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Selvanayagam J, Johnston KD, Everling S. Laminar Dynamics of Target Selection in the Posterior Parietal Cortex of the Common Marmoset. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e1583232024. [PMID: 38627088 PMCID: PMC11112649 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1583-23.2024] [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: 08/21/2023] [Revised: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 04/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/24/2024] Open
Abstract
The lateral intraparietal area (LIP) plays a crucial role in target selection and attention in primates, but the laminar microcircuitry of this region is largely unknown. To address this, we used ultra-high density laminar electrophysiology with Neuropixels probes to record neural activity in the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) of two adult marmosets while they performed a simple visual target selection task. Our results reveal neural correlates of visual target selection in the marmoset, similar to those observed in macaques and humans, with distinct timing and profiles of activity across cell types and cortical layers. Notably, a greater proportion of neurons exhibited stimulus-related activity in superficial layers whereas a greater proportion of infragranular neurons exhibited significant postsaccadic activity. Stimulus-related activity was first observed in granular layer putative interneurons, whereas target discrimination activity emerged first in supragranular layers putative pyramidal neurons, supporting a canonical laminar circuit underlying visual target selection in marmoset PPC. These findings provide novel insights into the neural basis of visual attention and target selection in primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janahan Selvanayagam
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Western University, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada
- Center for Functional and Metabolic Mapping, Robarts Research Institute, Western University, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - Kevin D Johnston
- Center for Functional and Metabolic Mapping, Robarts Research Institute, Western University, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Western University, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - Stefan Everling
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Western University, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada
- Center for Functional and Metabolic Mapping, Robarts Research Institute, Western University, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Western University, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada
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2
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Beau M, Herzfeld DJ, Naveros F, Hemelt ME, D’Agostino F, Oostland M, Sánchez-López A, Chung YY, Michael Maibach, Kyranakis S, Stabb HN, Martínez Lopera MG, Lajko A, Zedler M, Ohmae S, Hall NJ, Clark BA, Cohen D, Lisberger SG, Kostadinov D, Hull C, Häusser M, Medina JF. A deep-learning strategy to identify cell types across species from high-density extracellular recordings. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.30.577845. [PMID: 38352514 PMCID: PMC10862837 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.30.577845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
High-density probes allow electrophysiological recordings from many neurons simultaneously across entire brain circuits but don't reveal cell type. Here, we develop a strategy to identify cell types from extracellular recordings in awake animals, revealing the computational roles of neurons with distinct functional, molecular, and anatomical properties. We combine optogenetic activation and pharmacology using the cerebellum as a testbed to generate a curated ground-truth library of electrophysiological properties for Purkinje cells, molecular layer interneurons, Golgi cells, and mossy fibers. We train a semi-supervised deep-learning classifier that predicts cell types with greater than 95% accuracy based on waveform, discharge statistics, and layer of the recorded neuron. The classifier's predictions agree with expert classification on recordings using different probes, in different laboratories, from functionally distinct cerebellar regions, and across animal species. Our classifier extends the power of modern dynamical systems analyses by revealing the unique contributions of simultaneously-recorded cell types during behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxime Beau
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, London, UK
| | - David J. Herzfeld
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Francisco Naveros
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
- Department of Computer Engineering, Automation and Robotics, Research Centre for Information and Communication Technologies, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Marie E. Hemelt
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Federico D’Agostino
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, London, UK
| | - Marlies Oostland
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, London, UK
- Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | | | - Young Yoon Chung
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, London, UK
| | - Michael Maibach
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, London, UK
| | - Stephen Kyranakis
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Hannah N. Stabb
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, London, UK
| | | | - Agoston Lajko
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, London, UK
| | - Marie Zedler
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, London, UK
| | - Shogo Ohmae
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Nathan J. Hall
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Beverley A. Clark
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, London, UK
| | - Dana Cohen
- The Leslie and Susan Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | | | - Dimitar Kostadinov
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, London, UK
- Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Court Hull
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Michael Häusser
- Wolfson Institute for Biomedical Research, University College London, London, UK
| | - Javier F. Medina
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
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3
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McCane AM, Kronheim L, Torrado Pacheco A, Moghaddam B. Adolescents rats engage the orbitofrontal-striatal pathway differently than adults during impulsive actions. Sci Rep 2024; 14:8605. [PMID: 38615065 PMCID: PMC11016110 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58648-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Adolescence is characterized by increased impulsive and risk-taking behaviors. To better understand the neural networks that subserves impulsivity in adolescents, we used a reward-guided behavioral model that quantifies age differences in impulsive actions in adult and adolescent rats of both sexes. Using chemogenetics, we identified orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) projections to the dorsomedial striatum (DMS) as a critical pathway for age-related execution of impulsive actions. Simultaneous recording of single units and local field potentials in the OFC and DMS during task performance revealed an overall muted response in adolescents during impulsive actions as well as age-specific differences in theta power and OFC-DMS functional connectivity. Collectively, these data reveal that the OFC-DMS pathway is critical for age-differences in reward-guided impulsive actions and provide a network mechanism to enhance our understanding of how adolescent and adult brains coordinate behavioral inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lo Kronheim
- Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | | | - Bita Moghaddam
- Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA.
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4
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Mozumder R, Chung S, Li S, Constantinidis C. Contributions of narrow- and broad-spiking prefrontal and parietal neurons on working memory tasks. Front Syst Neurosci 2024; 18:1365622. [PMID: 38577690 PMCID: PMC10991738 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2024.1365622] [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: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Neurons that generate persistent activity in the primate dorsolateral prefrontal and posterior parietal cortex have been shown to be predictive of behavior in working memory tasks, though subtle differences between them have been observed in how information is represented. The role of different neuron types in each of these areas has not been investigated at depth. We thus compared the activity of neurons classified as narrow-spiking, putative interneurons, and broad-spiking, putative pyramidal neurons, recorded from the dorsolateral prefrontal and posterior parietal cortex of male monkeys, to analyze their role in the maintenance of working memory. Our results demonstrate that narrow-spiking neurons are active during a range of tasks and generate persistent activity during the delay period over which stimuli need to be maintained in memory. Furthermore, the activity of narrow-spiking neurons was predictive of the subject's recall no less than that of broad-spiking neurons, which are exclusively projection neurons in the cortex. Our results show that putative interneurons play an active role during the maintenance of working memory and shed light onto the fundamental neural circuits that determine subjects' memories and judgments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rana Mozumder
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Sophia Chung
- Neuroscience Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Sihai Li
- Department of Neurobiology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Christos Constantinidis
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
- Neuroscience Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States
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5
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Ceccarelli F, Ferrucci L, Londei F, Ramawat S, Brunamonti E, Genovesio A. Static and dynamic coding in distinct cell types during associative learning in the prefrontal cortex. Nat Commun 2023; 14:8325. [PMID: 38097560 PMCID: PMC10721651 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43712-2] [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: 03/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex maintains information in memory through static or dynamic population codes depending on task demands, but whether the population coding schemes used are learning-dependent and differ between cell types is currently unknown. We investigate the population coding properties and temporal stability of neurons recorded from male macaques in two mapping tasks during and after stimulus-response associative learning, and then we use a Strategy task with the same stimuli and responses as control. We identify a heterogeneous population coding for stimuli, responses, and novel associations: static for putative pyramidal cells and dynamic for putative interneurons that show the strongest selectivity for all the variables. The population coding of learned associations shows overall the highest stability driven by cell types, with interneurons changing from dynamic to static coding after successful learning. The results support that prefrontal microcircuitry expresses mixed population coding governed by cell types and changes its stability during associative learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Ceccarelli
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Ferrucci
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Londei
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, 00185, Rome, Italy
- PhD program in Behavioral Neuroscience, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Surabhi Ramawat
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Emiliano Brunamonti
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Aldo Genovesio
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University, 00185, Rome, Italy.
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Agopyan-Miu AH, Merricks EM, Smith EH, McKhann GM, Sheth SA, Feldstein NA, Trevelyan AJ, Schevon CA. Cell-type specific and multiscale dynamics of human focal seizures in limbic structures. Brain 2023; 146:5209-5223. [PMID: 37536281 PMCID: PMC10689922 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awad262] [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: 03/05/2023] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/19/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The relationship between clinically accessible epileptic biomarkers and neuronal activity underlying the transition to seizure is complex, potentially leading to imprecise delineation of epileptogenic brain areas. In particular, the pattern of interneuronal firing at seizure onset remains under debate, with some studies demonstrating increased firing and others suggesting reductions. Previous study of neocortical sites suggests that seizure recruitment occurs upon failure of inhibition, with intact feedforward inhibition in non-recruited territories. We investigated whether the same principle applies in limbic structures. We analysed simultaneous electrocorticography (ECoG) and neuronal recordings of 34 seizures in a cohort of 19 patients (10 male, 9 female) undergoing surgical evaluation for pharmacoresistant focal epilepsy. A clustering approach with five quantitative metrics computed from ECoG and multiunit data was used to distinguish three types of site-specific activity patterns during seizures, which at times co-existed within seizures. Overall, 156 single units were isolated, subclassified by cell-type and tracked through the seizure using our previously published methods to account for impacts of increased noise and single-unit waveshape changes caused by seizures. One cluster was closely associated with clinically defined seizure onset or spread. Entrainment of high-gamma activity to low-frequency ictal rhythms was the only metric that reliably identified this cluster at the level of individual seizures (P < 0.001). A second cluster demonstrated multi-unit characteristics resembling those in the first cluster, without concomitant high-gamma entrainment, suggesting feedforward effects from the seizure. The last cluster captured regions apparently unaffected by the ongoing seizure. Across all territories, the majority of both excitatory and inhibitory neurons reduced (69.2%) or ceased firing (21.8%). Transient increases in interneuronal firing rates were rare (13.5%) but showed evidence of intact feedforward inhibition, with maximal firing rate increases and waveshape deformations in territories not fully recruited but showing feedforward activity from the seizure, and a shift to burst-firing in seizure-recruited territories (P = 0.014). This study provides evidence for entrained high-gamma activity as an accurate biomarker of ictal recruitment in limbic structures. However, reduced neuronal firing suggested preserved inhibition in mesial temporal structures despite simultaneous indicators of seizure recruitment, in contrast to the inhibitory collapse scenario documented in neocortex. Further study is needed to determine if this activity is ubiquitous to hippocampal seizures or indicates a 'seizure-responsive' state in which the hippocampus is not the primary driver. If the latter, distinguishing such cases may help to refine the surgical treatment of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander H Agopyan-Miu
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Columbia University Medical Center, NewYork, NY 10032, USA
| | - Edward M Merricks
- Department of Neurology, Columbia University Medical Center, NewYork, NY 10032, USA
| | - Elliot H Smith
- Department of Neurology, Columbia University Medical Center, NewYork, NY 10032, USA
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA
| | - Guy M McKhann
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Columbia University Medical Center, NewYork, NY 10032, USA
| | - Sameer A Sheth
- Department of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston TX 77030, USA
| | - Neil A Feldstein
- Department of Neurological Surgery, Columbia University Medical Center, NewYork, NY 10032, USA
| | - Andrew J Trevelyan
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK
| | - Catherine A Schevon
- Department of Neurology, Columbia University Medical Center, NewYork, NY 10032, USA
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7
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Wang X, Nandy AS, Jadi MP. Laminar compartmentalization of attention modulation in area V4 aligns with the demands of visual processing hierarchy in the cortex. Sci Rep 2023; 13:19558. [PMID: 37945642 PMCID: PMC10636153 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-46722-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 11/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Attention selectively enhances neural responses to low contrast stimuli in visual area V4, a critical hub that sends projections both up and down the visual hierarchy. Veridical encoding of contrast information is a key computation in early visual areas, while later stages encoding higher level features benefit from improved sensitivity to low contrast. How area V4 meets these distinct information processing demands in the attentive state is unknown. We found that attentional modulation in V4 is cortical layer and cell-class specific. Putative excitatory neurons in the superficial layers show enhanced boosting of low contrast information, while those of deep layers exhibit contrast-independent scaling. Computational modeling suggested the extent of spatial integration of inhibitory neurons as the mechanism behind such laminar differences. Considering that superficial neurons are known to project to higher areas and deep layers to early visual areas, our findings suggest that the interactions between attention and contrast in V4 are compartmentalized, in alignment with the demands of the visual processing hierarchy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiang Wang
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Anirvan S Nandy
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA
| | - Monika P Jadi
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale University, New Haven, CT, 06511, USA.
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8
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Andrei AR, Akil AE, Kharas N, Rosenbaum R, Josić K, Dragoi V. Rapid compensatory plasticity revealed by dynamic correlated activity in monkeys in vivo. Nat Neurosci 2023; 26:1960-1969. [PMID: 37828225 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-023-01446-w] [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: 03/10/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2023] [Indexed: 10/14/2023]
Abstract
To produce adaptive behavior, neural networks must balance between plasticity and stability. Computational work has demonstrated that network stability requires plasticity mechanisms to be counterbalanced by rapid compensatory processes. However, such processes have yet to be experimentally observed. Here we demonstrate that repeated optogenetic activation of excitatory neurons in monkey visual cortex (area V1) induces a population-wide dynamic reduction in the strength of neuronal interactions over the timescale of minutes during the awake state, but not during rest. This new form of rapid plasticity was observed only in the correlation structure, with firing rates remaining stable across trials. A computational network model operating in the balanced regime confirmed experimental findings and revealed that inhibitory plasticity is responsible for the decrease in correlated activity in response to repeated light stimulation. These results provide the first experimental evidence for rapid homeostatic plasticity that primarily operates during wakefulness, which stabilizes neuronal interactions during strong network co-activation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariana R Andrei
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Texas, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Alan E Akil
- Departments of Mathematics, Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Natasha Kharas
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Texas, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Robert Rosenbaum
- Department of Applied and Computational Mathematics and Statistics, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
| | - Krešimir Josić
- Departments of Mathematics, Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Valentin Dragoi
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Texas, Houston, TX, USA.
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA.
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9
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Hassani SA, Womelsdorf T. Noradrenergic alpha-2a Receptor Stimulation Enhances Prediction Error Signaling in Anterior Cingulate Cortex and Striatum. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.10.25.564052. [PMID: 37961384 PMCID: PMC10634832 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.25.564052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
The noradrenergic system is implicated to support behavioral flexibility by increasing exploration during periods of uncertainty and by enhancing working memory for goal-relevant stimuli. Possible sources mediating these pro-cognitive effects are α2A adrenoceptors (α2AR) in prefrontal cortex or the anterior cingulate cortex facilitating fronto-striatal learning processes. We tested this hypothesis by selectively stimulating α2ARs using Guanfacine during feature-based attentional set shifting in nonhuman primates. We found that α2A stimulation improved learning from errors and facilitates updating the target feature of an attentional set. Neural recordings in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), and the striatum showed that α2A stimulation selectively enhanced the neural representation of negative reward prediction errors in neurons of the ACC and of positive prediction errors in the striatum, but not in dlPFC. This modulation was accompanied by enhanced encoding of the feature and location of the attended target across the fronto-striatal network. Enhanced learning was paralleled by enhanced encoding of outcomes in putative fast-spiking interneurons in the ACC, dlPFC, and striatum but not in broad spiking cells, pointing to an interneuron mediated mechanism of α2AR action. These results illustrate that α2A receptors causally support the noradrenergic enhancement of updating attention sets through an enhancement of prediction error signaling in the ACC and the striatum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seyed A. Hassani
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Nashville, TN 37240
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20824
| | - Thilo Womelsdorf
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240
- Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Nashville, TN 37240
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240
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10
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Dubey A, Markowitz DA, Pesaran B. Top-down control of exogenous attentional selection is mediated by beta coherence in prefrontal cortex. Neuron 2023; 111:3321-3334.e5. [PMID: 37499660 PMCID: PMC10935562 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.06.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Revised: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Salience-driven exogenous and goal-driven endogenous attentional selection are two distinct forms of attention that guide selection of task-irrelevant and task-relevant targets in primates. Top-down attentional control mechanisms enable selection of the task-relevant target by limiting the influence of sensory information. Although the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) is known to mediate top-down control, the neuronal mechanisms of top-down control of attentional selection are poorly understood. Here, we trained two rhesus monkeys on a two-target, free-choice luminance-reward selection task. We demonstrate that visual-movement (VM) neurons and nonvisual neurons or movement neurons encode exogenous and endogenous selection. We then show that coherent beta activity selectively modulates mechanisms of exogenous selection specifically during conflict and consequently may support top-down control. These results reveal the VM-neuron-specific network mechanisms of attentional selection and suggest a functional role for beta-frequency coherent neural dynamics in the modulation of sensory communication channels for the top-down control of attentional selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agrita Dubey
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - David A Markowitz
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Bijan Pesaran
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA; Departments of Neurosurgery, Neuroscience, and Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
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11
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Odean NN, Sanayei M, Shadlen MN. Transient Oscillations of Neural Firing Rate Associated With Routing of Evidence in a Perceptual Decision. J Neurosci 2023; 43:6369-6383. [PMID: 37550053 PMCID: PMC10500999 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2200-22.2023] [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: 07/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023] Open
Abstract
To form a perceptual decision, the brain must acquire samples of evidence from the environment and incorporate them in computations that mediate choice behavior. While much is known about the neural circuits that process sensory information and those that form decisions, less is known about the mechanisms that establish the functional linkage between them. We trained monkeys of both sexes to make difficult decisions about the net direction of visual motion under conditions that required trial-by-trial control of functional connectivity. In one condition, the motion appeared at different locations on different trials. In the other, two motion patches appeared, only one of which was informative. Neurons in the parietal cortex produced brief oscillations in their firing rate at the time routing was established: upon onset of the motion display when its location was unpredictable across trials, and upon onset of an attention cue that indicated in which of two locations an informative patch of dots would appear. The oscillation was absent when the stimulus location was fixed across trials. We interpret the oscillation as a manifestation of the mechanism that establishes the source and destination of flexibly routed information, but not the transmission of the information per se Significance Statement It has often been suggested that oscillations in neural activity might serve a role in routing information appropriately. We observe an oscillation in neural firing rate in the lateral intraparietal area consistent with such a role. The oscillations are transient. They coincide with the establishment of routing, but they do not appear to play a role in the transmission (or conveyance) of the routed information itself.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naomi N Odean
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, New York 10025
| | - Mehdi Sanayei
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, New York 10025
| | - Michael N Shadlen
- Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, New York 10025
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Columbia University, New York, New York 10025
- Kavli Institute, New York, New York 10025
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12
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Dai W, Wang T, Li Y, Yang Y, Zhang Y, Kang J, Wu Y, Yu H, Xing D. Dynamic Recruitment of the Feedforward and Recurrent Mechanism for Black-White Asymmetry in the Primary Visual Cortex. J Neurosci 2023; 43:5668-5684. [PMID: 37487737 PMCID: PMC10401654 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0168-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Black and white information is asymmetrically distributed in natural scenes, evokes asymmetric neuronal responses, and causes asymmetric perceptions. Recognizing the universality and essentiality of black-white asymmetry in visual information processing, the neural substrates for black-white asymmetry remain unclear. To disentangle the role of the feedforward and recurrent mechanisms in the generation of cortical black-white asymmetry, we recorded the V1 laminar responses and LGN responses of anesthetized cats of both sexes. In a cortical column, we found that black-white asymmetry starts at the input layer and becomes more pronounced in the output layer. We also found distinct dynamics of black-white asymmetry between the output layer and the input layer. Specifically, black responses dominate in all layers after stimulus onset. After stimulus offset, black and white responses are balanced in the input layer, but black responses still dominate in the output layer. Compared with that in the input layer, the rebound response in the output layer is significantly suppressed. The relative suppression strength evoked by white stimuli is notably stronger and depends on the location within the ON-OFF cortical map. A model with delayed and polarity-selective cortical suppression explains black-white asymmetry in the output layer, within which prominent recurrent connections are identified by Granger causality analysis. In addition to black-white asymmetry in response strength, the interlaminar differences in spatial receptive field varied dynamically. Our findings suggest that the feedforward and recurrent mechanisms are dynamically recruited for the generation of black-white asymmetry in V1.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Black-white asymmetry is universal and essential in visual information processing, yet the neural substrates for cortical black-white asymmetry remain unknown. Leveraging V1 laminar recordings, we provided the first laminar pattern of black-white asymmetry in cat V1 and found distinct dynamics of black-white asymmetry between the output layer and the input layer. Comparing black-white asymmetry across three visual hierarchies, the LGN, V1 input layer, and V1 output layer, we demonstrated that the feedforward and recurrent mechanisms are dynamically recruited for the generation of cortical black-white asymmetry. Our findings not only enhance our understanding of laminar processing within a cortical column but also elucidate how feedforward connections and recurrent connections interact to shape neuronal response properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weifeng Dai
- 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
| | - Yang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, 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
| | - Yange Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Jian Kang
- 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
| | - Hongbo Yu
- School of Life Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200438, China
| | - Dajun Xing
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
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13
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Lomi E, Jeffery KJ, Mitchell AS. Convergence of location, direction, and theta in the rat anteroventral thalamic nucleus. iScience 2023; 26:106993. [PMID: 37448560 PMCID: PMC10336163 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
The thalamus and cortex are anatomically interconnected, with the thalamus providing integral information for cortical functions. The anteroventral thalamic nucleus (AV) is reciprocally connected to retrosplenial cortex (RSC). Two distinct AV subfields, dorsomedial (AVDM) and ventrolateral (AVVL), project differentially to granular vs. dysgranular RSC, respectively. To probe if functional responses of AV neurons differ, we recorded single neurons and local field potentials from AVDM and AVVL in rats during foraging. We observed place cells (neurons modulated by spatial location) in both AVDM and AVVL. Additionally, we characterized neurons modulated by theta oscillations, heading direction, and a conjunction of these. Place cells and conjunctive Theta-by-Head direction cells were more prevalent in AVVL; more non-conjunctive theta and directional neurons were prevalent in AVDM. These findings add further evidence that there are two thalamocortical circuits connecting AV and RSC, and reveal that the signaling involves place information in addition to direction and theta.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleonora Lomi
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, The Tinsley Building, Mansfield Road, OX1 3SR Oxford, UK
| | - Kate J. Jeffery
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, G12 8QB Glasgow, UK
| | - Anna S. Mitchell
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, The Tinsley Building, Mansfield Road, OX1 3SR Oxford, UK
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14
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Wei Y, Nandi A, Jia X, Siegle JH, Denman D, Lee SY, Buchin A, Van Geit W, Mosher CP, Olsen S, Anastassiou CA. Associations between in vitro, in vivo and in silico cell classes in mouse primary visual cortex. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2344. [PMID: 37095130 PMCID: PMC10126114 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37844-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 04/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The brain consists of many cell classes yet in vivo electrophysiology recordings are typically unable to identify and monitor their activity in the behaving animal. Here, we employed a systematic approach to link cellular, multi-modal in vitro properties from experiments with in vivo recorded units via computational modeling and optotagging experiments. We found two one-channel and six multi-channel clusters in mouse visual cortex with distinct in vivo properties in terms of activity, cortical depth, and behavior. We used biophysical models to map the two one- and the six multi-channel clusters to specific in vitro classes with unique morphology, excitability and conductance properties that explain their distinct extracellular signatures and functional characteristics. These concepts were tested in ground-truth optotagging experiments with two inhibitory classes unveiling distinct in vivo properties. This multi-modal approach presents a powerful way to separate in vivo clusters and infer their cellular properties from first principles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yina Wei
- Zhejiang Lab, Hangzhou, 311100, China.
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA.
| | - Anirban Nandi
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Xiaoxuan Jia
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
- School of Life Sciences/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Tsinghua University, 100084, Beijing, China
| | | | | | - Soo Yeun Lee
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Anatoly Buchin
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
- Cajal Neuroscience Inc, Seattle, WA, 98102, USA
| | - Werner Van Geit
- Blue Brain Project, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Campus Biotech, Geneva, 1202, Switzerland
| | - Clayton P Mosher
- Department of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, 90048, USA
| | - Shawn Olsen
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Costas A Anastassiou
- Department of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, 90048, USA.
- Department of Neurology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, 90048, USA.
- Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, 90048, USA.
- Center for Neural Science and Medicine, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, 90048, USA.
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15
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Wei Y, Nandi A, Jia X, Siegle JH, Denman D, Lee SY, Buchin A, Geit WV, Mosher CP, Olsen S, Anastassiou CA. Associations between in vitro , in vivo and in silico cell classes in mouse primary visual cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.04.17.532851. [PMID: 37131710 PMCID: PMC10153154 DOI: 10.1101/2023.04.17.532851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The brain consists of many cell classes yet in vivo electrophysiology recordings are typically unable to identify and monitor their activity in the behaving animal. Here, we employed a systematic approach to link cellular, multi-modal in vitro properties from experiments with in vivo recorded units via computational modeling and optotagging experiments. We found two one-channel and six multi-channel clusters in mouse visual cortex with distinct in vivo properties in terms of activity, cortical depth, and behavior. We used biophysical models to map the two one- and the six multi-channel clusters to specific in vitro classes with unique morphology, excitability and conductance properties that explain their distinct extracellular signatures and functional characteristics. These concepts were tested in ground-truth optotagging experiments with two inhibitory classes unveiling distinct in vivo properties. This multi-modal approach presents a powerful way to separate in vivo clusters and infer their cellular properties from first principles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yina Wei
- Zhejiang Lab, Hangzhou 311100, China
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Anirban Nandi
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Xiaoxuan Jia
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
- School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research at Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | | | | | - Soo Yeun Lee
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Anatoly Buchin
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
- Cajal Neuroscience Inc, Seattle, WA 98102, USA
| | - Werner Van Geit
- Blue Brain Project, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Campus Biotech, Geneva 1202, Switzerland
| | - Clayton P. Mosher
- Department of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
| | - Shawn Olsen
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Costas A. Anastassiou
- Department of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
- Department of Neurology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
- Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
- Center for Neural Science and Medicine, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
- Lead contact
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16
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Wong RK, Selvanayagam J, Johnston KD, Everling S. Delay-related activity in marmoset prefrontal cortex. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:3523-3537. [PMID: 35945687 PMCID: PMC10068290 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2022] [Revised: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Persistent delay-period activity in prefrontal cortex (PFC) has long been regarded as a neural signature of working memory (WM). Electrophysiological investigations in macaque PFC have provided much insight into WM mechanisms; however, a barrier to understanding is the fact that a portion of PFC lies buried within the principal sulcus in this species and is inaccessible for laminar electrophysiology or optical imaging. The relatively lissencephalic cortex of the New World common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) circumvents such limitations. It remains unknown, however, whether marmoset PFC neurons exhibit persistent activity. Here, we addressed this gap by conducting wireless electrophysiological recordings in PFC of marmosets performing a delayed-match-to-location task on a home cage-based touchscreen system. As in macaques, marmoset PFC neurons exhibited sample-, delay-, and response-related activity that was directionally tuned and linked to correct task performance. Models constructed from population activity consistently and accurately predicted stimulus location throughout the delay period, supporting a framework of delay activity in which mnemonic representations are relatively stable in time. Taken together, our findings support the existence of common neural mechanisms underlying WM performance in PFC of macaques and marmosets and thus validate the marmoset as a suitable model animal for investigating the microcircuitry underlying WM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raymond K Wong
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
- Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping, Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Janahan Selvanayagam
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
- Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping, Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Kevin D Johnston
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
- Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping, Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
| | - Stefan Everling
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
- Centre for Functional and Metabolic Mapping, Robarts Research Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 5B7, Canada
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
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17
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Dubey A, Markowitz DA, Pesaran B. Top-down control of exogenous attentional selection is mediated by beta coherence in prefrontal cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.11.523664. [PMID: 36711697 PMCID: PMC9882082 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.11.523664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Salience-driven exogenous and goal-driven endogenous attentional selection are two distinct forms of attention that guide selection of task-irrelevant and task-relevant targets in primates. During conflict i.e, when salience and goal each favor the selection of different targets, endogenous selection of the task-relevant target relies on top-down control. Top-down attentional control mechanisms enable selection of the task-relevant target by limiting the influence of sensory information. Although the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) is known to mediate top-down control, the neuronal mechanisms of top-down control of attentional selection are poorly understood. Here, using a two-target free-choice luminance-reward selection task, we demonstrate that visual-movement neurons and not visual neurons or movement neurons encode exogenous and endogenous selection. We then show that coherent-beta activity selectively modulates mechanisms of exogenous selection specifically during conflict and consequently may support top-down control. These results reveal the VM-neuron-specific network mechanisms of attentional selection and suggest a functional role for beta-frequency coherent neural dynamics in the modulation of sensory communication channels for the top-down control of attentional selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agrita Dubey
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York 10003
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104
| | | | - Bijan Pesaran
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York 10003
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104
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18
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Timme NM, Ma B, Linsenbardt D, Cornwell E, Galbari T, Lapish CC. Compulsive alcohol drinking in rodents is associated with altered representations of behavioral control and seeking in dorsal medial prefrontal cortex. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3990. [PMID: 35810193 PMCID: PMC9271071 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31731-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
A key feature of compulsive alcohol drinking is continuing to drink despite negative consequences. To examine the changes in neural activity that underlie this behavior, compulsive alcohol drinking was assessed in a validated rodent model of heritable risk for excessive drinking (alcohol preferring (P) rats). Neural activity was measured in dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC-a brain region involved in maladaptive decision-making) and assessed via change point analyses and novel principal component analyses. Neural population representations of specific decision-making variables were measured to determine how they were altered in animals that drink alcohol compulsively. Compulsive animals showed weakened representations of behavioral control signals, but strengthened representations of alcohol seeking-related signals. Finally, chemogenetic-based excitation of dmPFC prevented escalation of compulsive alcohol drinking. Collectively, these data indicate that compulsive alcohol drinking in rats is associated with alterations in dmPFC neural activity that underlie diminished behavioral control and enhanced seeking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas M Timme
- Psychology Department, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, 46237, USA.
| | - Baofeng Ma
- Psychology Department, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, 46237, USA
| | - David Linsenbardt
- Department of Neurosciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA
| | - Ethan Cornwell
- Psychology Department, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, 46237, USA
| | - Taylor Galbari
- Psychology Department, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, 46237, USA
| | - Christopher C Lapish
- Psychology Department, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, 46237, USA
- Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, 46237, USA
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19
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Diversity of spatiotemporal coding reveals specialized visual processing streams in the mouse cortex. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3249. [PMID: 35668056 PMCID: PMC9170684 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29656-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2021] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The cerebral cortex contains diverse neural representations of the visual scene, each enabling distinct visual and spatial abilities. However, the extent to which representations are distributed or segregated across cortical areas remains poorly understood. By determining the spatial and temporal responses of >30,000 layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons, we characterize the functional organization of parallel visual streams across eight areas of the mouse cortex. While dorsal and ventral areas form complementary representations of spatiotemporal frequency, motion speed, and spatial patterns, the anterior and posterior dorsal areas show distinct specializations for fast and slow oriented contrasts. At the cellular level, while diverse spatiotemporal tuning lies along a continuum, oriented and non-oriented spatial patterns are encoded by distinct tuning types. The identified tuning types are present across dorsal and ventral streams. The data underscore the highly specific and highly distributed nature of visual cortical representations, which drives specialization of cortical areas and streams. The cerebral cortex contains different neural representations of the visual scene. Here, the authors show diverse and stereotyped tuning composing specialized representations in the dorsal and ventral areas of the mouse visual cortex, suggesting parallel processing channels and streams.
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20
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Liu XP, Wang X. Distinct neuronal types contribute to hybrid temporal encoding strategies in primate auditory cortex. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001642. [PMID: 35613218 PMCID: PMC9132345 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies of the encoding of sensory stimuli by the brain often consider recorded neurons as a pool of identical units. Here, we report divergence in stimulus-encoding properties between subpopulations of cortical neurons that are classified based on spike timing and waveform features. Neurons in auditory cortex of the awake marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) encode temporal information with either stimulus-synchronized or nonsynchronized responses. When we classified single-unit recordings using either a criteria-based or an unsupervised classification method into regular-spiking, fast-spiking, and bursting units, a subset of intrinsically bursting neurons formed the most highly synchronized group, with strong phase-locking to sinusoidal amplitude modulation (SAM) that extended well above 20 Hz. In contrast with other unit types, these bursting neurons fired primarily on the rising phase of SAM or the onset of unmodulated stimuli, and preferred rapid stimulus onset rates. Such differentiating behavior has been previously reported in bursting neuron models and may reflect specializations for detection of acoustic edges. These units responded to natural stimuli (vocalizations) with brief and precise spiking at particular time points that could be decoded with high temporal stringency. Regular-spiking units better reflected the shape of slow modulations and responded more selectively to vocalizations with overall firing rate increases. Population decoding using time-binned neural activity found that decoding behavior differed substantially between regular-spiking and bursting units. A relatively small pool of bursting units was sufficient to identify the stimulus with high accuracy in a manner that relied on the temporal pattern of responses. These unit type differences may contribute to parallel and complementary neural codes. Neurons in auditory cortex show highly diverse responses to sounds. This study suggests that neuronal type inferred from baseline firing properties accounts for much of this diversity, with a subpopulation of bursting units being specialized for precise temporal encoding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Ping Liu
- Laboratory of Auditory Neurophysiology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
- * E-mail: (X-PL); (XW)
| | - Xiaoqin Wang
- Laboratory of Auditory Neurophysiology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
- * E-mail: (X-PL); (XW)
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21
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van Kempen J, Brandt C, Distler C, Bellgrove MA, Thiele A. Dopamine influences attentional rate modulation in Macaque posterior parietal cortex. Sci Rep 2022; 12:6914. [PMID: 35484302 PMCID: PMC9050696 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-10634-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive neuroscience has made great strides in understanding the neural substrates of attention, but our understanding of its neuropharmacology remains incomplete. Although dopamine has historically been studied in relation to frontal functioning, emerging evidence suggests important dopaminergic influences in parietal cortex. We recorded single- and multi-unit activity whilst iontophoretically administering dopaminergic agonists and antagonists while rhesus macaques performed a spatial attention task. Out of 88 units, 50 revealed activity modulation by drug administration. Dopamine inhibited firing rates according to an inverted-U shaped dose-response curve and increased gain variability. D1 receptor antagonists diminished firing rates according to a monotonic function and interacted with attention modulating gain variability. Finally, both drugs decreased the pupil light reflex. These data show that dopamine shapes neuronal responses and modulates aspects of attentional processing in parietal cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jochem van Kempen
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK.
| | - Christian Brandt
- Research Unit for ORL - Head and Neck Surgery and Audiology, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark
- University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Claudia Distler
- Allgemeine Zoologie Und Neurobiologie, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, 44801, Bochum, Germany
| | - Mark A Bellgrove
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, 3800, Australia
| | - Alexander Thiele
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
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22
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Lomi E, Mathiasen ML, Cheng HY, Zhang N, Aggleton JP, Mitchell AS, Jeffery KJ. Evidence for two distinct thalamocortical circuits in retrosplenial cortex. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2021; 185:107525. [PMID: 34555510 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2021.107525] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Revised: 08/20/2021] [Accepted: 09/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Retrosplenial cortex (RSC) lies at the interface between sensory and cognitive networks in the brain and mediates between these, although it is not yet known how. It has two distinct subregions, granular (gRSC) and dysgranular (dRSC). The present study investigated how these subregions differ with respect to their electrophysiology and thalamic connectivity, as a step towards understanding their functions. The gRSC is more closely connected to the hippocampal formation, in which theta-band local field potential oscillations are prominent. We, therefore, compared theta-rhythmic single-unit activity between the two RSC subregions and found, mostly in gRSC, a subpopulation of non-directional cells with spiking activity strongly entrained by theta oscillations, suggesting a stronger coupling of gRSC to the hippocampal system. We then used retrograde tracers to test for differential inputs to RSC from the anteroventral thalamus (AV). We found that gRSC and dRSC differ in their afferents from two AV subfields: dorsomedial (AVDM) and ventrolateral (AVVL). Specifically: (1) as a whole AV projects more strongly to gRSC; (2) AVVL targets both gRSC and dRSC, while AVDM provides a selective projection to gRSC, (3) the gRSC projection is layer-specific: AVDM targets specifically gRSC superficial layers. These same AV projections are topographically organized with ventral AV neurons innervating rostral RSC and dorsal AV neurons innervating caudal RSC. These combined results suggest the existence of two distinct but interacting RSC subcircuits: one connecting AVDM to gRSC that may comprise part of the cognitive hippocampal system, and the other connecting AVVL to both RSC regions that may link hippocampal and perceptual regions. We suggest that these subcircuits are distinct to allow for differential weighting during integration of converging sensory and cognitive computations: an integration that may take place in thalamus, RSC, or both.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleonora Lomi
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, The Tinsley Building, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3SR, UK.
| | | | - Han Y Cheng
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Ningyu Zhang
- Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | | | - Anna S Mitchell
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, The Tinsley Building, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3SR, UK
| | - Kate J Jeffery
- Institute of Behavioural Neuroscience, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
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23
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Lee EK, Balasubramanian H, Tsolias A, Anakwe SU, Medalla M, Shenoy KV, Chandrasekaran C. Non-linear dimensionality reduction on extracellular waveforms reveals cell type diversity in premotor cortex. eLife 2021; 10:e67490. [PMID: 34355695 PMCID: PMC8452311 DOI: 10.7554/elife.67490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2021] [Accepted: 08/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Cortical circuits are thought to contain a large number of cell types that coordinate to produce behavior. Current in vivo methods rely on clustering of specified features of extracellular waveforms to identify putative cell types, but these capture only a small amount of variation. Here, we develop a new method (WaveMAP) that combines non-linear dimensionality reduction with graph clustering to identify putative cell types. We apply WaveMAP to extracellular waveforms recorded from dorsal premotor cortex of macaque monkeys performing a decision-making task. Using WaveMAP, we robustly establish eight waveform clusters and show that these clusters recapitulate previously identified narrow- and broad-spiking types while revealing previously unknown diversity within these subtypes. The eight clusters exhibited distinct laminar distributions, characteristic firing rate patterns, and decision-related dynamics. Such insights were weaker when using feature-based approaches. WaveMAP therefore provides a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics of cell types in cortical circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Kenji Lee
- Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston UniversityBostonUnited States
| | - Hymavathy Balasubramanian
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Bernstein Center for Computational NeuroscienceBerlinGermany
| | - Alexandra Tsolias
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston UniversityBostonUnited States
| | | | - Maria Medalla
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston UniversityBostonUnited States
| | - Krishna V Shenoy
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford UniversityStanfordUnited States
- Department of Bioengineering, Stanford UniversityStanfordUnited States
- Department of Neurobiology, Stanford UniversityStanfordUnited States
- Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford UniversityStanfordUnited States
- Bio-X Institute, Stanford UniversityStanfordUnited States
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford UniversityStanfordUnited States
| | - Chandramouli Chandrasekaran
- Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston UniversityBostonUnited States
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston UniversityBostonUnited States
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston UniversityBostonUnited States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston UniversityBostonUnited States
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24
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Banaie Boroujeni K, Tiesinga P, Womelsdorf T. Interneuron-specific gamma synchronization indexes cue uncertainty and prediction errors in lateral prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortex. eLife 2021; 10:69111. [PMID: 34142661 PMCID: PMC8248985 DOI: 10.7554/elife.69111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Inhibitory interneurons are believed to realize critical gating functions in cortical circuits, but it has been difficult to ascertain the content of gated information for well-characterized interneurons in primate cortex. Here, we address this question by characterizing putative interneurons in primate prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortex while monkeys engaged in attention demanding reversal learning. We find that subclasses of narrow spiking neurons have a relative suppressive effect on the local circuit indicating they are inhibitory interneurons. One of these interneuron subclasses showed prominent firing rate modulations and (35–45 Hz) gamma synchronous spiking during periods of uncertainty in both, lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). In LPFC, this interneuron subclass activated when the uncertainty of attention cues was resolved during flexible learning, whereas in ACC it fired and gamma-synchronized when outcomes were uncertain and prediction errors were high during learning. Computational modeling of this interneuron-specific gamma band activity in simple circuit motifs suggests it could reflect a soft winner-take-all gating of information having high degree of uncertainty. Together, these findings elucidate an electrophysiologically characterized interneuron subclass in the primate, that forms gamma synchronous networks in two different areas when resolving uncertainty during adaptive goal-directed behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Paul Tiesinga
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Thilo Womelsdorf
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, United States.,Department of Biology, Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, Canada
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25
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Lemon RN, Baker SN, Kraskov A. Classification of Cortical Neurons by Spike Shape and the Identification of Pyramidal Neurons. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:5131-5138. [PMID: 34117760 PMCID: PMC8491674 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Many investigators who make extracellular recordings from populations of cortical neurons are now using spike shape parameters, and particularly spike duration, as a means of classifying different neuronal sub-types. Because of the nature of the experimental approach, particularly that involving nonhuman primates, it is very difficult to validate directly which spike characteristics belong to particular types of pyramidal neurons and interneurons, as defined by modern histological approaches. This commentary looks at the way antidromic identification of pyramidal cells projecting to different targets, and in particular, pyramidal tract neurons (PTN), can inform the utility of spike width classification. Spike duration may provide clues to a diversity of function across the pyramidal cell population, and also highlights important differences that exist across species. Our studies suggest that further electrophysiological and optogenetic approaches are needed to validate spike duration as a means of cell classification and to relate this to well-established histological differences in neocortical cell types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roger N Lemon
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Stuart N Baker
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK
| | - Alexander Kraskov
- Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK
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26
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Dasilva M, Brandt C, Alwin Gieselmann M, Distler C, Thiele A. Contribution of Ionotropic Glutamatergic Receptors to Excitability and Attentional Signals in Macaque Frontal Eye Field. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:3266-3284. [PMID: 33626129 PMCID: PMC8196243 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Revised: 01/05/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Top-down attention, controlled by frontal cortical areas, is a key component of cognitive operations. How different neurotransmitters and neuromodulators flexibly change the cellular and network interactions with attention demands remains poorly understood. While acetylcholine and dopamine are critically involved, glutamatergic receptors have been proposed to play important roles. To understand their contribution to attentional signals, we investigated how ionotropic glutamatergic receptors in the frontal eye field (FEF) of male macaques contribute to neuronal excitability and attentional control signals in different cell types. Broad-spiking and narrow-spiking cells both required N-methyl-D-aspartic acid and α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor activation for normal excitability, thereby affecting ongoing or stimulus-driven activity. However, attentional control signals were not dependent on either glutamatergic receptor type in broad- or narrow-spiking cells. A further subdivision of cell types into different functional types using cluster-analysis based on spike waveforms and spiking characteristics did not change the conclusions. This can be explained by a model where local blockade of specific ionotropic receptors is compensated by cell embedding in large-scale networks. It sets the glutamatergic system apart from the cholinergic system in FEF and demonstrates that a reduction in excitability is not sufficient to induce a reduction in attentional control signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Dasilva
- Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK.,College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, EX1 2LU, UK
| | - Christian Brandt
- Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK.,Institute of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, DK-5230 Odense, Denmark
| | | | - Claudia Distler
- Allgemeine Zoologie und Neurobiologie, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum 44801 Germany
| | - Alexander Thiele
- Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK
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27
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Guyon N, Zacharias LR, van Lunteren JA, Immenschuh J, Fuzik J, Märtin A, Xuan Y, Zilberter M, Kim H, Meletis K, Lopes-Aguiar C, Carlén M. Adult trkB Signaling in Parvalbumin Interneurons is Essential to Prefrontal Network Dynamics. J Neurosci 2021; 41:3120-3141. [PMID: 33593856 PMCID: PMC8026352 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1848-20.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2020] [Revised: 01/16/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Inhibitory interneurons expressing parvalbumin (PV) are central to cortical network dynamics, generation of γ oscillations, and cognition. Dysfunction of PV interneurons disrupts cortical information processing and cognitive behavior. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)/tyrosine receptor kinase B (trkB) signaling regulates the maturation of cortical PV interneurons but is also implicated in their adult multidimensional functions. Using a novel viral strategy for cell-type-specific and spatially restricted expression of a dominant-negative trkB (trkB.DN), we show that BDNF/trkB signaling is essential to the integrity and maintenance of prefrontal PV interneurons in adult male and female mice. Reduced BDNF/trkB signaling in PV interneurons in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) resulted in deficient PV inhibition and increased baseline local field potential (LFP) activity in a broad frequency band. The altered network activity was particularly pronounced during increased activation of the prefrontal network and was associated with changed dynamics of local excitatory neurons, as well as decreased modulation of the LFP, abnormalities that appeared to generalize across stimuli and brain states. In addition, our findings link reduced BDNF/trkB signaling in prefrontal PV interneurons to increased aggression. Together our investigations demonstrate that BDNF/trkB signaling in PV interneurons in the adult mPFC is essential to local network dynamics and cognitive behavior. Our data provide direct support for the suggested association between decreased trkB signaling, deficient PV inhibition, and altered prefrontal circuitry.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)/tyrosine receptor kinase B (trkB) signaling promotes the maturation of inhibitory parvalbumin (PV) interneurons, neurons central to local cortical dynamics, γ rhythms, and cognition. Here, we used a novel viral approach for reduced BDNF/trkB signaling in PV interneurons in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) to establish the role of BDNF/trkB signaling in adult prefrontal network activities. Reduced BDNF/trkB signaling caused pronounced morphologic alterations, reduced PV inhibition, and deficient prefrontal network dynamics. The altered network activity appeared to manifest across stimuli and brain states and was associated with aberrant local field potential (LFP) activities and increased aggression. The results demonstrate that adult BDNF/trkB signaling is essential to PV inhibition and prefrontal circuit function and directly links BDNF/trkB signaling to network integrity in the adult brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicolas Guyon
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 17177, Sweden
| | - Leonardo Rakauskas Zacharias
- Department of Neuroscience and Behavioral Sciences, Ribeirão Preto Medical School, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14049-900, Brazil
| | | | - Jana Immenschuh
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 17177, Sweden
| | - Janos Fuzik
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 17177, Sweden
| | - Antje Märtin
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 17177, Sweden
| | - Yang Xuan
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 17177, Sweden
| | - Misha Zilberter
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 17177, Sweden
| | - Hoseok Kim
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 17177, Sweden
| | | | - Cleiton Lopes-Aguiar
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Institute of Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Marie Carlén
- Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm 17177, Sweden
- Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge 14183, Sweden
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28
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Liu S, Zhao B, Shi C, Ma X, Sabel BA, Chen X, Tao L. Ocular Dominance and Functional Asymmetry in Visual Attention Networks. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2021; 62:9. [PMID: 33825854 PMCID: PMC8039471 DOI: 10.1167/iovs.62.4.9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose The dorsal attention network (DAN) and the ventral attention network (VAN) are known to support visual attention, but the influences of ocular dominance on the attention networks are unclear. We aimed to explore how visual cortical asymmetry of the attention networks correlate with neurophysiological oscillation and connectivity markers of attentional processes. Methods An oddball task with concentric circle stimuli of three different sizes (i.e., spot size of 5°, 20°, or 30° of visual angle) was used to vary task difficulty. Event-related oscillations and interareal communication were tested with an electroencephalogram-based visual evoked components as a function of ocular dominance in 30 healthy subjects. Results Accuracy rates were higher in the dominant eyes compared with the nondominant eyes. Compared with the nondominant eyes, the dominant eyes had higher theta, low-alpha, and low-beta powers and lower high-alpha powers within the nodes of VAN and DAN. Furthermore, visual information processed by the dominant and nondominant eye had different fates, that is, the dominant eyes mainly relied on theta and low-alpha connectivity within both the VAN and the DAN, whereas the nondominant eyes mainly relied on theta connectivity within the VAN and high-alpha connectivity within the DAN. The difference in accuracy rate between the two eyes was correlated with the low-alpha oscillations in the anterior DAN area and low-alpha connectivity of the left DAN. Conclusions The ocular dominance processing and interareal communication reveal a cortical asymmetry underlying attention, and this reflects a two-way modulatory mechanism within attention networks in the human brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sinan Liu
- Department of Forensic Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Bingyang Zhao
- Department of Forensic Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Chaoqun Shi
- Department of Forensic Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Xuying Ma
- Department of Forensic Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Bernhard A Sabel
- Institute of Medical Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Leipziger Strasse 44, 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Xiping Chen
- Department of Forensic Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Luyang Tao
- Department of Forensic Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
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29
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Mosher CP, Wei Y, Kamiński J, Nandi A, Mamelak AN, Anastassiou CA, Rutishauser U. Cellular Classes in the Human Brain Revealed In Vivo by Heartbeat-Related Modulation of the Extracellular Action Potential Waveform. Cell Rep 2021; 30:3536-3551.e6. [PMID: 32160555 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.02.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2019] [Revised: 12/23/2019] [Accepted: 02/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Determining cell types is critical for understanding neural circuits but remains elusive in the living human brain. Current approaches discriminate units into putative cell classes using features of the extracellular action potential (EAP); in absence of ground truth data, this remains a problematic procedure. We find that EAPs in deep structures of the brain exhibit robust and systematic variability during the cardiac cycle. These cardiac-related features refine neural classification. We use these features to link bio-realistic models generated from in vitro human whole-cell recordings of morphologically classified neurons to in vivo recordings. We differentiate aspiny inhibitory and spiny excitatory human hippocampal neurons and, in a second stage, demonstrate that cardiac-motion features reveal two types of spiny neurons with distinct intrinsic electrophysiological properties and phase-locking characteristics to endogenous oscillations. This multi-modal approach markedly improves cell classification in humans, offers interpretable cell classes, and is applicable to other brain areas and species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clayton P Mosher
- Department of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
| | - Yina Wei
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Jan Kamiński
- Department of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA; Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
| | - Anirban Nandi
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Adam N Mamelak
- Department of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA
| | - Costas A Anastassiou
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA 98109, USA; Division of Neurology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.
| | - Ueli Rutishauser
- Department of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA; Center for Neural Science and Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA; Department of Neurology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA; Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, Caltech, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
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30
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Morningstar MD, Linsenbardt DN, Lapish CC. Ethanol Alters Variability, But Not Rate, of Firing in Medial Prefrontal Cortex Neurons of Awake-Behaving Rats. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2020; 44:2225-2238. [PMID: 32966634 PMCID: PMC7680402 DOI: 10.1111/acer.14463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2020] [Accepted: 09/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is a brain region involved in the evaluation and selection of motivationally relevant outcomes. Neural activity in mPFC is altered following acute ethanol (EtOH) use and, in rodent models, doses as low as 0.75 g/kg yield cognitive deficits. Deficits in decision making following acute EtOH are thought to be mediated, at least in part, by decreases in mPFC firing rates (FRs). However, the data leading to this conclusion have been generated exclusively in anesthetized rodents. The present study characterizes the effects of acute EtOH injections on mPFC neural activity in awake-behaving rodents. METHODS Awake-behaving and anesthetized in vivo electrophysiological recordings were performed. We utilized 3 groups: the first received 2 saline injections, the second received a saline injection followed by 1.0 g/kg EtOH, and the last received saline followed by 2 g/kg EtOH. One week later, an anesthetized recording occurred where a saline injection was followed by an injection of 1.0 g/kg EtOH. RESULTS The anesthetized condition showed robust decreases in neural activity and differences in up-down states (UDS) dynamics. In the awake-behaving condition, FRs were grouped according to behavioral state: moving, not-moving, and sleep. The differences in median FRs were found for each treatment and behavioral state combination. A FR decrease was only found in the 2.0 g/kg EtOH treatment during not-moving states. However, robust decreases in FR variability were found across behavioral state in both the 1.0 and 2.0 g/kg EtOH treatment. Sleep was separately analyzed. EtOH modulated the UDS during sleep producing decreases in FRs. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, the changes in neural activity following EtOH administration in anesthetized animals are not conserved in awake-behaving animals. The most prominent difference following EtOH was a decrease in FR variability suggesting that acute EtOH may be affecting decision making via this mechanism.
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31
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Phase of firing coding of learning variables across the fronto-striatal network during feature-based learning. Nat Commun 2020; 11:4669. [PMID: 32938940 PMCID: PMC7495418 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18435-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex and striatum form a recurrent network whose spiking activity encodes multiple types of learning-relevant information. This spike-encoded information is evident in average firing rates, but finer temporal coding might allow multiplexing and enhanced readout across the connected network. We tested this hypothesis in the fronto-striatal network of nonhuman primates during reversal learning of feature values. We found that populations of neurons encoding choice outcomes, outcome prediction errors, and outcome history in their firing rates also carry significant information in their phase-of-firing at a 10–25 Hz band-limited beta frequency at which they synchronize across lateral prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex and anterior striatum when outcomes were processed. The phase-of-firing code exceeds information that can be obtained from firing rates alone and is evident for inter-areal connections between anterior cingulate cortex, lateral prefrontal cortex and anterior striatum. For the majority of connections, the phase-of-firing information gain is maximal at phases of the beta cycle that were offset from the preferred spiking phase of neurons. Taken together, these findings document enhanced information of three important learning variables at specific phases of firing in the beta cycle at an inter-areally shared beta oscillation frequency during goal-directed behavior. The average spiking frequency in the fronto-striatal network encodes multiple types of learning-relevant information. Here, the authors show that populations of neurons in non-human primates also carry significant information in their phase-of-firing when learning-relevant outcomes are processed.
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Fast spiking interneuron activity in primate striatum tracks learning of attention cues. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:18049-18058. [PMID: 32661170 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2001348117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive flexibility depends on a fast neural learning mechanism for enhancing momentary relevant over irrelevant information. A possible neural mechanism realizing this enhancement uses fast spiking interneurons (FSIs) in the striatum to train striatal projection neurons to gate relevant and suppress distracting cortical inputs. We found support for such a mechanism in nonhuman primates during the flexible adjustment of visual attention in a reversal learning task. FSI activity was modulated by visual attention cues during feature-based learning. One FSI subpopulation showed stronger activation during learning, while another FSI subpopulation showed response suppression after learning, which could indicate a disinhibitory effect on the local circuit. Additionally, FSIs that showed response suppression to learned attention cues were activated by salient distractor events, suggesting they contribute to suppressing bottom-up distraction. These findings suggest that striatal fast spiking interneurons play an important role when cues are learned that redirect attention away from previously relevant to newly relevant visual information. This cue-specific activity was independent of motor-related activity and thus tracked specifically the learning of reward predictive visual features.
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Milton R, Shahidi N, Dragoi V. Dynamic states of population activity in prefrontal cortical networks of freely-moving macaque. Nat Commun 2020; 11:1948. [PMID: 32327660 PMCID: PMC7181779 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15803-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2019] [Accepted: 03/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Neural responses in the cerebral cortex change dramatically between the 'synchronized' state during sleep and 'desynchronized' state during wakefulness. Our understanding of cortical state emerges largely from experiments performed in sensory areas of head-fixed or tethered rodents due to technical limitations of recording from larger freely-moving animals for several hours. Here, we report a system integrating wireless electrophysiology, wireless eye tracking, and real-time video analysis to examine the dynamics of population activity in a high-level, executive area - dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) of unrestrained monkey. This technology allows us to identify cortical substates during quiet and active wakefulness, and transitions in population activity during rest. We further show that narrow-spiking neurons exhibit stronger synchronized fluctuations in population activity than broad-spiking neurons regardless of state. Our results show that cortical state is controlled by behavioral demands and arousal by asymmetrically modulating the slow response fluctuations of local excitatory and inhibitory cell populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Russell Milton
- Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Neda Shahidi
- Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas, Houston, TX, 77030, USA
| | - Valentin Dragoi
- Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy, McGovern Medical School, University of Texas, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, 77005, USA.
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Torres-Gomez S, Blonde JD, Mendoza-Halliday D, Kuebler E, Everest M, Wang XJ, Inoue W, Poulter MO, Martinez-Trujillo J. Changes in the Proportion of Inhibitory Interneuron Types from Sensory to Executive Areas of the Primate Neocortex: Implications for the Origins of Working Memory Representations. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:4544-4562. [PMID: 32227119 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuronal spiking activity encoding working memory (WM) is robust in primate association cortices but weak or absent in early sensory cortices. This may be linked to changes in the proportion of neuronal types across areas that influence circuits' ability to generate recurrent excitation. We recorded neuronal activity from areas middle temporal (MT), medial superior temporal (MST), and the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) of monkeys performing a WM task and classified neurons as narrow (NS) and broad spiking (BS). The ratio NS/BS decreased from MT > MST > LPFC. We analyzed the Allen Institute database of ex vivo mice/human intracellular recordings to interpret our data. Our analysis suggests that NS neurons correspond to parvalbumin (PV) or somatostatin (SST) interneurons while BS neurons are pyramidal (P) cells or vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) interneurons. We labeled neurons in monkey tissue sections of MT/MST and LPFC and found that the proportion of PV in cortical layers 2/3 decreased, while the proportion of CR cells increased from MT/MST to LPFC. Assuming that primate CR/CB/PV cells perform similar computations as mice VIP/SST/PV cells, our results suggest that changes in the proportion of CR and PV neurons in layers 2/3 cells may favor the emergence of activity encoding WM in association areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Santiago Torres-Gomez
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Robarts Research Institute and the Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Jackson D Blonde
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Robarts Research Institute and the Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Diego Mendoza-Halliday
- McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Eric Kuebler
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Robarts Research Institute and the Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Michelle Everest
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Robarts Research Institute and the Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Xiao Jing Wang
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Wataru Inoue
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Robarts Research Institute and the Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Michael O Poulter
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Robarts Research Institute and the Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - Julio Martinez-Trujillo
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Robarts Research Institute and the Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, N6A5B7, Canada
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35
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Zhang T, Pan X, Xu X, Wang R. A cortical model with multi-layers to study visual attentional modulation of neurons at the synaptic level. Cogn Neurodyn 2019; 13:579-599. [PMID: 31741694 PMCID: PMC6825110 DOI: 10.1007/s11571-019-09540-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2019] [Revised: 05/08/2019] [Accepted: 05/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual attention is a selective process of visual information and improves perceptual performance by modulating activities of neurons in the visual system. It has been reported that attention increased firing rates of neurons, reduced their response variability and improved reliability of coding relevant stimuli. Recent neurophysiological studies demonstrated that attention also enhanced the synaptic efficacy between neurons mediated through NMDA and AMPA receptors. Majority of computational models of attention usually are based on firing rates, which cannot explain attentional modulations observed at the synaptic level. To understand mechanisms of attentional modulations at the synaptic level, we proposed a neural network consisting of three layers, corresponding to three different brain regions. Each layer has excitatory and inhibitory neurons. Each neuron was modeled by the Hodgkin-Huxley model. The connections between neurons were through excitatory AMPA and NMDA receptors, as well as inhibitory GABAA receptors. Since the binding process of neurotransmitters with receptors is stochastic in the synapse, it is hypothesized that attention could reduce the variation of the stochastic binding process and increase the fraction of bound receptors in the model. We investigated how attention modulated neurons' responses at the synaptic level on the basis of this hypothesis. Simulated results demonstrated that attention increased firing rates of neurons and reduced their response variability. The attention-induced effects were stronger in higher regions compared to those in lower regions, and stronger for inhibitory neurons than for excitatory neurons. In addition, AMPA receptor antagonist (CNQX) impaired attention-induced modulations on neurons' responses, while NMDA receptor antagonist (APV) did not. These results suggest that attention may modulate neuronal activity at the synaptic level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tao Zhang
- Institute for Cognitive Neurodynamics, East China University of Science and Technology, Meilong Road 130, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
| | - Xiaochuan Pan
- Institute for Cognitive Neurodynamics, East China University of Science and Technology, Meilong Road 130, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
| | - Xuying Xu
- Institute for Cognitive Neurodynamics, East China University of Science and Technology, Meilong Road 130, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
| | - Rubin Wang
- Institute for Cognitive Neurodynamics, East China University of Science and Technology, Meilong Road 130, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China
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Onorato I, Neuenschwander S, Hoy J, Lima B, Rocha KS, Broggini AC, Uran C, Spyropoulos G, Klon-Lipok J, Womelsdorf T, Fries P, Niell C, Singer W, Vinck M. A Distinct Class of Bursting Neurons with Strong Gamma Synchronization and Stimulus Selectivity in Monkey V1. Neuron 2019; 105:180-197.e5. [PMID: 31732258 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.09.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2019] [Revised: 07/12/2019] [Accepted: 09/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Cortical computation depends on interactions between excitatory and inhibitory neurons. The contributions of distinct neuron types to sensory processing and network synchronization in primate visual cortex remain largely undetermined. We show that in awake monkey V1, there exists a distinct cell type (››30% of neurons) that has narrow-waveform (NW) action potentials and high spontaneous discharge rates and fires in high-frequency bursts. These neurons are more stimulus selective and phase locked to 30- to 80-Hz gamma oscillations than other neuron types. Unlike other neuron types, their gamma-phase locking is highly predictive of orientation tuning. We find evidence for strong rhythmic inhibition in these neurons, suggesting that they interact with interneurons to act as excitatory pacemakers for the V1 gamma rhythm. We did not find a similar class of NW bursting neurons in L2-L4 of mouse V1. Given its properties, this class of NW bursting neurons should be pivotal for the encoding and transmission of stimulus information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Onorato
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Frankfurt, Germany; International Max Planck Research School for Neural Circuits, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Sergio Neuenschwander
- Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt, Germany; Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
| | - Jennifer Hoy
- Institute of Neuroscience and Department of Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
| | - Bruss Lima
- Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Katia-Simone Rocha
- Brain Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil
| | - Ana Clara Broggini
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Cem Uran
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Georgios Spyropoulos
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Frankfurt, Germany; International Max Planck Research School for Neural Circuits, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Johanna Klon-Lipok
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Frankfurt, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt, Germany
| | | | - Pascal Fries
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Cristopher Niell
- Institute of Neuroscience and Department of Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA
| | - Wolf Singer
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Frankfurt, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt, Germany; Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Martin Vinck
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Frankfurt, Germany.
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Voloh B, Womelsdorf T. Cell-Type Specific Burst Firing Interacts with Theta and Beta Activity in Prefrontal Cortex During Attention States. Cereb Cortex 2019; 28:4348-4364. [PMID: 29136106 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhx287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Population-level theta and beta band activity in anterior cingulate and prefrontal cortices (ACC/PFC) are prominent signatures of self-controlled, adaptive behaviors. But how these rhythmic activities are linked to cell-type specific activity has remained unclear. Here, we suggest such a cell-to-systems level linkage. We found that the rate of burst spiking events is enhanced particularly during attention states and that attention-specific burst spikes have a unique temporal relationship to local theta and beta band population-level activities. For the 5-10 Hz theta frequency range, bursts coincided with transient increases of local theta power relative to nonbursts, particularly for bursts of putative interneurons. For the 16-30 Hz beta frequency, bursts of putative interneurons phase synchronized stronger than nonbursts, and were associated with larger beta power modulation. In contrast, burst of putative pyramidal cells showed similar beta power modulation as nonbursts, but were accompanied by stronger beta power only when they occurred early in the beta cycle. These findings suggest that in the ACC/PFC during attention states, mechanisms underlying burst firing are intimately linked to narrow band population-level activities, providing a cell-type specific window into rhythmic inhibitory gating and the emergence of rhythmically coherent network states during goal directed behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Voloh
- Department of Biology, Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, PMB 407817, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - T Womelsdorf
- Department of Biology, Centre for Vision Research, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, PMB 407817, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN, USA
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Banaie Boroujeni K, Tiesinga P, Womelsdorf T. Adaptive spike-artifact removal from local field potentials uncovers prominent beta and gamma band neuronal synchronization. J Neurosci Methods 2019; 330:108485. [PMID: 31705936 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2019.108485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2019] [Revised: 10/26/2019] [Accepted: 10/29/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Many neurons synchronize their action potentials to the phase of local field potential (LFP) fluctuations in one or more frequency bands. Analyzing this spike-to-LFP synchronization is challenging, however, when neural spikes and LFP are generated in the same local circuit, because the spike's action potential waveform leak into the LFP and distort phase synchrony estimates. Existing approaches to address this spike bleed-through artifact relied on removing the average action potential waveforms of neurons, but this leaves artifacts in the LFP and distorts synchrony estimates. NEW METHOD We describe a spike-removal method that surpasses these limitations by decomposing individual action potentials into their frequency components before their removal from the LFP. The adaptively estimated frequency components allow for variable spread, strength and temporal variation of the spike artifact. RESULTS This adaptive approach effectively removes spike bleed-through artifacts in synthetic data with known ground truth, and in single neuron and LFP recordings in nonhuman primate striatum. For a large population of neurons with both narrow and broad action potential waveforms, the use of adaptive artifact removal uncovered 20-35 Hz beta and 35-45 Hz gamma band spike-LFP synchronization that would have remained contaminated otherwise. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS We demonstrate that adaptive spike-artifact removal cleans LFP data that remained contaminated when applying existing Bayesian and non-Bayesian methods of average spike-artifact removal. CONCLUSIONS Applying adaptive spike-removal from field potentials allows to estimate the phase at which neurons synchronize and the consistency of their phase-locked firing for both beta and low gamma frequencies. These metrics may prove essential to understand cell-to-circuit neuronal interactions in multiple brain systems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Paul Tiesinga
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Thilo Womelsdorf
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37240, United States; Department of Biology, Centre for Vision Research, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario M6J 1P3, Canada.
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Cell class-specific modulation of attentional signals by acetylcholine in macaque frontal eye field. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:20180-20189. [PMID: 31527242 PMCID: PMC6778228 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1905413116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Attention is critical to high-level cognition, and attentional deficits are a hallmark of cognitive dysfunction. A key transmitter for attentional control is acetylcholine, but its cellular actions in attention-controlling areas remain poorly understood. Here we delineate how muscarinic and nicotinic receptors affect basic neuronal excitability and attentional control signals in different cell types in macaque frontal eye field. We found that broad spiking and narrow spiking cells both require muscarinic and nicotinic receptors for normal excitability, thereby affecting ongoing or stimulus-driven activity. Attentional control signals depended on muscarinic, not nicotinic receptors in broad spiking cells, while they depended on both muscarinic and nicotinic receptors in narrow spiking cells. Cluster analysis revealed that muscarinic and nicotinic effects on attentional control signals were highly selective even for different subclasses of narrow spiking cells and of broad spiking cells. These results demonstrate that cholinergic receptors are critical to establish attentional control signals in the frontal eye field in a cell type-specific manner.
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Abstract
Neocortical cells form classes that likely take on unique functional roles in the cortical microcircuit. A new study finds that, with sufficient sampling, the electrophysiological signature of cells distinguishes four cell classes across primate frontal and parietal cortex.
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Trainito C, von Nicolai C, Miller EK, Siegel M. Extracellular Spike Waveform Dissociates Four Functionally Distinct Cell Classes in Primate Cortex. Curr Biol 2019; 29:2973-2982.e5. [PMID: 31447374 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.07.051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2019] [Revised: 06/21/2019] [Accepted: 07/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the function of different neuronal cell types is key to understanding brain function. However, cell-type diversity is typically overlooked in electrophysiological studies in awake behaving animals. Here, we show that four functionally distinct cell classes can be robustly identified from extracellular recordings in several cortical regions of awake behaving monkeys. We recorded extracellular spiking activity from dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), the frontal eye field (FEF), and the lateral intraparietal area of macaque monkeys during a visuomotor decision-making task. We employed unsupervised clustering of spike waveforms, which robustly dissociated four distinct cell classes across all three brain regions. The four cell classes were functionally distinct. They showed different baseline firing statistics, visual response dynamics, and coding of visual information. Although cell-class-specific baseline statistics were consistent across brain regions, response dynamics and information coding were regionally specific. Our results identify four functionally distinct spike-waveform-based cell classes in primate cortex. This opens a new window to dissect and study the cell-type-specific function of cortical circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caterina Trainito
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Strasse 25, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Strasse 27, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; MEG Center, University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Strasse 47, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; IMPRS for Cognitive and Systems Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Österbergstrasse 3, 72074 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Constantin von Nicolai
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Strasse 25, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Strasse 27, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; MEG Center, University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Strasse 47, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Earl K Miller
- The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Markus Siegel
- Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Strasse 25, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Strasse 27, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; MEG Center, University of Tübingen, Otfried-Müller-Strasse 47, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
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42
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Distinct Properties of Layer 3 Pyramidal Neurons from Prefrontal and Parietal Areas of the Monkey Neocortex. J Neurosci 2019; 39:7277-7290. [PMID: 31341029 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1210-19.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2019] [Accepted: 06/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
In primates, working memory function depends on activity in a distributed network of cortical areas that display different patterns of delay task-related activity. These differences are correlated with, and might depend on, distinctive properties of the neurons located in each area. For example, layer 3 pyramidal neurons (L3PNs) differ significantly between primary visual and dorsolateral prefrontal (DLPFC) cortices. However, to what extent L3PNs differ between DLPFC and other association cortical areas is less clear. Hence, we compared the properties of L3PNs in monkey DLPFC versus posterior parietal cortex (PPC), a key node in the cortical working memory network. Using patch-clamp recordings and biocytin cell filling in acute brain slices, we assessed the physiology and morphology of L3PNs from monkey DLPFC and PPC. The L3PN transcriptome was studied using laser microdissection combined with DNA microarray or quantitative PCR. We found that in both DLPFC and PPC, L3PNs were divided into regular spiking (RS-L3PNs) and bursting (B-L3PNs) physiological subtypes. Whereas regional differences in single-cell excitability were modest, B-L3PNs were rare in PPC (RS-L3PN:B-L3PN, 94:6), but were abundant in DLPFC (50:50), showing greater physiological diversity. Moreover, DLPFC L3PNs display larger and more complex basal dendrites with higher dendritic spine density. Additionally, we found differential expression of hundreds of genes, suggesting a transcriptional basis for the differences in L3PN phenotype between DLPFC and PPC. These data show that the previously observed differences between DLPFC and PPC neuron activity during working memory tasks are associated with diversity in the cellular/molecular properties of L3PNs.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In the human and nonhuman primate neocortex, layer 3 pyramidal neurons (L3PNs) differ significantly between dorsolateral prefrontal (DLPFC) and sensory areas. Hence, L3PN properties reflect, and may contribute to, a greater complexity of computations performed in DLPFC. However, across association cortical areas, L3PN properties are largely unexplored. We studied the physiology, dendrite morphology and transcriptome of L3PNs from macaque monkey DLPFC and posterior parietal cortex (PPC), two key nodes in the cortical working memory network. L3PNs from DLPFC had greater diversity of physiological properties and larger basal dendrites with higher spine density. Moreover, transcriptome analysis suggested a molecular basis for the differences in the physiological and morphological phenotypes of L3PNs from DLPFC and PPC.
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van der Velden L, Vinck MA, Werkman TR, Wadman WJ. Modulation of Functional Connectivity Between Dopamine Neurons of the Rat Ventral Tegmental Area in vitro. Front Integr Neurosci 2019; 13:20. [PMID: 31293395 PMCID: PMC6603227 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2019.00020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2019] [Accepted: 06/06/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Micro Electrode Arrays were used to simultaneously record spontaneous extracellular action potentials from 10 to 30 dopamine neurons in acute brain slices from the lateral Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) of the rat. The spike train of an individual neuron was used to characterize the firing pattern: firing rate, firing irregularity and oscillation frequency. Functional connectivity between a pair of neurons was quantified by the Paired Phase Consistency (PPC), taking the oscillation frequency as reference. Under baseline conditions the PPC was significantly different from zero and 42 of the 386 pairs of VTA neurons showed significant coupling. Fifty percent of the recorded dopamine neurons were part of the coupled VTA network. Raising extracellular potassium from 3.5 to 5 mM increased the mean firing rate of the dopamine neurons by 45%. The same increase could be induced by bath application of 300 μm glutamate. High potassium reduced the PPC, but it did not change during the glutamate application. Our findings imply that manipulating excitability has distinct and specific consequences for functional connectivity in the VTA network that cannot be directly predicted from the changes in neuronal firing rates. Functional connectivity reflects the spatial organization and synchronization of the VTA output and thus represents a unique element of the message that is sent to the mesolimbic projection area. It adds a dimension to pharmacological manipulation of the VTA micro circuit that might help to understand the pharmacological (side) effects of e.g., anti-psychotic drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Martin A Vinck
- Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience in Cooperation With Max Planck Society, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Taco R Werkman
- Center for Neuroscience, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Wytse J Wadman
- Center for Neuroscience, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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The Rat Medial Prefrontal Cortex Exhibits Flexible Neural Activity States during the Performance of an Odor Span Task. eNeuro 2019; 6:eN-NWR-0424-18. [PMID: 31008186 PMCID: PMC6472939 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0424-18.2019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2018] [Revised: 02/13/2019] [Accepted: 02/18/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) activity is fundamental for working memory (WM), attention, and behavioral inhibition; however, a comprehensive understanding of the neural computations underlying these processes is still forthcoming. Toward this goal, neural recordings were obtained from the mPFC of awake, behaving rats performing an odor span task of WM capacity. Neural populations were observed to encode distinct task epochs and the transitions between epochs were accompanied by abrupt shifts in neural activity patterns. Putative pyramidal neuron activity increased earlier in the delay for sessions where rats achieved higher spans. Furthermore, increased putative interneuron activity was only observed at the termination of the delay thus indicating that local processing in inhibitory networks was a unique feature to initiate foraging. During foraging, changes in neural activity patterns associated with the approach to a novel odor, but not familiar odors, were robust. Collectively, these data suggest that distinct mPFC activity states underlie the delay, foraging, and reward epochs of the odor span task. Transitions between these states likely enables adaptive behavior in dynamic environments that place strong demands on the substrates of working memory.
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45
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Oemisch M, Westendorff S, Azimi M, Hassani SA, Ardid S, Tiesinga P, Womelsdorf T. Feature-specific prediction errors and surprise across macaque fronto-striatal circuits. Nat Commun 2019; 10:176. [PMID: 30635579 PMCID: PMC6329800 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-08184-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2018] [Accepted: 12/20/2018] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
To adjust expectations efficiently, prediction errors need to be associated with the precise features that gave rise to the unexpected outcome, but this credit assignment may be problematic if stimuli differ on multiple dimensions and it is ambiguous which feature dimension caused the outcome. Here, we report a potential solution: neurons in four recorded areas of the anterior fronto-striatal networks encode prediction errors that are specific to feature values of different dimensions of attended multidimensional stimuli. The most ubiquitous prediction error occurred for the reward-relevant dimension. Feature-specific prediction error signals a) emerge on average shortly after non-specific prediction error signals, b) arise earliest in the anterior cingulate cortex and later in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, caudate and ventral striatum, and c) contribute to feature-based stimulus selection after learning. Thus, a widely-distributed feature-specific eligibility trace may be used to update synaptic weights for improved feature-based attention. In order to adjust expectations efficiently, prediction errors need to be associated with the features that gave rise to the unexpected outcome. Here, the authors show that neurons in anterior fronto-striatal networks encode prediction errors that are specific to feature values of different stimulus dimensions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariann Oemisch
- Department of Biology, Centre for Vision Research, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, M6J 1P3, Canada. .,Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06510, USA.
| | - Stephanie Westendorff
- Department of Biology, Centre for Vision Research, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, M6J 1P3, Canada.,Institute of Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, 72076, Germany
| | - Marzyeh Azimi
- Department of Biology, Centre for Vision Research, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, M6J 1P3, Canada
| | - Seyed Alireza Hassani
- Department of Biology, Centre for Vision Research, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, M6J 1P3, Canada.,Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA
| | - Salva Ardid
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Paul Tiesinga
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, 6525 EN, Netherlands
| | - Thilo Womelsdorf
- Department of Biology, Centre for Vision Research, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, ON, M6J 1P3, Canada. .,Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37240, USA.
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46
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Lowe KA, Schall JD. Functional Categories of Visuomotor Neurons in Macaque Frontal Eye Field. eNeuro 2018; 5:ENEURO.0131-18.2018. [PMID: 30406195 PMCID: PMC6220589 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0131-18.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2018] [Revised: 09/20/2018] [Accepted: 09/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Frontal eye field (FEF) in macaque monkeys contributes to visual attention, visual-motor transformations and production of eye movements. Traditionally, neurons in FEF have been classified by the magnitude of increased discharge rates following visual stimulus presentation, during a waiting period, and associated with eye movement production. However, considerable heterogeneity remains within the traditional visual, visuomovement, and movement categories. Cluster analysis is a data-driven method of identifying self-segregating groups within a dataset. Because many cluster analysis techniques exist and outcomes vary with analysis assumptions, consensus clustering aggregates over multiple analyses, identifying robust groups. To describe more comprehensively the neuronal composition of FEF, we applied a consensus clustering technique for unsupervised categorization of patterns of spike rate modulation measured during a memory-guided saccade task. We report 10 functional categories, expanding on the traditional 3 categories. Categories were distinguished by latency, magnitude, and sign of visual response; the presence of sustained activity; and the dynamics, magnitude and sign of saccade-related modulation. Consensus clustering can include other metrics and can be applied to datasets from other brain regions to provide better information guiding microcircuit models of cortical function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaleb A Lowe
- Department of Psychology, Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240
| | - Jeffrey D Schall
- Department of Psychology, Center for Integrative and Cognitive Neuroscience, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee 37240
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47
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Cortical Oscillatory Mechanisms Supporting the Control of Human Social-Emotional Actions. J Neurosci 2018; 38:5739-5749. [PMID: 29793973 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.3382-17.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2017] [Revised: 04/17/2018] [Accepted: 05/11/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The human anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC) is involved in regulating social-emotional behavior, presumably by modulating effective connectivity with downstream parietal, limbic, and motor cortices. Regulating that connectivity might rely on theta-band oscillations (4-8 Hz), a brain rhythm known to create overlapping periods of excitability between distant regions by temporally releasing neurons from inhibition. Here, we used MEG to understand how aPFC theta-band oscillations implement control over prepotent social-emotional behaviors; that is, the control over automatically elicited approach and avoidance actions. Forty human male participants performed a social approach-avoidance task in which they approached or avoided visually displayed emotional faces (happy or angry) by pulling or pushing a joystick. Approaching angry and avoiding happy faces (incongruent condition) requires rapid application of cognitive control to override prepotent habitual action tendencies to approach appetitive and to avoid aversive situations. In the time window before response delivery, trial-by-trial variations in aPFC theta-band power (6 Hz) predicted reaction time increases during emotional control and were inversely related to beta-band power (14-22 Hz) over parietofrontal cortex. In sensorimotor areas contralateral to the moving hand, premovement gamma-band rhythms (60-90 Hz) were stronger during incongruent than congruent trials, with power increases phase locked to peaks of the aPFC theta-band oscillations. These findings define a mechanistic relation between cortical areas involved in implementing rapid control over human social-emotional behavior. The aPFC may bias neural processing toward rule-driven actions and away from automatic emotional tendencies by coordinating tonic disinhibition and phasic enhancement of parietofrontal circuits involved in action selection.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Being able to control social-emotional behavior is crucial for successful participation in society, as is illustrated by the severe social and occupational difficulties experienced by people suffering from social motivational disorders such as social anxiety. In this study, we show that theta-band oscillations in the anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC), which are thought to provide temporal organization for neural firing during communication between distant brain areas, facilitate this control by linking aPFC to parietofrontal beta-band and sensorimotor gamma-band oscillations involved in action selection. These results contribute to a mechanistic understanding of cognitive control over automatic social-emotional action and point to frontal theta-band oscillations as a possible target of rhythmic neurostimulation techniques during treatment for social anxiety.
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Teeter C, Iyer R, Menon V, Gouwens N, Feng D, Berg J, Szafer A, Cain N, Zeng H, Hawrylycz M, Koch C, Mihalas S. Generalized leaky integrate-and-fire models classify multiple neuron types. Nat Commun 2018; 9:709. [PMID: 29459723 PMCID: PMC5818568 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02717-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2017] [Accepted: 12/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
There is a high diversity of neuronal types in the mammalian neocortex. To facilitate construction of system models with multiple cell types, we generate a database of point models associated with the Allen Cell Types Database. We construct a set of generalized leaky integrate-and-fire (GLIF) models of increasing complexity to reproduce the spiking behaviors of 645 recorded neurons from 16 transgenic lines. The more complex models have an increased capacity to predict spiking behavior of hold-out stimuli. We use unsupervised methods to classify cell types, and find that high level GLIF model parameters are able to differentiate transgenic lines comparable to electrophysiological features. The more complex model parameters also have an increased ability to differentiate between transgenic lines. Thus, creating simple models is an effective dimensionality reduction technique that enables the differentiation of cell types from electrophysiological responses without the need for a priori-defined features. This database will provide a set of simplified models of multiple cell types for the community to use in network models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corinne Teeter
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, 615 Westlake Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA.
| | - Ramakrishnan Iyer
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, 615 Westlake Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Vilas Menon
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, 615 Westlake Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Janelia Research Campus, 19700 Helix Dr, Ashburn, VA, 20147, USA
| | - Nathan Gouwens
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, 615 Westlake Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - David Feng
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, 615 Westlake Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Jim Berg
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, 615 Westlake Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Aaron Szafer
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, 615 Westlake Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Nicholas Cain
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, 615 Westlake Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Hongkui Zeng
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, 615 Westlake Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Michael Hawrylycz
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, 615 Westlake Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Christof Koch
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, 615 Westlake Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Stefan Mihalas
- Allen Institute for Brain Science, 615 Westlake Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA.
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Differences in reward processing between putative cell types in primate prefrontal cortex. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0189771. [PMID: 29261734 PMCID: PMC5736196 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0189771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2017] [Accepted: 11/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Single-unit studies in monkeys have demonstrated that neurons in the prefrontal cortex predict the reward type, reward amount or reward availability associated with a stimulus. To examine contributions of pyramidal cells and interneurons in reward processing, single-unit activity was extracellularly recorded in prefrontal cortices of four monkeys performing a reward prediction task. Based on their shapes of spike waveforms, prefrontal neurons were classified into broad-spike and narrow-spike units that represented putative pyramidal cells and interneurons, respectively. We mainly observed that narrow-spike neurons showed higher firing rates but less bursty discharges than did broad-spike neurons. Both narrow-spike and broad-spike cells selectively responded to the stimulus, reward and their interaction, and the proportions of each type of selective neurons were similar between the two cell classes. Moreover, the two types of cells displayed equal reliability of reward or stimulus discrimination. Furthermore, we found that broad-spike and narrow-spike cells showed distinct mechanisms for encoding reward or stimulus information. Broad-spike neurons raised their firing rate relative to the baseline rate to represent the preferred reward or stimulus information, whereas narrow-spike neurons inhibited their firing rate lower than the baseline rate to encode the non-preferred reward or stimulus information. Our results suggest that narrow-spike and broad-spike cells were equally involved in reward and stimulus processing in the prefrontal cortex. They utilized a binary strategy to complementarily represent reward or stimulus information, which was consistent with the task structure in which the monkeys were required to remember two reward conditions and two visual stimuli.
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Geva R, Dital A, Ramon D, Yarmolovsky J, Gidron M, Kuint J. Brainstem as a developmental gateway to social attention. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 2017; 58:1351-1359. [PMID: 28504308 DOI: 10.1111/jcpp.12746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/24/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Evolution preserves social attention due to its key role in supporting survival. Humans are attracted to social cues from infancy, but the neurobiological mechanisms for the development of social attention are unknown. An evolutionary-based, vertical-hierarchical theoretical model of self-regulation suggests that neonatal brainstem inputs are key for the development of well-regulated social attention. METHODS Neonates born preterm (N = 44, GA 34 w.) were recruited and diagnosed at birth as a function of their auditory brainstem evoked responses (ABR). Participants enrolled in a prospective 8-year-long, double-blind, follow-up study comparing participants with brainstem dysfunctions and well-matched controls. Groups had comparable fetal, neonatal, and familial characteristics. Methods incorporated EEG power analysis and gaze tracking during the Attention Network Test (ANT, four cue types, and two targets) and a Triadic Gaze Engagement task (TGE, three social cue levels). RESULTS Results showed that neonatal brainstem compromise is related to long-term changes in Alpha- and Theta-band power asymmetries (p < .034, p < .016, respectively), suggesting suppressed bottom-up input needed to alert social attention. Gaze tracking indicated dysregulated arousal-modulated attention (p < .004) and difficulty in gaze engagement to socially neutral compared to nonsocial cues (p < .012). CONCLUSIONS Integrating models of Autism and cross-species data with current long-term follow-up of infants with discrete neonatal brainstem dysfunction suggests neonatal brainstem input as a gateway for bottom-up regulation of social attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronny Geva
- Department of Psychology, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.,The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Ayelet Dital
- The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Dan Ramon
- Psychology Department, Ashkelon College, Ashkelon, Israel
| | - Jessica Yarmolovsky
- Department of Psychology, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.,The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Maor Gidron
- Department of Psychology, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.,The Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Jacob Kuint
- Neonatology Department, Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel.,Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
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