields that are associated with pathophysiological findings in schizophrenia, the model successfully replicated perceptual data from behavioral/functional studies involving medicated and unmedicated patients. Among several plausible mechanisms, our results highlight the dampening of excitation and/or increase in the spread and strength of the inhibitory subfield in medicated patients and the contrasting decreased spread and strength of inhibition in unmedicated patients. Given that the model was successful at replicating results from perceptual data under a variety of conditions, these elements of the receptive field may be useful markers for the imbalances seen in patients with schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Dugan
- Program in Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Basilis Zikopoulos
- Human Systems Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
- Graduate Program for Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Arash Yazdanbakhsh
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
- Graduate Program for Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
- Computational Neuroscience and Vision Laboratory, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Zhang Y, Zhang X, Lu X, Chen N. Attention spotlight in V1-based cortico-cortical interactions in human visual hierarchy. Sci Rep 2024; 14:13140. [PMID: 38849423 PMCID: PMC11161588 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-63817-y] [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: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 06/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Attention is often viewed as a mental spotlight, which can be scaled like a zoom lens at specific spatial locations and features a center-surround gradient. Here, we demonstrate a neural signature of attention spotlight in signal transmission along the visual hierarchy. fMRI background connectivity analysis was performed between retinotopic V1 and downstream areas to characterize the spatial distribution of inter-areal interaction under two attentional states. We found that, compared to diffused attention, focal attention sharpened the spatial gradient in the strength of the background connectivity. Dynamic causal modeling analysis further revealed the effect of attention in both the feedback and feedforward connectivity between V1 and extrastriate cortex. In a context which induced a strong effect of crowding, the effect of attention in the background connectivity profile diminished. Our findings reveal a context-dependent attention prioritization in information transmission via modulating the recurrent processing across the early stages in human visual cortex.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yanyu Zhang
- Institute of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Xilin Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, Guangdong, China
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, Guangdong, China
| | - Xincheng Lu
- Department of psychological and cognitive sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Nihong Chen
- Department of psychological and cognitive sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research at Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Boundy-Singer ZM, Ziemba CM, Hénaff OJ, Goris RLT. How does V1 population activity inform perceptual certainty? J Vis 2024; 24:12. [PMID: 38884544 PMCID: PMC11185272 DOI: 10.1167/jov.24.6.12] [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: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 06/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Neural population activity in sensory cortex informs our perceptual interpretation of the environment. Oftentimes, this population activity will support multiple alternative interpretations. The larger the spread of probability over different alternatives, the more uncertain the selected perceptual interpretation. We test the hypothesis that the reliability of perceptual interpretations can be revealed through simple transformations of sensory population activity. We recorded V1 population activity in fixating macaques while presenting oriented stimuli under different levels of nuisance variability and signal strength. We developed a decoding procedure to infer from V1 activity the most likely stimulus orientation as well as the certainty of this estimate. Our analysis shows that response magnitude, response dispersion, and variability in response gain all offer useful proxies for orientation certainty. Of these three metrics, the last one has the strongest association with the decoder's uncertainty estimates. These results clarify that the nature of neural population activity in sensory cortex provides downstream circuits with multiple options to assess the reliability of perceptual interpretations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zoe M Boundy-Singer
- Center for Perceptual Systems, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Corey M Ziemba
- Center for Perceptual Systems, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | | | - Robbe L T Goris
- Center for Perceptual Systems, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Yoon Y, Hong SW. The role of pattern coherence in interocular grouping during binocular rivalry: Insights from individual differences. Vision Res 2024; 219:108401. [PMID: 38569223 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2024.108401] [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: 07/20/2023] [Revised: 03/18/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
Interocular grouping during binocular rivalry occurs when two images presented to each eye combine into a coherent pattern. The experience of interocular grouping is thought to be influenced by both eye-of-origin, which involves excitatory lateral connections among monocular neurons, and pattern coherence, which results from top-down intervention from higher visual areas. However, it remains unclear which factor plays a more significant role in the interocularly-grouped percepts during binocular rivalry. The current study employed an individual difference approach to investigate whether grouping dynamics are mainly determined by eye-of-origin or pattern coherence. We found that participants who perceived interocularly-driven coherent percepts for a longer duration also tended to experience longer periods of monocularly-driven coherent percepts. In contrast, participants who experienced non-coherent piecemeal percepts for an extended duration in conventional rivalry also had longer duration of non-coherent percepts in the interocular coherence setting. This individual differences in experiencing interocular grouping suggest that pattern coherence exerts a stronger influence on grouping dynamics during binocular rivalry compared to eye-of-origin factors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yosun Yoon
- Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Rd, BS-12, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA; Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Rd, BS-12, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA.
| | - Sang Wook Hong
- Department of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Rd, BS-12, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA; Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute, Florida Atlantic University, 777 Glades Rd, BS-12, Boca Raton, FL 33431, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Yang H, Han F, Wang Q. A large-scale neuronal network modelling study: Stimulus size modulates gamma oscillations in the primary visual cortex by long-range connections. Eur J Neurosci 2024. [PMID: 38812400 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.16429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2023] [Revised: 05/04/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024]
Abstract
Stimulus size modulation of neuronal firing activity is a fundamental property of the primary visual cortex. Numerous biological experiments have shown that stimulus size modulation is affected by multiple factors at different spatiotemporal scales, but the exact pathways and mechanisms remain incompletely understood. In this paper, we establish a large-scale neuronal network model of primary visual cortex with layer 2/3 to study how gamma oscillation properties are modulated by stimulus size and especially how long-range connections affect the modulation as realistic neuronal properties and spatial distributions of synaptic connections are considered. It is shown that long-range horizontal synaptic connections are sufficient to produce dimensional modulation of firing rates and gamma oscillations. In particular, with increasing grating stimulus size, the firing rate increases and then decreases, the peak frequency of gamma oscillations decreases and the spectral power increases. These are consistent with biological experimental observations. Furthermore, we explain in detail how the number and spatial distribution of long-range connections affect the size modulation of gamma oscillations by using the analysis of neuronal firing activity and synaptic current fluctuations. Our results provide a mechanism explanation for size modulation of gamma oscillations in the primary visual cortex and reveal the important and unique role played by long-range connections, which contributes to a deeper understanding of the cognitive function of gamma oscillations in visual cortex.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hao Yang
- College of Information Science and Technology, Donghua University, Shanghai, China
| | - Fang Han
- College of Information Science and Technology, Donghua University, Shanghai, China
| | - Qingyun Wang
- Department of Dynamics and Control, Beihang University, Beijing, China
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Wang T, Dai W, Wu Y, Li Y, Yang Y, Zhang Y, Zhou T, Sun X, Wang G, Li L, Dou F, Xing D. Nonuniform and pathway-specific laminar processing of spatial frequencies in the primary visual cortex of primates. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4005. [PMID: 38740786 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48379-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2023] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
The neocortex comprises six cortical layers that play a crucial role in information processing; however, it remains unclear whether laminar processing is consistent across all regions within a single cortex. In this study, we demonstrate diverse laminar response patterns in the primary visual cortex (V1) of three male macaque monkeys when exposed to visual stimuli at different spatial frequencies (SFs). These response patterns can be categorized into two groups. One group exhibit suppressed responses in the output layers for all SFs, while the other type shows amplified responses specifically at high SFs. Further analysis suggests that both magnocellular (M) and parvocellular (P) pathways contribute to the suppressive effect through feedforward mechanisms, whereas amplification is specific to local recurrent mechanisms within the parvocellular pathway. These findings highlight the non-uniform distribution of neural mechanisms involved in laminar processing and emphasize how pathway-specific amplification selectively enhances representations of high-SF information in primate V1.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tian Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
- College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Weifeng Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Yujie Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Yang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Yi Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Yange Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Tingting Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Xiaowen Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Gang Wang
- Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100005, China
| | - Liang Li
- Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100005, China
| | - Fei Dou
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
- College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Dajun Xing
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Zhu S, Oh YJ, Trepka E, Chen X, Moore T. Dependence of Contextual Modulation in Macaque V1 on Interlaminar Signal Flow. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.18.590176. [PMID: 38659877 PMCID: PMC11042257 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.18.590176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
In visual cortex, neural correlates of subjective perception can be generated by modulation of activity from beyond the classical receptive field (CRF). In macaque V1, activity generated by nonclassical receptive field (nCRF) stimulation involves different intracortical circuitry than activity generated by CRF stimulation, suggesting that interactions between neurons across V1 layers differ under CRF and nCRF stimulus conditions. We measured border ownership modulation within large populations of V1 neurons. We found that neurons in single columns preferred the same side of objects located outside of the CRF. In addition, we found that interactions between pairs of neurons situated across feedback/horizontal and input layers differed between CRF and nCRF stimulation. Furthermore, the magnitude of border ownership modulation was predicted by greater information flow from feedback/horizontal to input layers. These results demonstrate that the flow of signals between layers covaries with the degree to which neurons integrate information from beyond the CRF.
Collapse
|
8
|
Lewis CM, Wunderle T, Fries P. Top-down modulation of visual cortical stimulus encoding and gamma independent of firing rates. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.11.589006. [PMID: 38645050 PMCID: PMC11030389 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.11.589006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/23/2024]
Abstract
Neurons in primary visual cortex integrate sensory input with signals reflecting the animal's internal state to support flexible behavior. Internal variables, such as expectation, attention, or current goals, are imposed in a top-down manner via extensive feedback projections from higher-order areas. We optogenetically activated a high-order visual area, area 21a, in the lightly anesthetized cat (OptoTD), while recording from neuronal populations in V1. OptoTD induced strong, up to several fold, changes in gamma-band synchronization together with much smaller changes in firing rate, and the two effects showed no correlation. OptoTD effects showed specificity for the features of the simultaneously presented visual stimuli. OptoTD-induced changes in gamma synchronization, but not firing rates, were predictive of simultaneous changes in the amount of encoded stimulus information. Our findings suggest that one important role of top-down signals is to modulate synchronization and the information encoded by populations of sensory neurons.
Collapse
|
9
|
Li Y, Dai W, Wang T, Wu Y, Dou F, Xing D. Visual surround suppression at the neural and perceptual levels. Cogn Neurodyn 2024; 18:741-756. [PMID: 38699623 PMCID: PMC11061091 DOI: 10.1007/s11571-023-10027-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2023] [Revised: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Surround suppression was initially identified as a phenomenon at the neural level in which stimuli outside the neuron's receptive field alone cannot activate responses but can modulate neural responses to stimuli covered inside the receptive field. Subsequent studies showed that surround suppression is not only a critical property of neurons across species and brain areas but also has been found in visual perceptions. More importantly, surround suppression varies across individuals and shows significant differences between normal controls and patients with certain mental disorders. Here, we combined results from related literature and summarized the findings derived from physiological and psychophysical evidence. We first outline the basic properties of surround suppression in the visual system and perceptions. Then, we mainly summarize the differences in perceptual surround suppression among different human subjects. Our review suggests that there is no consensus regarding whether the strength of perceptual surround suppression could be used as an effective index to distinguish particular populations. Then, we summarized the similar mechanisms for surround suppression and cognitive impairments to further explore the potential clinical applications of surround suppression. A clearer understanding of the mechanisms of surround suppression in neural responses and perceptions is necessary for facilitating its clinical applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yang Li
- School of Criminology, People’s Public Security University of China, Beijing, 100038 China
| | - Weifeng Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875 China
| | - Tian Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875 China
- College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875 China
| | - Yujie Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875 China
| | - Fei Dou
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875 China
- College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875 China
| | - Dajun Xing
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875 China
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Nivinsky Margalit S, Slovin H. Encoding luminance surfaces in the visual cortex of mice and monkeys: difference in responses to edge and center. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae165. [PMID: 38652553 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae165] [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: 11/25/2023] [Revised: 03/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Luminance and spatial contrast provide information on the surfaces and edges of objects. We investigated neural responses to black and white surfaces in the primary visual cortex (V1) of mice and monkeys. Unlike primates that use their fovea to inspect objects with high acuity, mice lack a fovea and have low visual acuity. It thus remains unclear whether monkeys and mice share similar neural mechanisms to process surfaces. The animals were presented with white or black surfaces and the population responses were measured at high spatial and temporal resolution using voltage-sensitive dye imaging. In mice, the population response to the surface was not edge-dominated with a tendency to center-dominance, whereas in monkeys the response was edge-dominated with a "hole" in the center of the surface. The population response to the surfaces in both species exhibited suppression relative to a grating stimulus. These results reveal the differences in spatial patterns to luminance surfaces in the V1 of mice and monkeys and provide evidence for a shared suppression process relative to grating.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shany Nivinsky Margalit
- The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel
| | - Hamutal Slovin
- The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Bolaños F, Orlandi JG, Aoki R, Jagadeesh AV, Gardner JL, Benucci A. Efficient coding of natural images in the mouse visual cortex. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2466. [PMID: 38503746 PMCID: PMC10951403 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45919-3] [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: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024] Open
Abstract
How the activity of neurons gives rise to natural vision remains a matter of intense investigation. The mid-level visual areas along the ventral stream are selective to a common class of natural images-textures-but a circuit-level understanding of this selectivity and its link to perception remains unclear. We addressed these questions in mice, first showing that they can perceptually discriminate between textures and statistically simpler spectrally matched stimuli, and between texture types. Then, at the neural level, we found that the secondary visual area (LM) exhibited a higher degree of selectivity for textures compared to the primary visual area (V1). Furthermore, textures were represented in distinct neural activity subspaces whose relative distances were found to correlate with the statistical similarity of the images and the mice's ability to discriminate between them. Notably, these dependencies were more pronounced in LM, where the texture-related subspaces were smaller than in V1, resulting in superior stimulus decoding capabilities. Together, our results demonstrate texture vision in mice, finding a linking framework between stimulus statistics, neural representations, and perceptual sensitivity-a distinct hallmark of efficient coding computations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Federico Bolaños
- University of British Columbia, Neuroimaging and NeuroComputation Centre, Vancouver, BC, V6T, Canada
| | - Javier G Orlandi
- University of Calgary, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada.
| | - Ryo Aoki
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Laboratory for Neural Circuits and Behavior, Wakoshi, Japan
| | | | - Justin L Gardner
- Stanford University, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Andrea Benucci
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Laboratory for Neural Circuits and Behavior, Wakoshi, Japan.
- Queen Mary, University of London, School of Biological and Behavioral Science, London, E1 4NS, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Luo L, Wang X, Lu J, Chen G, Luan G, Li W, Wang Q, Fang F. Local field potentials, spiking activity, and receptive fields in human visual cortex. SCIENCE CHINA. LIFE SCIENCES 2024; 67:543-554. [PMID: 37957484 DOI: 10.1007/s11427-023-2436-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
The concept of receptive field (RF) is central to sensory neuroscience. Neuronal RF properties have been substantially studied in animals, while those in humans remain nearly unexplored. Here, we measured neuronal RFs with intracranial local field potentials (LFPs) and spiking activity in human visual cortex (V1/V2/V3). We recorded LFPs via macro-contacts and discovered that RF sizes estimated from low-frequency activity (LFA, 0.5-30 Hz) were larger than those estimated from low-gamma activity (LGA, 30-60 Hz) and high-gamma activity (HGA, 60-150 Hz). We then took a rare opportunity to record LFPs and spiking activity via microwires in V1 simultaneously. We found that RF sizes and temporal profiles measured from LGA and HGA closely matched those from spiking activity. In sum, this study reveals that spiking activity of neurons in human visual cortex could be well approximated by LGA and HGA in RF estimation and temporal profile measurement, implying the pivotal functions of LGA and HGA in early visual information processing.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lu Luo
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
- School of Psychology, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Xiongfei Wang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100093, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Epilepsy, Epilepsy Center, Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100093, China
| | - Junshi Lu
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Guanpeng Chen
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Guoming Luan
- Department of Neurosurgery, Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100093, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Epilepsy, Epilepsy Center, Sanbo Brain Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, 100093, China
- Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Beijing, 100069, China
| | - Wu Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Qian Wang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
| | - Fang Fang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
- IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
- Peking-Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Van der Burg E, Cass J, Olivers CNL. A CODE model bridging crowding in sparse and dense displays. Vision Res 2024; 215:108345. [PMID: 38142531 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2023.108345] [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: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/04/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023]
Abstract
Visual crowding is arguably the strongest limitation imposed on extrafoveal vision, and is a relatively well-understood phenomenon. However, most investigations and theories are based on sparse displays consisting of a target and at most a handful of flanker objects. Recent findings suggest that the laws thought to govern crowding may not hold for densely cluttered displays, and that grouping and nearest neighbour effects may be more important. Here we present a computational model that accounts for crowding effects in both sparse and dense displays. The model is an adaptation and extension of an earlier model that has previously successfully accounted for spatial clustering, numerosity and object-based attention phenomena. Our model combines grouping by proximity and similarity with a nearest neighbour rule, and defines crowding as the extent to which target and flankers fail to segment. We show that when the model is optimized for explaining crowding phenomena in classic, sparse displays, it also does a good job in capturing novel crowding patterns in dense displays, in both existing and new data sets. The model thus ties together different principles governing crowding, specifically Bouma's law, grouping, and nearest neighbour similarity effects.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - John Cass
- MARCS Institute of Brain, Behaviour & Development, Western Sydney University, Australia
| | - Christian N L Olivers
- Institute for Brain and Behaviour Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Davis ZW, Busch A, Stewerd C, Muller L, Reynolds J. Horizontal cortical connections shape intrinsic traveling waves into feature-selective motifs that regulate perceptual sensitivity. RESEARCH SQUARE 2024:rs.3.rs-3830199. [PMID: 38260448 PMCID: PMC10802692 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3830199/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2024]
Abstract
Intrinsic, ongoing fluctuations of cortical activity form traveling waves that modulate the gain of sensory-evoked responses and perceptual sensitivity. Several lines of evidence suggest that intrinsic traveling waves (iTWs) may arise, in part, from the coordination of synaptic activity through the recurrent horizontal connectivity within cortical areas, which include long range patchy connections that link neurons with shared feature preferences. In a spiking network model with anatomical topology that incorporates feature-selective patchy connections, which we call the Balanced Patchy Network (BPN), we observe repeated iTWs, which we refer to as motifs. In the model, motifs stem from fluctuations in the excitability of like-tuned neurons that result from shifts in E/I balance as action potentials traverse these patchy connections. To test if feature-selective motifs occur in vivo, we examined data previously recorded using multielectrode arrays in Area MT of marmosets trained to perform a threshold visual detection task. Using a newly developed method for comparing the similarity of wave patterns we found that some iTWs can be grouped into motifs. As predicted by the BPN, many of these motifs are feature selective, exhibiting direction-selective modulations in ongoing spiking activity. Further, motifs modulate the gain of the response evoked by a target and perceptual sensitivity to the target if the target matches the preference of the motif. These results provide evidence that iTWs are shaped by the patterns of horizontal fiber projections in the cortex and that patchy connections enable iTWs to regulate neural and perceptual sensitivity in a feature selective manner.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zachary W Davis
- The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA. 92037
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, University of Utah, SLC, UT, USA 84112
| | - Alexandria Busch
- Department of Applied Mathematics, Western University, London, ON, Canada. N6A 3K7
- Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada. N6A 3K7
| | - Christopher Stewerd
- Department of Applied Mathematics, Western University, London, ON, Canada. N6A 3K7
- Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada. N6A 3K7
| | - Lyle Muller
- Department of Applied Mathematics, Western University, London, ON, Canada. N6A 3K7
- Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada. N6A 3K7
| | - John Reynolds
- The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA. 92037
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Sanzeni A, Palmigiano A, Nguyen TH, Luo J, Nassi JJ, Reynolds JH, Histed MH, Miller KD, Brunel N. Mechanisms underlying reshuffling of visual responses by optogenetic stimulation in mice and monkeys. Neuron 2023; 111:4102-4115.e9. [PMID: 37865082 PMCID: PMC10841937 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.09.018] [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: 11/03/2022] [Revised: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 10/23/2023]
Abstract
The ability to optogenetically perturb neural circuits opens an unprecedented window into mechanisms governing circuit function. We analyzed and theoretically modeled neuronal responses to visual and optogenetic inputs in mouse and monkey V1. In both species, optogenetic stimulation of excitatory neurons strongly modulated the activity of single neurons yet had weak or no effects on the distribution of firing rates across the population. Thus, the optogenetic inputs reshuffled firing rates across the network. Key statistics of mouse and monkey responses lay on a continuum, with mice/monkeys occupying the low-/high-rate regions, respectively. We show that neuronal reshuffling emerges generically in randomly connected excitatory/inhibitory networks, provided the coupling strength (combination of recurrent coupling and external input) is sufficient that powerful inhibitory feedback cancels the mean optogenetic input. A more realistic model, distinguishing tuned visual vs. untuned optogenetic input in a structured network, reduces the coupling strength needed to explain reshuffling.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Sanzeni
- Department of Computing Sciences, Bocconi University, 20100 Milan, Italy; Center for Theoretical Neuroscience and Mortimer B Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA
| | - Agostina Palmigiano
- Center for Theoretical Neuroscience and Mortimer B Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Tuan H Nguyen
- Center for Theoretical Neuroscience and Mortimer B Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA; Department of Physics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Junxiang Luo
- Systems Neurobiology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Jonathan J Nassi
- Systems Neurobiology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - John H Reynolds
- Systems Neurobiology Laboratory, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Mark H Histed
- National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Program, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA
| | - Kenneth D Miller
- Center for Theoretical Neuroscience and Mortimer B Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Swartz Program in Theoretical Neuroscience, Kavli Institute for Brain Science, College of Physicians and Surgeons and Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York City, NY 10027, USA.
| | - Nicolas Brunel
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA; Department of Physics, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Fang Z, Bloem IM, Olsson C, Ma WJ, Winawer J. Normalization by orientation-tuned surround in human V1-V3. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1011704. [PMID: 38150484 PMCID: PMC10793941 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023] Open
Abstract
An influential account of neuronal responses in primary visual cortex is the normalized energy model. This model is often implemented as a multi-stage computation. The first stage is linear filtering. The second stage is the extraction of contrast energy, whereby a complex cell computes the squared and summed outputs of a pair of the linear filters in quadrature phase. The third stage is normalization, in which a local population of complex cells mutually inhibit one another. Because the population includes cells tuned to a range of orientations and spatial frequencies, the result is that the responses are effectively normalized by the local stimulus contrast. Here, using evidence from human functional MRI, we show that the classical model fails to account for the relative responses to two classes of stimuli: straight, parallel, band-passed contours (gratings), and curved, band-passed contours (snakes). The snakes elicit fMRI responses that are about twice as large as the gratings, yet a traditional divisive normalization model predicts responses that are about the same. Motivated by these observations and others from the literature, we implement a divisive normalization model in which cells matched in orientation tuning ("tuned normalization") preferentially inhibit each other. We first show that this model accounts for differential responses to these two classes of stimuli. We then show that the model successfully generalizes to other band-pass textures, both in V1 and in extrastriate cortex (V2 and V3). We conclude that even in primary visual cortex, complex features of images such as the degree of heterogeneity, can have large effects on neural responses.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zeming Fang
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York City, New York, United States of America
- Department of Cognitive Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, United States of America
| | - Ilona M. Bloem
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York City, New York, United States of America
| | - Catherine Olsson
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York City, New York, United States of America
| | - Wei Ji Ma
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York City, New York, United States of America
| | - Jonathan Winawer
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York City, New York, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Dugan C, Zikopoulos B, Yazdanbakhsh A. A neural modeling approach to study mechanisms underlying the heterogeneity of visual spatial frequency sensitivity in schizophrenia. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.10.18.563001. [PMID: 37904992 PMCID: PMC10614973 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.18.563001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
Patients with schizophrenia exhibit abnormalities in spatial frequency sensitivity, and it is believed that these abnormalities indicate more widespread dysfunction and dysregulation of bottom-up processing. The early visual system, including the first-order Lateral Geniculate Nucleus of the thalamus (LGN) and the primary visual cortex (V1), are key contributors to spatial frequency sensitivity. Medicated and unmedicated patients with schizophrenia exhibit contrasting changes in spatial frequency sensitivity, thus making it a useful probe for examining potential effects of the disorder and antipsychotic medications in neural processing. We constructed a parameterized, rate-based neural model of on-center/off-surround neurons in the early visual system to investigate the impacts of changes to the excitatory and inhibitory receptive field subfields. By incorporating changes in both the excitatory and inhibitory subfields that are associated with pathophysiological findings in schizophrenia, the model successfully replicated perceptual data from behavioral/functional studies involving medicated and unmedicated patients. Among several plausible mechanisms, our results highlight the dampening of excitation and/or increase in the spread and strength of the inhibitory subfield in medicated patients and the contrasting decreased spread and strength of inhibition in unmedicated patients. Given that the model was successful at replicating results from perceptual data under a variety of conditions, these elements of the receptive field may be useful markers for the imbalances seen in patients with schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Dugan
- Program in Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Basilis Zikopoulos
- Human Systems Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Health Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
- Department of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
- Graduate Program for Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Arash Yazdanbakhsh
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
- Graduate Program for Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
- Computational Neuroscience and Vision Laboratory, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, United States
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Borgomaneri S, Zanon M, Di Luzio P, Cataneo A, Arcara G, Romei V, Tamietto M, Avenanti A. Increasing associative plasticity in temporo-occipital back-projections improves visual perception of emotions. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5720. [PMID: 37737239 PMCID: PMC10517146 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41058-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) is a critical node in a network specialized for perceiving emotional facial expressions that is reciprocally connected with early visual cortices (V1/V2). Current models of perceptual decision-making increasingly assign relevance to recursive processing for visual recognition. However, it is unknown whether inducing plasticity into reentrant connections from pSTS to V1/V2 impacts emotion perception. Using a combination of electrophysiological and neurostimulation methods, we demonstrate that strengthening the connectivity from pSTS to V1/V2 selectively increases the ability to perceive facial expressions associated with emotions. This behavior is associated with increased electrophysiological activity in both these brain regions, particularly in V1/V2, and depends on specific temporal parameters of stimulation that follow Hebbian principles. Therefore, we provide evidence that pSTS-to-V1/V2 back-projections are instrumental to perception of emotion from facial stimuli and functionally malleable via manipulation of associative plasticity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sara Borgomaneri
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari", Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Cesena Campus, Cesena, Italy.
| | - Marco Zanon
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari", Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Cesena Campus, Cesena, Italy
- Neuroscience Area, International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Trieste, Italy
| | - Paolo Di Luzio
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari", Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Cesena Campus, Cesena, Italy
| | - Antonio Cataneo
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari", Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Cesena Campus, Cesena, Italy
| | | | - Vincenzo Romei
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari", Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Cesena Campus, Cesena, Italy
- Facultad de Lenguas y Educación, Universidad Antonio de Nebrija, Madrid, 28015, Spain
| | - Marco Tamietto
- Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy.
- Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari", Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Cesena Campus, Cesena, Italy.
- Centro de Investigación en Neuropsicología y Neurociencias Cognitivas, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile.
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Baek S, Park Y, Paik SB. Species-specific wiring of cortical circuits for small-world networks in the primary visual cortex. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1011343. [PMID: 37540638 PMCID: PMC10403141 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Long-range horizontal connections (LRCs) are conspicuous anatomical structures in the primary visual cortex (V1) of mammals, yet their detailed functions in relation to visual processing are not fully understood. Here, we show that LRCs are key components to organize a "small-world network" optimized for each size of the visual cortex, enabling the cost-efficient integration of visual information. Using computational simulations of a biologically inspired model neural network, we found that sparse LRCs added to networks, combined with dense local connections, compose a small-world network and significantly enhance image classification performance. We confirmed that the performance of the network appeared to be strongly correlated with the small-world coefficient of the model network under various conditions. Our theoretical model demonstrates that the amount of LRCs to build a small-world network depends on each size of cortex and that LRCs are beneficial only when the size of the network exceeds a certain threshold. Our model simulation of various sizes of cortices validates this prediction and provides an explanation of the species-specific existence of LRCs in animal data. Our results provide insight into a biological strategy of the brain to balance functional performance and resource cost.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Seungdae Baek
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Youngjin Park
- Department of Bio and Brain Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Se-Bum Paik
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Celeghin A, Borriero A, Orsenigo D, Diano M, Méndez Guerrero CA, Perotti A, Petri G, Tamietto M. Convolutional neural networks for vision neuroscience: significance, developments, and outstanding issues. Front Comput Neurosci 2023; 17:1153572. [PMID: 37485400 PMCID: PMC10359983 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2023.1153572] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) are a class of machine learning models predominately used in computer vision tasks and can achieve human-like performance through learning from experience. Their striking similarities to the structural and functional principles of the primate visual system allow for comparisons between these artificial networks and their biological counterparts, enabling exploration of how visual functions and neural representations may emerge in the real brain from a limited set of computational principles. After considering the basic features of CNNs, we discuss the opportunities and challenges of endorsing CNNs as in silico models of the primate visual system. Specifically, we highlight several emerging notions about the anatomical and physiological properties of the visual system that still need to be systematically integrated into current CNN models. These tenets include the implementation of parallel processing pathways from the early stages of retinal input and the reconsideration of several assumptions concerning the serial progression of information flow. We suggest design choices and architectural constraints that could facilitate a closer alignment with biology provide causal evidence of the predictive link between the artificial and biological visual systems. Adopting this principled perspective could potentially lead to new research questions and applications of CNNs beyond modeling object recognition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Davide Orsenigo
- Department of Psychology, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
| | - Matteo Diano
- Department of Psychology, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
| | | | | | | | - Marco Tamietto
- Department of Psychology, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
- Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, and CoRPS–Center of Research on Psychology in Somatic Diseases–Tilburg University, Tilburg, Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Benigno GB, Budzinski RC, Davis ZW, Reynolds JH, Muller L. Waves traveling over a map of visual space can ignite short-term predictions of sensory input. Nat Commun 2023; 14:3409. [PMID: 37296131 PMCID: PMC10256723 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39076-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent analyses have found waves of neural activity traveling across entire visual cortical areas in awake animals. These traveling waves modulate the excitability of local networks and perceptual sensitivity. The general computational role of these spatiotemporal patterns in the visual system, however, remains unclear. Here, we hypothesize that traveling waves endow the visual system with the capacity to predict complex and naturalistic inputs. We present a network model whose connections can be rapidly and efficiently trained to predict individual natural movies. After training, a few input frames from a movie trigger complex wave patterns that drive accurate predictions many frames into the future solely from the network's connections. When the recurrent connections that drive waves are randomly shuffled, both traveling waves and the ability to predict are eliminated. These results suggest traveling waves may play an essential computational role in the visual system by embedding continuous spatiotemporal structures over spatial maps.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel B Benigno
- Department of Mathematics, Western University, London, ON, Canada
- Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada
- Western Academy for Advanced Research, Western University, London, ON, Canada
| | - Roberto C Budzinski
- Department of Mathematics, Western University, London, ON, Canada
- Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada
- Western Academy for Advanced Research, Western University, London, ON, Canada
| | - Zachary W Davis
- The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - John H Reynolds
- The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Lyle Muller
- Department of Mathematics, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
- Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
- Western Academy for Advanced Research, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Canales-Johnson A, Beerendonk L, Chennu S, Davidson MJ, Ince RAA, van Gaal S. Feedback information sharing in the human brain reflects bistable perception in the absence of report. PLoS Biol 2023; 21:e3002120. [PMID: 37155704 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2022] [Revised: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023] Open
Abstract
In the search for the neural basis of conscious experience, perception and the cognitive processes associated with reporting perception are typically confounded as neural activity is recorded while participants explicitly report what they experience. Here, we present a novel way to disentangle perception from report using eye movement analysis techniques based on convolutional neural networks and neurodynamical analyses based on information theory. We use a bistable visual stimulus that instantiates two well-known properties of conscious perception: integration and differentiation. At any given moment, observers either perceive the stimulus as one integrated unitary object or as two differentiated objects that are clearly distinct from each other. Using electroencephalography, we show that measures of integration and differentiation based on information theory closely follow participants' perceptual experience of those contents when switches were reported. We observed increased information integration between anterior to posterior electrodes (front to back) prior to a switch to the integrated percept, and higher information differentiation of anterior signals leading up to reporting the differentiated percept. Crucially, information integration was closely linked to perception and even observed in a no-report condition when perceptual transitions were inferred from eye movements alone. In contrast, the link between neural differentiation and perception was observed solely in the active report condition. Our results, therefore, suggest that perception and the processes associated with report require distinct amounts of anterior-posterior network communication and anterior information differentiation. While front-to-back directed information is associated with changes in the content of perception when viewing bistable visual stimuli, regardless of report, frontal information differentiation was absent in the no-report condition and therefore is not directly linked to perception per se.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Andres Canales-Johnson
- Conscious Brain Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Brain Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Cambridge Consciousness and Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- Neuropsychology and Cognitive Neurosciences Research Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile
| | - Lola Beerendonk
- Conscious Brain Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Brain Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Srivas Chennu
- School of Computing, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom
| | | | - Robin A A Ince
- Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Simon van Gaal
- Conscious Brain Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Brain Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Fişek M, Herrmann D, Egea-Weiss A, Cloves M, Bauer L, Lee TY, Russell LE, Häusser M. Cortico-cortical feedback engages active dendrites in visual cortex. Nature 2023; 617:769-776. [PMID: 37138089 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06007-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2020] [Accepted: 03/23/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Sensory processing in the neocortex requires both feedforward and feedback information flow between cortical areas1. In feedback processing, higher-level representations provide contextual information to lower levels, and facilitate perceptual functions such as contour integration and figure-ground segmentation2,3. However, we have limited understanding of the circuit and cellular mechanisms that mediate feedback influence. Here we use long-range all-optical connectivity mapping in mice to show that feedback influence from the lateromedial higher visual area (LM) to the primary visual cortex (V1) is spatially organized. When the source and target of feedback represent the same area of visual space, feedback is relatively suppressive. By contrast, when the source is offset from the target in visual space, feedback is relatively facilitating. Two-photon calcium imaging data show that this facilitating feedback is nonlinearly integrated in the apical tuft dendrites of V1 pyramidal neurons: retinotopically offset (surround) visual stimuli drive local dendritic calcium signals indicative of regenerative events, and two-photon optogenetic activation of LM neurons projecting to identified feedback-recipient spines in V1 can drive similar branch-specific local calcium signals. Our results show how neocortical feedback connectivity and nonlinear dendritic integration can together form a substrate to support both predictive and cooperative contextual interactions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mehmet Fişek
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research and Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London, UK.
| | - Dustin Herrmann
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research and Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Alexander Egea-Weiss
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research and Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Matilda Cloves
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research and Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Lisa Bauer
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research and Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Tai-Ying Lee
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research and Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Lloyd E Russell
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research and Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Michael Häusser
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research and Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London, UK.
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Zhang Z, Zagha E. Motor cortex gates distractor stimulus encoding in sensory cortex. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2097. [PMID: 37055425 PMCID: PMC10102016 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37848-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 04/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Suppressing responses to distractor stimuli is a fundamental cognitive function, essential for performing goal-directed tasks. A common framework for the neuronal implementation of distractor suppression is the attenuation of distractor stimuli from early sensory to higher-order processing. However, details of the localization and mechanisms of attenuation are poorly understood. We trained mice to selectively respond to target stimuli in one whisker field and ignore distractor stimuli in the opposite whisker field. During expert task performance, optogenetic inhibition of whisker motor cortex increased the overall tendency to respond and the detection of distractor whisker stimuli. Within sensory cortex, optogenetic inhibition of whisker motor cortex enhanced the propagation of distractor stimuli into target-preferring neurons. Single unit analyses revealed that whisker motor cortex (wMC) decorrelates target and distractor stimulus encoding in target-preferring primary somatosensory cortex (S1) neurons, which likely improves selective target stimulus detection by downstream readers. Moreover, we observed proactive top-down modulation from wMC to S1, through the differential activation of putative excitatory and inhibitory neurons before stimulus onset. Overall, our studies support a contribution of motor cortex to sensory selection, in suppressing behavioral responses to distractor stimuli by gating distractor stimulus propagation within sensory cortex.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhaoran Zhang
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
| | - Edward Zagha
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA.
- Department of Psychology, University of California Riverside, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Nurminen L, Bijanzadeh M, Angelucci A. Size tuning of neural response variability in laminar circuits of macaque primary visual cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.17.524397. [PMID: 36711786 PMCID: PMC9882156 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.17.524397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
A defining feature of the cortex is its laminar organization, which is likely critical for cortical information processing. For example, visual stimuli of different size evoke distinct patterns of laminar activity. Visual information processing is also influenced by the response variability of individual neurons and the degree to which this variability is correlated among neurons. To elucidate laminar processing, we studied how neural response variability across the layers of macaque primary visual cortex is modulated by visual stimulus size. Our laminar recordings revealed that single neuron response variability and the shared variability among neurons are tuned for stimulus size, and this size-tuning is layer-dependent. In all layers, stimulation of the receptive field (RF) reduced single neuron variability, and the shared variability among neurons, relative to their pre-stimulus values. As the stimulus was enlarged beyond the RF, both single neuron and shared variability increased in supragranular layers, but either did not change or decreased in other layers. Surprisingly, we also found that small visual stimuli could increase variability relative to baseline values. Our results suggest multiple circuits and mechanisms as the source of variability in different layers and call for the development of new models of neural response variability.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lauri Nurminen
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Moran Eye Institute, University of Utah, 65 Mario Capecchi Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA
- Present address: College of Optometry, University of Houston, 4401 Martin Luther King Boulevard, Houston, TX 77204-2020, USA
| | - Maryam Bijanzadeh
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Moran Eye Institute, University of Utah, 65 Mario Capecchi Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA
| | - Alessandra Angelucci
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Moran Eye Institute, University of Utah, 65 Mario Capecchi Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Sainsbury TTJ, Diana G, Meyer MP. Topographically Localized Modulation of Tectal Cell Spatial Tuning by Complex Natural Scenes. eNeuro 2023; 10:ENEURO.0223-22.2022. [PMID: 36543538 PMCID: PMC9833049 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0223-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2022] [Revised: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The tuning properties of neurons in the visual system can be contextually modulated by the statistics of the area surrounding their receptive field (RF), particularly when the surround contains natural features. However, stimuli presented in specific egocentric locations may have greater behavioral relevance, raising the possibility that the extent of contextual modulation may vary with position in visual space. To explore this possibility, we utilized the small size and optical transparency of the larval zebrafish to describe the form and spatial arrangement of contextually modulated cells throughout an entire tectal hemisphere. We found that the spatial tuning of tectal neurons to a prey-like stimulus sharpens when the stimulus is presented against a background with the statistics of complex natural scenes, relative to a featureless background. These neurons are confined to a spatially restricted region of the tectum and have receptive fields centered within a region of visual space in which the presence of prey preferentially triggers hunting behavior. Our results suggest that contextual modulation of tectal neurons by complex backgrounds may facilitate prey-localization in cluttered visual environments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas T J Sainsbury
- The Centre for Developmental Neurobiology and MRC Center for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King's College London, London, United Kingdom, SE1 1UL
| | - Giovanni Diana
- The Centre for Developmental Neurobiology and MRC Center for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King's College London, London, United Kingdom, SE1 1UL
- Insitut Pasteur, University of Paris, Paris, France, 75015
- Sampled Analytics, Arcueil, France, 94110
| | - Martin P Meyer
- The Centre for Developmental Neurobiology and MRC Center for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King's College London, London, United Kingdom, SE1 1UL
- Lundbeck Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2100
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Canoluk MU, Moors P, Goffaux V. Contributions of low- and high-level contextual mechanisms to human face perception. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0285255. [PMID: 37130144 PMCID: PMC10153715 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2022] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Contextual modulations at primary stages of visual processing depend on the strength of local input. Contextual modulations at high-level stages of (face) processing show a similar dependence to local input strength. Namely, the discriminability of a facial feature determines the amount of influence of the face context on that feature. How high-level contextual modulations emerge from primary mechanisms is unclear due to the scarcity of empirical research systematically addressing the functional link between the two. We tested (62) young adults' ability to process local input independent of the context using contrast detection and (upright and inverted) morphed facial feature matching tasks. We first investigated contextual modulation magnitudes across tasks to address their shared variance. A second analysis focused on the profile of performance across contextual conditions. In upright eye matching and contrast detection tasks, contextual modulations only correlated at the level of their profile (averaged Fisher-Z transformed r = 1.18, BF10 > 100), but not magnitude (r = .15, BF10 = .61), suggesting the functional independence but similar working principles of the mechanisms involved. Both the profile (averaged Fisher-Z transformed r = .32, BF10 = 9.7) and magnitude (r = .28, BF10 = 4.58) of the contextual modulations correlated between inverted eye matching and contrast detection tasks. Our results suggest that non-face-specialized high-level contextual mechanisms (inverted faces) work in connection to primary contextual mechanisms, but that the engagement of face-specialized mechanisms for upright faces obscures this connection. Such combined study of low- and high-level contextual modulations sheds new light on the functional relationship between different levels of the visual processing hierarchy, and thus on its functional organization.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mehmet Umut Canoluk
- Research Institute for Psychological Science (IPSY), UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Pieter Moors
- Department of Brain and Cognition, Laboratory of Experimental Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Valerie Goffaux
- Research Institute for Psychological Science (IPSY), UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
- Institute of Neuroscience (IoNS), UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Object Boundary Detection in Natural Images May Depend on "Incitatory" Cell-Cell Interactions. J Neurosci 2022; 42:8960-8979. [PMID: 36241385 PMCID: PMC9732833 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2581-18.2022] [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: 10/05/2018] [Revised: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Detecting object boundaries is crucial for recognition, but how the process unfolds in visual cortex remains unknown. To study the problem faced by a hypothetical boundary cell, and to predict how cortical circuitry could produce a boundary cell from a population of conventional "simple cells," we labeled 30,000 natural image patches and used Bayes' rule to help determine how a simple cell should influence a nearby boundary cell depending on its relative offset in receptive field position and orientation. We identified the following three basic types of cell-cell interactions: rising and falling interactions with a range of slopes and saturation rates, and nonmonotonic (bump-shaped) interactions with varying modes and amplitudes. Using simple models, we show that a ubiquitous cortical circuit motif consisting of direct excitation and indirect inhibition-a compound effect we call "incitation"-can produce the entire spectrum of simple cell-boundary cell interactions found in our dataset. Moreover, we show that the synaptic weights that parameterize an incitation circuit can be learned by a single-layer "delta" rule. We conclude that incitatory interconnections are a generally useful computing mechanism that the cortex may exploit to help solve difficult natural classification problems.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Simple cells in primary visual cortex (V1) respond to oriented edges and have long been supposed to detect object boundaries, yet the prevailing model of a simple cell-a divisively normalized linear filter-is a surprisingly poor natural boundary detector. To understand why, we analyzed image statistics on and off object boundaries, allowing us to characterize the neural-style computations needed to perform well at this difficult natural classification task. We show that a simple circuit motif known to exist in V1 is capable of extracting high-quality boundary probability signals from local populations of simple cells. Our findings suggest a new, more general way of conceptualizing cell-cell interconnections in the cortex.
Collapse
|
29
|
Li Y, Wang T, Yang Y, Dai W, Wu Y, Li L, Han C, Zhong L, Li L, Wang G, Dou F, Xing D. Cascaded normalizations for spatial integration in the primary visual cortex of primates. Cell Rep 2022; 40:111221. [PMID: 35977486 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Revised: 04/19/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Spatial integration of visual information is an important function in the brain. However, neural computation for spatial integration in the visual cortex remains unclear. In this study, we recorded laminar responses in V1 of awake monkeys driven by visual stimuli with grating patches and annuli of different sizes. We find three important response properties related to spatial integration that are significantly different between input and output layers: neurons in output layers have stronger surround suppression, smaller receptive field (RF), and higher sensitivity to grating annuli partially covering their RFs. These interlaminar differences can be explained by a descriptive model composed of two global divisions (normalization) and a local subtraction. Our results suggest suppressions with cascaded normalizations (CNs) are essential for spatial integration and laminar processing in the visual cortex. Interestingly, the features of spatial integration in convolutional neural networks, especially in lower layers, are different from our findings in V1.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Tian Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Yi Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Weifeng Dai
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Yujie Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Lianfeng Li
- China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology, Beijing 100076, China
| | - Chuanliang Han
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Lvyan Zhong
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Liang Li
- Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing 100005, China
| | - Gang Wang
- Beijing Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Beijing 100005, China
| | - Fei Dou
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Dajun Xing
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Le Bec B, Troncoso XG, Desbois C, Passarelli Y, Baudot P, Monier C, Pananceau M, Frégnac Y. Horizontal connectivity in V1: Prediction of coherence in contour and motion integration. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0268351. [PMID: 35802625 PMCID: PMC9269411 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0268351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
This study demonstrates the functional importance of the Surround context relayed laterally in V1 by the horizontal connectivity, in controlling the latency and the gain of the cortical response to the feedforward visual drive. We report here four main findings: 1) a centripetal apparent motion sequence results in a shortening of the spiking latency of V1 cells, when the orientation of the local inducer and the global motion axis are both co-aligned with the RF orientation preference; 2) this contextual effects grows with visual flow speed, peaking at 150–250°/s when it matches the propagation speed of horizontal connectivity (0.15–0.25 mm/ms); 3) For this speed range, the axial sensitivity of V1 cells is tilted by 90° to become co-aligned with the orientation preference axis; 4) the strength of modulation by the surround context correlates with the spatiotemporal coherence of the apparent motion flow. Our results suggest an internally-generated binding process, linking local (orientation /position) and global (motion/direction) features as early as V1. This long-range diffusion process constitutes a plausible substrate in V1 of the human psychophysical bias in speed estimation for collinear motion. Since it is demonstrated in the anesthetized cat, this novel form of contextual control of the cortical gain and phase is a built-in property in V1, whose expression does not require behavioral attention and top-down control from higher cortical areas. We propose that horizontal connectivity participates in the propagation of an internal “prediction” wave, shaped by visual experience, which links contour co-alignment and global axial motion at an apparent speed in the range of saccade-like eye movements.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Benoit Le Bec
- NeuroPSI-UNIC, Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience, CNRS, Paris-Saclay University, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Xoana G. Troncoso
- NeuroPSI-UNIC, Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience, CNRS, Paris-Saclay University, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Christophe Desbois
- NeuroPSI-UNIC, Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience, CNRS, Paris-Saclay University, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d’Alfort, Maisons-Alfort, France
| | - Yannick Passarelli
- NeuroPSI-UNIC, Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience, CNRS, Paris-Saclay University, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Pierre Baudot
- NeuroPSI-UNIC, Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience, CNRS, Paris-Saclay University, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Cyril Monier
- NeuroPSI-UNIC, Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience, CNRS, Paris-Saclay University, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Marc Pananceau
- NeuroPSI-UNIC, Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience, CNRS, Paris-Saclay University, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Yves Frégnac
- NeuroPSI-UNIC, Paris-Saclay Institute of Neuroscience, CNRS, Paris-Saclay University, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Haarsma J, Kok P, Browning M. The promise of layer-specific neuroimaging for testing predictive coding theories of psychosis. Schizophr Res 2022; 245:68-76. [PMID: 33199171 PMCID: PMC9241988 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2020.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2020] [Revised: 10/03/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Predictive coding potentially provides an explanatory model for understanding the neurocognitive mechanisms of psychosis. It proposes that cognitive processes, such as perception and inference, are implemented by a hierarchical system, with the influence of each level being a function of the estimated precision of beliefs at that level. However, predictive coding models of psychosis are insufficiently constrained-any phenomenon can be explained in multiple ways by postulating different changes to precision at different levels of processing. One reason for the lack of constraint in these models is that the core processes are thought to be implemented by the function of specific cortical layers, and the technology to measure layer specific neural activity in humans has until recently been lacking. As a result, our ability to constrain the models with empirical data has been limited. In this review we provide a brief overview of predictive processing models of psychosis and then describe the potential for newly developed, layer specific neuroimaging techniques to test and thus constrain these models. We conclude by discussing the most promising avenues for this research as well as the technical and conceptual challenges which may limit its application.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- J. Haarsma
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom,Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom,Corresponding author at: Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
| | - P. Kok
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - M. Browning
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom,Oxford Health NHS Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Shirhatti V, Ravishankar P, Ray S. Gamma oscillations in primate primary visual cortex are severely attenuated by small stimulus discontinuities. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001666. [PMID: 35700175 PMCID: PMC9197048 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001666] [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: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Gamma oscillations (30 to 80 Hz) have been hypothesized to play an important role in feature binding, based on the observation that continuous long bars induce stronger gamma in the visual cortex than bars with a small gap. Recently, many studies have shown that natural images, which have discontinuities in several low-level features, do not induce strong gamma oscillations, questioning their role in feature binding. However, the effect of different discontinuities on gamma has not been well studied. To address this, we recorded spikes and local field potential from 2 monkeys while they were shown gratings with discontinuities in 4 attributes: space, orientation, phase, or contrast. We found that while these discontinuities only had a modest effect on spiking activity, gamma power drastically reduced in all cases, suggesting that gamma could be a resonant phenomenon. An excitatory–inhibitory population model with stimulus-tuned recurrent inputs showed such resonant properties. Therefore, gamma could be a signature of excitation–inhibition balance, which gets disrupted due to discontinuities. Gamma oscillations (30-80 Hz) in visual cortex have been hypothesized to play an important role in feature binding, but this role has recently been questioned. This study shows that visual stimulus-induced gamma oscillations are highly attenuated with even small discontinuities in the stimulus. This "resonant" behaviour can be explained by a simple excitatory-inhibitory model in which discontinuities lead to a small reduction in lateral inputs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Vinay Shirhatti
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India
- IISc Mathematics Initiative, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India
| | | | - Supratim Ray
- Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India
- IISc Mathematics Initiative, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Rockland KS. Clustered Intrinsic Connections: Not a Single System. Front Syst Neurosci 2022; 16:910845. [PMID: 35720440 PMCID: PMC9203679 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2022.910845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
|
34
|
Functionally specific and sparse domain-based micro-networks in monkey V1 and V2. Curr Biol 2022; 32:2797-2809.e3. [PMID: 35623347 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.04.095] [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: 02/15/2022] [Revised: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The cerebral cortices of human and nonhuman primate brains are characterized by submillimeter functional domains. However, little is known about the connections of single functional domains. Here, in macaque monkey visual cortex, we have developed a targeted focal electrical stimulation method, coupled with functional optical imaging, to map cortical networks with submillimeter precision in vivo. We find that single functional domains are a part of highly specific and sparse intra-areal and inter-areal micro-networks. Across color-related and orientation-related functionalities, these micro-networks exhibit parallel connection patterns, suggesting a common domain-based architecture. Moreover, these micro-networks shift topographically at a submillimeter scale, suggesting that they serve as a fundamental unit for cortical information processing. Our findings establish a domain-based connectional architecture in the primate brain and present new constraints for cortical map representation.
Collapse
|
35
|
Jin L, Behabadi BF, Jadi MP, Ramachandra CA, Mel BW. Classical-Contextual Interactions in V1 May Rely on Dendritic Computations. Neuroscience 2022; 489:234-250. [PMID: 35272004 PMCID: PMC9049952 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2022.02.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Revised: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 02/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
A signature feature of the neocortex is the dense network of horizontal connections (HCs) through which pyramidal neurons (PNs) exchange "contextual" information. In primary visual cortex (V1), HCs are thought to facilitate boundary detection, a crucial operation for object recognition, but how HCs modulate PN responses to boundary cues within their classical receptive fields (CRF) remains unknown. We began by "asking" natural images, through a structured data collection and ground truth labeling process, what function a V1 cell should use to compute boundary probability from aligned edge cues within and outside its CRF. The "answer" was an asymmetric 2-D sigmoidal function, whose nonlinear form provides the first normative account for the "multiplicative" center-flanker interactions previously reported in V1 neurons (Kapadia et al., 1995, 2000; Polat et al., 1998). Using a detailed compartmental model, we then show that this boundary-detecting classical-contextual interaction function can be computed by NMDAR-dependent spatial synaptic interactions within PN dendrites - the site where classical and contextual inputs first converge in the cortex. In additional simulations, we show that local interneuron circuitry activated by HCs can powerfully leverage the nonlinear spatial computing capabilities of PN dendrites, providing the cortex with a highly flexible substrate for integration of classical and contextual information.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lei Jin
- USC Neuroscience Graduate Program, United States
| | | | | | | | - Bartlett W Mel
- USC Neuroscience Graduate Program, United States; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Southern California, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Barbieri D. Reconstructing Group Wavelet Transform From Feature Maps With a Reproducing Kernel Iteration. Front Comput Neurosci 2022; 16:775241. [PMID: 35370587 PMCID: PMC8965351 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2022.775241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In this article, we consider the problem of reconstructing an image that is downsampled in the space of its SE(2) wavelet transform, which is motivated by classical models of simple cell receptive fields and feature preference maps in the primary visual cortex. We prove that, whenever the problem is solvable, the reconstruction can be obtained by an elementary project and replace iterative scheme based on the reproducing kernel arising from the group structure, and show numerical results on real images.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Davide Barbieri
- Departamento de Matemáticas, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
37
|
Feedforward and feedback interactions between visual cortical areas use different population activity patterns. Nat Commun 2022; 13:1099. [PMID: 35232956 PMCID: PMC8888615 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28552-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2020] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Brain function relies on the coordination of activity across multiple, recurrently connected brain areas. For instance, sensory information encoded in early sensory areas is relayed to, and further processed by, higher cortical areas and then fed back. However, the way in which feedforward and feedback signaling interact with one another is incompletely understood. Here we investigate this question by leveraging simultaneous neuronal population recordings in early and midlevel visual areas (V1-V2 and V1-V4). Using a dimensionality reduction approach, we find that population interactions are feedforward-dominated shortly after stimulus onset and feedback-dominated during spontaneous activity. The population activity patterns most correlated across areas were distinct during feedforward- and feedback-dominated periods. These results suggest that feedforward and feedback signaling rely on separate "channels", which allows feedback signals to not directly affect activity that is fed forward.
Collapse
|
38
|
Revisiting horizontal connectivity rules in V1: from like-to-like towards like-to-all. Brain Struct Funct 2022; 227:1279-1295. [PMID: 35122520 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-022-02455-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2021] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Horizontal connections in the primary visual cortex of carnivores, ungulates and primates organize on a near-regular lattice. Given the similar length scale for the regularity found in cortical orientation maps, the currently accepted theoretical standpoint is that these maps are underpinned by a like-to-like connectivity rule: horizontal axons connect preferentially to neurons with similar preferred orientation. However, there is reason to doubt the rule's explanatory power, since a growing number of quantitative studies show that the like-to-like connectivity preference and bias mostly observed at short-range scale, are highly variable on a neuron-to-neuron level and depend on the origin of the presynaptic neuron. Despite the wide availability of published data, the accepted model of visual processing has never been revised. Here, we review three lines of independent evidence supporting a much-needed revision of the like-to-like connectivity rule, ranging from anatomy to population functional measures, computational models and to theoretical approaches. We advocate an alternative, distance-dependent connectivity rule that is consistent with new structural and functional evidence: from like-to-like bias at short horizontal distance to like-to-all at long horizontal distance. This generic rule accounts for the observed high heterogeneity in interactions between the orientation and retinotopic domains, that we argue is necessary to process non-trivial stimuli in a task-dependent manner.
Collapse
|
39
|
Xu R, Bichot NP, Takahashi A, Desimone R. The cortical connectome of primate lateral prefrontal cortex. Neuron 2022; 110:312-327.e7. [PMID: 34739817 PMCID: PMC8776613 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.10.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Revised: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
The lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) of primates plays an important role in executive control, but how it interacts with the rest of the cortex remains unclear. To address this, we densely mapped the cortical connectome of LPFC, using electrical microstimulation combined with functional MRI (EM-fMRI). We found isomorphic mappings between LPFC and five major processing domains composing most of the cerebral cortex except early sensory and motor areas. An LPFC grid of ∼200 stimulation sites topographically mapped to separate grids of activation sites in the five domains, coarsely resembling how the visual cortex maps the retina. The temporal and parietal maps largely overlapped in LPFC, suggesting topographically organized convergence of the ventral and dorsal streams, and the other maps overlapped at least partially. Thus, the LPFC contains overlapping, millimeter-scale maps that mirror the organization of major cortical processing domains, supporting LPFC's role in coordinating activity within and across these domains.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rui Xu
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Narcisse P Bichot
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Atsushi Takahashi
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Robert Desimone
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Maniglia M, Contemori G, Marini E, Battaglini L. Contrast adaptation of flankers reduces collinear facilitation and inhibition. Vision Res 2022; 193:107979. [PMID: 34999351 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2021.107979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2021] [Revised: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Increase (facilitation) or decrease (inhibition) of contrast sensitivity for a Gabor patch presented between two collinear flankers is a well-studied contextual modulation phenomenon. It has been suggested that this effect has its neural bases in the primary visual cortex, specifically the horizontal connections between hypercolumns with similar orientation and spatial frequency selectivity. Another typical phenomenon dependent on early visual areas is contrast adaptation, in which the neural response to a contrast stimulus is decreased after exposure. Here, we investigated the effect of contrast adaptation of the flankers on the magnitude of collinear modulation by testing whether contrast adaptation reduced collinear facilitation and collinear inhibition. Results showed dissociation in the effect of collinear flanker adaptation, which increased contrast thresholds for the target in the facilitatory configuration and reduced them in the inhibitory configuration. Moreover, the effect was specific for the collinear configuration, since contrast adaptation of orthogonal flankers did not affect the contrast of the target, pointing towards the involvement of early visual units specific for orientation. Surprisingly, the same pattern of results was also confirmed when the inhibitory configuration was tested with low-contrast flankers, indicating that the effect of adaptation does not depend on a decrease in perceived contrast of the flankers. Taken together, these results suggest that contrast adaptation disrupts collinear modulation and that contrast thresholds can be affected by adapting portions of the visual field outside the receptive field of the units processing the contrast of the target (i.e., the flankers).
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marcello Maniglia
- Department of Psychology, University of California at Riverside, CA, USA.
| | | | - Elena Marini
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Italy
| | - Luca Battaglini
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Italy; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Padova, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Xiao ZC, Lin KK, Young LS. A data-informed mean-field approach to mapping of cortical parameter landscapes. PLoS Comput Biol 2021; 17:e1009718. [PMID: 34941863 PMCID: PMC8741023 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2021] [Revised: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Constraining the many biological parameters that govern cortical dynamics is computationally and conceptually difficult because of the curse of dimensionality. This paper addresses these challenges by proposing (1) a novel data-informed mean-field (MF) approach to efficiently map the parameter space of network models; and (2) an organizing principle for studying parameter space that enables the extraction biologically meaningful relations from this high-dimensional data. We illustrate these ideas using a large-scale network model of the Macaque primary visual cortex. Of the 10-20 model parameters, we identify 7 that are especially poorly constrained, and use the MF algorithm in (1) to discover the firing rate contours in this 7D parameter cube. Defining a "biologically plausible" region to consist of parameters that exhibit spontaneous Excitatory and Inhibitory firing rates compatible with experimental values, we find that this region is a slightly thickened codimension-1 submanifold. An implication of this finding is that while plausible regimes depend sensitively on parameters, they are also robust and flexible provided one compensates appropriately when parameters are varied. Our organizing principle for conceptualizing parameter dependence is to focus on certain 2D parameter planes that govern lateral inhibition: Intersecting these planes with the biologically plausible region leads to very simple geometric structures which, when suitably scaled, have a universal character independent of where the intersections are taken. In addition to elucidating the geometry of the plausible region, this invariance suggests useful approximate scaling relations. Our study offers, for the first time, a complete characterization of the set of all biologically plausible parameters for a detailed cortical model, which has been out of reach due to the high dimensionality of parameter space.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zhuo-Cheng Xiao
- Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Kevin K. Lin
- Department of Mathematics, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, United States of America
| | - Lai-Sang Young
- Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York University, New York, New York, United States of America
- Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Attention Field Size Alters Patterns of Population Receptive Fields in the Early Visual Cortex. Neurosci Bull 2021; 38:205-208. [PMID: 34855143 PMCID: PMC8821761 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-021-00789-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2021] [Accepted: 08/28/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
|
43
|
Raffin E, Witon A, Salamanca-Giron RF, Huxlin KR, Hummel FC. Functional Segregation within the Dorsal Frontoparietal Network: A Multimodal Dynamic Causal Modeling Study. Cereb Cortex 2021; 32:3187-3205. [PMID: 34864941 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Revised: 10/12/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Discrimination and integration of motion direction requires the interplay of multiple brain areas. Theoretical accounts of perception suggest that stimulus-related (i.e., exogenous) and decision-related (i.e., endogenous) factors affect distributed neuronal processing at different levels of the visual hierarchy. To test these predictions, we measured brain activity of healthy participants during a motion discrimination task, using electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We independently modeled the impact of exogenous factors (task demand) and endogenous factors (perceptual decision-making) on the activity of the motion discrimination network and applied Dynamic Causal Modeling (DCM) to both modalities. DCM for event-related potentials (DCM-ERP) revealed that task demand impacted the reciprocal connections between the primary visual cortex (V1) and medial temporal areas (V5). With practice, higher visual areas were increasingly involved, as revealed by DCM-fMRI. Perceptual decision-making modulated higher levels (e.g., V5-to-Frontal Eye Fields, FEF), in a manner predictive of performance. Our data suggest that lower levels of the visual network support early, feature-based selection of responses, especially when learning strategies have not been implemented. In contrast, perceptual decision-making operates at higher levels of the visual hierarchy by integrating sensory information with the internal state of the subject.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Estelle Raffin
- Defitech Chair in Clinical Neuroengineering, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, EPFL, Geneva CH-1201, Switzerland.,Defitech Chair in Clinical Neuroengineering, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Clinique Romande de Readaptation (CRR), EPFL Valais, Sion CH-1950, Switzerland
| | - Adrien Witon
- Defitech Chair in Clinical Neuroengineering, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, EPFL, Geneva CH-1201, Switzerland.,Defitech Chair in Clinical Neuroengineering, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Clinique Romande de Readaptation (CRR), EPFL Valais, Sion CH-1950, Switzerland.,Health IT, IT Department, Hôpital du Valais, Sion, Switzerland
| | - Roberto F Salamanca-Giron
- Defitech Chair in Clinical Neuroengineering, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, EPFL, Geneva CH-1201, Switzerland.,Defitech Chair in Clinical Neuroengineering, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Clinique Romande de Readaptation (CRR), EPFL Valais, Sion CH-1950, Switzerland
| | - Krystel R Huxlin
- The Flaum Eye Institute and Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY-14642, USA
| | - Friedhelm C Hummel
- Defitech Chair in Clinical Neuroengineering, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, EPFL, Geneva CH-1201, Switzerland.,Defitech Chair in Clinical Neuroengineering, Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, Clinique Romande de Readaptation (CRR), EPFL Valais, Sion CH-1950, Switzerland.,Clinical Neuroscience, University of Geneva Medical School, Geneva CH-1205, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Davis ZW, Benigno GB, Fletterman C, Desbordes T, Steward C, Sejnowski TJ, H Reynolds J, Muller L. Spontaneous traveling waves naturally emerge from horizontal fiber time delays and travel through locally asynchronous-irregular states. Nat Commun 2021; 12:6057. [PMID: 34663796 PMCID: PMC8523565 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26175-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2020] [Accepted: 09/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies of sensory-evoked neuronal responses often focus on mean spike rates, with fluctuations treated as internally-generated noise. However, fluctuations of spontaneous activity, often organized as traveling waves, shape stimulus-evoked responses and perceptual sensitivity. The mechanisms underlying these waves are unknown. Further, it is unclear whether waves are consistent with the low rate and weakly correlated “asynchronous-irregular” dynamics observed in cortical recordings. Here, we describe a large-scale computational model with topographically-organized connectivity and conduction delays relevant to biological scales. We find that spontaneous traveling waves are a general property of these networks. The traveling waves that occur in the model are sparse, with only a small fraction of neurons participating in any individual wave. Consequently, they do not induce measurable spike correlations and remain consistent with locally asynchronous irregular states. Further, by modulating local network state, they can shape responses to incoming inputs as observed in vivo. Spontaneous traveling cortical waves shape neural responses. Using a large-scale computational model, the authors show that transmission delays shape locally asynchronous spiking dynamics into traveling waves without inducing correlations and boost responses to external input, as observed in vivo.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zachary W Davis
- The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA.
| | - Gabriel B Benigno
- Department of Applied Mathematics, Western University, London, ON, Canada.,Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada
| | | | - Theo Desbordes
- The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | | | | | - John H Reynolds
- The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA.
| | - Lyle Muller
- Department of Applied Mathematics, Western University, London, ON, Canada. .,Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, ON, Canada.
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Wu H, Zhu Z, Wang J, Zheng N, Chen B. An Encoding Framework With Brain Inner State for Natural Image Identification. IEEE Trans Cogn Dev Syst 2021. [DOI: 10.1109/tcds.2020.2987352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
|
46
|
Siu C, Balsor J, Merlin S, Federer F, Angelucci A. A direct interareal feedback-to-feedforward circuit in primate visual cortex. Nat Commun 2021; 12:4911. [PMID: 34389710 PMCID: PMC8363744 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24928-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The mammalian sensory neocortex consists of hierarchically organized areas reciprocally connected via feedforward (FF) and feedback (FB) circuits. Several theories of hierarchical computation ascribe the bulk of the computational work of the cortex to looped FF-FB circuits between pairs of cortical areas. However, whether such corticocortical loops exist remains unclear. In higher mammals, individual FF-projection neurons send afferents almost exclusively to a single higher-level area. However, it is unclear whether FB-projection neurons show similar area-specificity, and whether they influence FF-projection neurons directly or indirectly. Using viral-mediated monosynaptic circuit tracing in macaque primary visual cortex (V1), we show that V1 neurons sending FF projections to area V2 receive monosynaptic FB inputs from V2, but not other V1-projecting areas. We also find monosynaptic FB-to-FB neuron contacts as a second motif of FB connectivity. Our results support the existence of FF-FB loops in primate cortex, and suggest that FB can rapidly and selectively influence the activity of incoming FF signals.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin Siu
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Moran Eye Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Justin Balsor
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Moran Eye Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Sam Merlin
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Moran Eye Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
- Medical Science, School of Science, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW, Australia
| | - Frederick Federer
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Moran Eye Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA
| | - Alessandra Angelucci
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Moran Eye Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Nakamura T, Murakami I. Common-onset masking terminates the temporal evolution of orientation repulsion. J Vis 2021; 21:5. [PMID: 34342645 PMCID: PMC8340666 DOI: 10.1167/jov.21.8.5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Our conscious awareness of visual events does not arise instantaneously. Previous studies on backward masking have investigated dynamic internal processes making targets visible or invisible subjectively. However, to understand the whole picture of our rich conscious experiences, the emergence of various phenomenal attributes of consciousness beyond visibility must be delineated. We quantified appearance as the strength of orientation repulsion during common-onset masking and found that masking reduced the repulsion in a near-vertical target grating surrounded by tilted inducers. Furthermore, this reduction was seen only when the inducers were presented together with or after the target. This demonstrates that orientation repulsion involves slow contextual modulation and that masking influences this modulation at a later period. Although appearance was altered as such, orientation discriminability was not reduced by masking in any of our experiments. We propose a process in which internal representations of objects spend a certain amount of time evolving before we become aware of them. Backward masking compulsorily terminates this temporal evolution of internal representations and allows premature representations to arise in our awareness.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tomoya Nakamura
- Department of Psychology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.,
| | - Ikuya Murakami
- Department of Psychology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.,
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Wang H, Wang Z, Zhou Y, Tzvetanov T. Moderate Alcohol Intake Changes Visual Perception by Enhancing V1 Inhibitory Surround Interactions. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:682229. [PMID: 34290580 PMCID: PMC8287857 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.682229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2021] [Accepted: 05/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Moderate alcohol consumption is considered to enhance the cortical GABA-ergic inhibitory system and it also variously affects visual perception. However, little behavioral evidence indicates changes of visual perception due to V1 modulated by alcohol intoxication. In this study, we investigated this issue by using center-surround tilt illusion (TI) as a probe of V1 inhibitory interactions, by taking into account possible higher-order effects. Participants conducted TI measures under sober, moderate alcohol intoxication, and placebo states. We found alcohol significantly increased repulsive TI effect and weakened orientation discrimination performance, which is consistent with the increase of lateral inhibition between orientation sensitive V1 neurons caused by alcohol intoxication. We also observed no visible changes in the data for global orientation processing but a presence of global attentional modulation. Thus, our results provide psychophysics evidence that alcohol changed V1 processing, which affects visual perception of contextual stimuli.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Huan Wang
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
| | - Zhengchun Wang
- The Affiliated People's Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Yifeng Zhou
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.,State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Tzvetomir Tzvetanov
- Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China.,Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Affective Computing and Advanced Intelligent Machine, School of Computer and Information, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, China.,NEUROPSYPHY Tzvetomir TZVETANOV EIRL, Horbourg-Wihr, France
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Schielke A, Krekelberg B. N-methyl d-aspartate receptor hypofunction reduces visual contextual integration. J Vis 2021; 21:9. [PMID: 34128974 PMCID: PMC8212430 DOI: 10.1167/jov.21.6.9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual cognition is finely tuned to the elements in a scene but also relies on contextual integration to improve visual detection and discrimination. This integration is impaired in patients with schizophrenia. Studying impairments in contextual integration may lead to biomarkers of schizophrenia, tools to monitor disease progression, and, in animal models, insight into the underlying neural deficits. We developed a nonhuman primate model to test the hypothesis that hypofunction of the N-methyl d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) impairs contextual integration. Two male rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) were trained to indicate which of two patterns on the screen had the highest contrast. One of these patterns appeared in isolation, and the other was surrounded by a high-contrast pattern. In humans, this high-contrast context is known to lead to an underestimation of contrast. This so-called Chubb illusion is thought to result from surround suppression, a key contextual integration mechanism. To test the involvement of NMDAR in this process, we compared animals' perceptual bias with and without intramuscular injections of a subanesthetic dose of the NMDAR antagonist ketamine. In the absence of ketamine, the animals reported a Chubb illusion - matching reports in healthy humans. Hence, monkeys - just like humans - perform visual contextual integration. This reaffirms the importance of nonhuman primates to help understand visual cognition. Injection of ketamine significantly reduced the strength of the illusion and thus impaired contextual integration. This supports the hypothesis that NMDAR hypofunction plays a causal role in specific behavioral impairments observed in schizophrenia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Schielke
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA.,Behavioral and Neural Sciences Graduate Program, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA.,
| | - Bart Krekelberg
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA.,
| |
Collapse
|
50
|
Festa D, Aschner A, Davila A, Kohn A, Coen-Cagli R. Neuronal variability reflects probabilistic inference tuned to natural image statistics. Nat Commun 2021; 12:3635. [PMID: 34131142 PMCID: PMC8206154 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23838-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuronal activity in sensory cortex fluctuates over time and across repetitions of the same input. This variability is often considered detrimental to neural coding. The theory of neural sampling proposes instead that variability encodes the uncertainty of perceptual inferences. In primary visual cortex (V1), modulation of variability by sensory and non-sensory factors supports this view. However, it is unknown whether V1 variability reflects the statistical structure of visual inputs, as would be required for inferences correctly tuned to the statistics of the natural environment. Here we combine analysis of image statistics and recordings in macaque V1 to show that probabilistic inference tuned to natural image statistics explains the widely observed dependence between spike count variance and mean, and the modulation of V1 activity and variability by spatial context in images. Our results show that the properties of a basic aspect of cortical responses-their variability-can be explained by a probabilistic representation tuned to naturalistic inputs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dylan Festa
- Department of Systems and Computational Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Amir Aschner
- Dominick Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Aida Davila
- Dominick Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Adam Kohn
- Department of Systems and Computational Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Dominick Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Ruben Coen-Cagli
- Department of Systems and Computational Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
- Dominick Purpura Department of Neuroscience, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA.
| |
Collapse
|