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Dobler Z, Suresh A, Chari T, Mula S, Tran A, Buonomano DV, Portera-Cailliau C. Adapting and facilitating responses in mouse somatosensory cortex are dynamic and shaped by experience. Curr Biol 2024; 34:3506-3521.e5. [PMID: 39059392 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.06.070] [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: 12/22/2023] [Revised: 05/10/2024] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024]
Abstract
Sensory adaptation is the process whereby brain circuits adjust neuronal activity in response to redundant sensory stimuli. Although sensory adaptation has been extensively studied for individual neurons on timescales of tens of milliseconds to a few seconds, little is known about it over longer timescales or at the population level. We investigated population-level adaptation in the barrel field of the mouse somatosensory cortex (S1BF) using in vivo two-photon calcium imaging and Neuropixels recordings in awake mice. Among stimulus-responsive neurons, we found both adapting and facilitating neurons, which decreased or increased their firing, respectively, with repetitive whisker stimulation. The former outnumbered the latter by 2:1 in layers 2/3 and 4; hence, the overall population response of mouse S1BF was slightly adapting. We also discovered that population adaptation to one stimulus frequency (5 Hz) does not necessarily generalize to a different frequency (12.5 Hz). Moreover, responses of individual neurons to repeated rounds of stimulation over tens of minutes were strikingly heterogeneous and stochastic, such that their adapting or facilitating response profiles were not stable across time. Such representational drift was particularly striking when recording longitudinally across 8-9 days, as adaptation profiles of most whisker-responsive neurons changed drastically from one day to the next. Remarkably, repeated exposure to a familiar stimulus paradoxically shifted the population away from strong adaptation and toward facilitation. Thus, the adapting vs. facilitating response profile of S1BF neurons is not a fixed property of neurons but rather a highly dynamic feature that is shaped by sensory experience across days.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoë Dobler
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, 710 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program, University of California, Los Angeles, 695 Charles Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Anand Suresh
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, 710 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Trishala Chari
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, 710 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Neuroscience Interdepartmental Program, University of California, Los Angeles, 695 Charles Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Supriya Mula
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, 710 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Anne Tran
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, 710 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Dean V Buonomano
- Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, 10833 Le Conte Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 502 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Carlos Portera-Cailliau
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, 710 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, 10833 Le Conte Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
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2
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Tauste Campo A, Zainos A, Vázquez Y, Adell Segarra R, Álvarez M, Deco G, Díaz H, Parra S, Romo R, Rossi-Pool R. Thalamocortical interactions shape hierarchical neural variability during stimulus perception. iScience 2024; 27:110065. [PMID: 38993679 PMCID: PMC11237863 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2024] [Revised: 05/03/2024] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 07/13/2024] Open
Abstract
The brain is organized hierarchically to process sensory signals. But, how do functional connections within and across areas contribute to this hierarchical order? We addressed this problem in the thalamocortical network, while monkeys detected vibrotactile stimulus. During this task, we quantified neural variability and directed functional connectivity in simultaneously recorded neurons sharing the cutaneous receptive field within and across VPL and areas 3b and 1. Before stimulus onset, VPL and area 3b exhibited similar fast dynamics while area 1 showed slower timescales. During the stimulus presence, inter-trial neural variability increased along the network VPL-3b-1 while VPL established two main feedforward pathways with areas 3b and 1 to process the stimulus. This lower variability of VPL and area 3b was found to regulate feedforward thalamocortical pathways. Instead, intra-cortical interactions were only anticipated by higher intrinsic timescales in area 1. Overall, our results provide evidence of hierarchical functional roles along the thalamocortical network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrià Tauste Campo
- Computational Biology and Complex Systems group, Department of Physics, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Avinguda Dr. Marañón, 44-50, 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Antonio Zainos
- Instituto de Fisiología Celular–Neurociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Yuriria Vázquez
- Instituto de Fisiología Celular–Neurociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Raul Adell Segarra
- Computational Biology and Complex Systems group, Department of Physics, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Avinguda Dr. Marañón, 44-50, 08028 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Manuel Álvarez
- Instituto de Fisiología Celular–Neurociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Gustavo Deco
- Center for Brain and Cognition (CBC), Department of Information Technologies and Communications (DTIC), Pompeu Fabra University, Edifici Mercè Rodoreda, Carrer Trias I Fargas 25-27, 08005 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Passeig Lluis Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Héctor Díaz
- Instituto de Fisiología Celular–Neurociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Sergio Parra
- Instituto de Fisiología Celular–Neurociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | | | - Román Rossi-Pool
- Instituto de Fisiología Celular–Neurociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
- Centro de Ciencias de la Complejidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
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3
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Russo S, Stanley GB, Najafi F. Spike Reliability is Cell-Type Specific and Shapes Excitation and Inhibition in the Cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.05.597657. [PMID: 38895401 PMCID: PMC11185694 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.05.597657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
Neurons encode information in the highly variable spiking activity of neuronal populations, so that different repetitions of the same stimulus can generate action potentials that vary significantly in terms of the count and timing. How does spiking variability originate, and does it have a functional purpose? Leveraging the Allen Institute cell types dataset, we relate the spiking reliability of cortical neurons in-vitro during the intracellular injection of current resembling synaptic inputs to their morphologic, electrophysiologic, and transcriptomic classes. Our findings demonstrate that parvalbumin+ (PV) interneurons, a subclass of inhibitory neurons, show high reliability compared to other neuronal subclasses, particularly excitatory neurons. Through computational modeling, we predict that the high reliability of PV interneurons allows for strong and precise inhibition in downstream neurons, while the lower reliability of excitatory neurons allows for integrating multiple synaptic inputs leading to a spiking rate code. These findings illuminate how spiking variability in different neuronal classes affect information propagation in the brain, leading to precise inhibition and spiking rate codes.
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Affiliation(s)
- S. Russo
- Wallace H Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, US
- Allen Institute, Brain and Consciousness Program, Seattle, WA, US
| | - G. B. Stanley
- Wallace H Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, US
| | - F. Najafi
- School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, US
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4
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Liew YJ, Dimwamwa ED, Wright NC, Zhang Y, Stanley GB. MULTIPLE DISTINCT TIMESCALES OF RAPID SENSORY ADAPATION IN THE THALAMOCORTICAL CIRCUIT. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.06.597761. [PMID: 38895470 PMCID: PMC11185625 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.06.597761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
Numerous studies have shown that neuronal representations in sensory pathways are far from static but are instead strongly shaped by the complex properties of the sensory inputs they receive. Adaptation dynamically shapes the neural signaling that underlies our perception of the world, yet remains poorly understood. We investigated rapid adaptation across timescales from hundreds of milliseconds to seconds through simultaneous multi-electrode recordings from the ventro-posteromedial nucleus of the thalamus (VPm) and layer 4 of the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) in anesthetized mice in response to controlled, persistent whisker stimulation. Observations in VPm and S1 reveal a degree of adaptation that progresses through the pathway. Signatures of two distinct timescales of rapid adaptation in the firing rates of both thalamic and cortical neuronal populations were revealed, also reflected in the synchrony of the thalamic population and in the thalamocortical synaptic efficacy that was measured in putatively monosynaptically connected thalamocortical pairs. Controlled optogenetic activation of VPm further demonstrated that the longer timescale adaptation observed in S1 is likely inherited from slow decreases in thalamic firing rate and synchrony. Despite the degraded sensory responses, adaptation resulted in a shift in coding strategy that favors theoretical discrimination over detection across the observed timescales of adaptation. Overall, although multiple mechanisms contribute to rapid adaptation at distinct timescales, they support a unifying framework on the role of adaptation in sensory processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Juin Liew
- Wallace H Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
- Joint PhD Program in Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology – Emory University – Peking University, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Elaida D Dimwamwa
- Wallace H Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Nathaniel C Wright
- Wallace H Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Yong Zhang
- Neuroscience Research Institute and Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education of China and National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing 100083, China
- PKU-IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Garrett B Stanley
- Wallace H Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
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Dimwamwa ED, Pala A, Chundru V, Wright NC, Stanley GB. Dynamic corticothalamic modulation of the somatosensory thalamocortical circuit during wakefulness. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3529. [PMID: 38664415 PMCID: PMC11045850 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47863-8] [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: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
The feedback projections from cortical layer 6 (L6CT) to the sensory thalamus have long been implicated in playing a primary role in gating sensory signaling but remain poorly understood. To causally elucidate the full range of effects of these projections, we targeted silicon probe recordings to the whisker thalamocortical circuit of awake mice selectively expressing Channelrhodopsin-2 in L6CT neurons. Through optogenetic manipulation of L6CT neurons, multi-site electrophysiological recordings, and modeling of L6CT circuitry, we establish L6CT neurons as dynamic modulators of ongoing spiking in the ventral posteromedial nucleus of the thalamus (VPm), either suppressing or enhancing VPm spiking depending on L6CT neurons' firing rate and synchrony. Differential effects across the cortical excitatory and inhibitory sub-populations point to an overall influence of L6CT feedback on cortical excitability that could have profound implications for regulating sensory signaling across a range of ethologically relevant conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elaida D Dimwamwa
- Wallace H Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Aurélie Pala
- Wallace H Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Department of Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Vivek Chundru
- Wallace H Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Nathaniel C Wright
- Wallace H Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Garrett B Stanley
- Wallace H Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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6
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Han J, Choi J, Jeong H, Park D, Cheong E, Sung J, Choi HJ. Impact of Impedance Levels on Recording Quality in Flexible Neural Probes. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 24:2300. [PMID: 38610511 PMCID: PMC11014004 DOI: 10.3390/s24072300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2024] [Revised: 04/01/2024] [Accepted: 04/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024]
Abstract
Flexible neural probes are attractive emerging technologies for brain recording because they can effectively record signals with minimal risk of brain damage. Reducing the electrode impedance of the probe before recording is a common practice of many researchers. However, studies investigating the impact of low impedance levels on high-quality recordings using flexible neural probes are lacking. In this study, we electrodeposited Pt onto a commercial flexible polyimide neural probe and investigated the relationship between the impedance level and the recording quality. The probe was inserted into the brains of anesthetized mice. The electrical signals of neurons in the brain, specifically the ventral posteromedial nucleus of the thalamus, were recorded at impedance levels of 50, 250, 500 and 1000 kΩ at 1 kHz. The study results demonstrated that as the impedance decreased, the quality of the signal recordings did not consistently improve. This suggests that extreme lowering of the impedance may not always be advantageous in the context of flexible neural probes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juyeon Han
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; (J.H.)
| | - Jungsik Choi
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; (J.H.)
- Nformare Inc., Seodamun-gu, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyeonyeong Jeong
- Department of Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Daerl Park
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; (J.H.)
| | - Eunji Cheong
- Department of Biotechnology, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Jaesuk Sung
- Nformare Inc., Seodamun-gu, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Heon-Jin Choi
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea; (J.H.)
- Nformare Inc., Seodamun-gu, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
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7
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Dimwamwa E, Pala A, Chundru V, Wright NC, Stanley GB. Dynamic corticothalamic modulation of the somatosensory thalamocortical circuit during wakefulness. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.07.18.549491. [PMID: 37503253 PMCID: PMC10370106 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.18.549491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
The feedback projections from cortical layer 6 (L6CT) to sensory thalamus have long been implicated in playing a primary role in gating sensory signaling but remain poorly understood. To causally elucidate the full range of effects of these projections, we targeted silicon probe recordings to the whisker thalamocortical circuit of awake mice selectively expressing Channelrhodopsin-2 in L6CT neurons. Through optogenetic manipulation of L6CT neurons, multi-site electrophysiological recordings, and modeling of L6CT circuitry, we establish L6CT neurons as dynamic modulators of ongoing spiking in the ventro-posterior-medial nucleus of thalamus (VPm), either suppressing or enhancing VPm spiking depending on L6CT neurons' firing rate and synchrony. Differential effects across the cortical excitatory and inhibitory sub-populations point to an overall influence of L6CT feedback on cortical excitability that could have profound implications for regulating sensory signaling across a range of ethologically relevant conditions.
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8
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Vincent JP, Economo MN. Assessing cross-contamination in spike-sorted electrophysiology data. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.21.572882. [PMID: 38187738 PMCID: PMC10769346 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.21.572882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Recent advances in extracellular electrophysiology now facilitate the recording of spikes from hundreds or thousands of neurons simultaneously. This has necessitated both the development of new computational methods for spike sorting and better methods to determine spike sorting accuracy. One longstanding method of assessing the false discovery rate (FDR) of spike sorting - the rate at which spikes are misassigned to the wrong cluster - has been the rate of inter-spike-interval (ISI) violations. Despite their near ubiquitous usage in spike sorting, our understanding of how exactly ISI violations relate to FDR, as well as best practices for using ISI violations as a quality metric, remain limited. Here, we describe an analytical solution that can be used to predict FDR from ISI violation rate. We test this model in silico through Monte Carlo simulation, and apply it to publicly available spike-sorted electrophysiology datasets. We find that the relationship between ISI violation rate and FDR is highly nonlinear, with additional dependencies on firing rate, the correlation in activity between neurons, and contaminant neuron count. Predicted median FDRs in public datasets were found to range from 3.1% to 50.0%. We find that stochasticity in the occurrence of ISI violations as well as uncertainty in cluster-specific parameters make it difficult to predict FDR for single clusters with high confidence, but that FDR can be estimated accurately across a population of clusters. Our findings will help the growing community of researchers using extracellular electrophysiology assess spike sorting accuracy in a principled manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack P. Vincent
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA
- Center for Neurophotonics, Boston University, Boston, MA
| | - Michael N. Economo
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA
- Center for Neurophotonics, Boston University, Boston, MA
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Boston University, Boston, MA
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Li JY, Glickfeld LL. Input-specific synaptic depression shapes temporal integration in mouse visual cortex. Neuron 2023; 111:3255-3269.e6. [PMID: 37543037 PMCID: PMC10592405 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.07.003] [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: 01/23/2023] [Revised: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 08/07/2023]
Abstract
Efficient sensory processing requires the nervous system to adjust to ongoing features of the environment. In primary visual cortex (V1), neuronal activity strongly depends on recent stimulus history. Existing models can explain effects of prolonged stimulus presentation but remain insufficient for explaining effects observed after shorter durations commonly encountered under natural conditions. We investigated the mechanisms driving adaptation in response to brief (100 ms) stimuli in L2/3 V1 neurons by performing in vivo whole-cell recordings to measure membrane potential and synaptic inputs. We find that rapid adaptation is generated by stimulus-specific suppression of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs. Targeted optogenetic experiments reveal that these synaptic effects are due to input-specific short-term depression of transmission between layers 4 and 2/3. Thus, brief stimulus presentation engages a distinct adaptation mechanism from that previously reported in response to prolonged stimuli, enabling flexible control of sensory encoding across a wide range of timescales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Y Li
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27701, USA
| | - Lindsey L Glickfeld
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27701, USA.
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10
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Daumail L, Carlson BM, Mitchell BA, Cox MA, Westerberg JA, Johnson C, Martin PR, Tong F, Maier A, Dougherty K. Rapid adaptation of primate LGN neurons to drifting grating stimulation. J Neurophysiol 2023; 129:1447-1467. [PMID: 37162181 PMCID: PMC10259864 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00058.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2022] [Revised: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 05/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The visual system needs to dynamically adapt to changing environments. Much is known about the adaptive effects of constant stimulation over prolonged periods. However, there are open questions regarding adaptation to stimuli that are changing over time, interrupted, or repeated. Feature-specific adaptation to repeating stimuli has been shown to occur as early as primary visual cortex (V1), but there is also evidence for more generalized, fatigue-like adaptation that might occur at an earlier stage of processing. Here, we show adaptation in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of awake, fixating monkeys following brief (1 s) exposure to repeated cycles of a 4-Hz drifting grating. We examined the relative change of each neuron's response across successive (repeated) grating cycles. We found that neurons from all cell classes (parvocellular, magnocellular, and koniocellular) showed significant adaptation. However, only magnocellular neurons showed adaptation when responses were averaged to a population response. In contrast to firing rates, response variability was largely unaffected. Finally, adaptation was comparable between monocular and binocular stimulation, suggesting that rapid LGN adaptation is monocular in nature.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Neural adaptation can be defined as reduction of spiking responses following repeated or prolonged stimulation. Adaptation helps adjust neural responsiveness to avoid saturation and has been suggested to improve perceptual selectivity, information transmission, and predictive coding. Here, we report rapid adaptation to repeated cycles of gratings drifting over the receptive field of neurons at the earliest site of postretinal processing, the lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Loïc Daumail
- Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Science, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
| | - Brock M Carlson
- Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Science, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
| | - Blake A Mitchell
- Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Science, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
| | - Michele A Cox
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, United States
| | - Jacob A Westerberg
- Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Science, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
- Department of Vision and Cognition, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Cortez Johnson
- Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine in Pasadena, Pasadena, California, United States
| | - Paul R Martin
- Save Sight Institute and Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Integrative Brain Function, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Frank Tong
- Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Science, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
| | - Alexander Maier
- Department of Psychology, College of Arts and Science, Vanderbilt Vision Research Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States
| | - Kacie Dougherty
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, United States
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11
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Han C, English G, Saal HP, Indiveri G, Gilra A, von der Behrens W, Vasilaki E. Modelling novelty detection in the thalamocortical loop. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1009616. [PMID: 37186588 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2021] [Revised: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
In complex natural environments, sensory systems are constantly exposed to a large stream of inputs. Novel or rare stimuli, which are often associated with behaviorally important events, are typically processed differently than the steady sensory background, which has less relevance. Neural signatures of such differential processing, commonly referred to as novelty detection, have been identified on the level of EEG recordings as mismatch negativity (MMN) and on the level of single neurons as stimulus-specific adaptation (SSA). Here, we propose a multi-scale recurrent network with synaptic depression to explain how novelty detection can arise in the whisker-related part of the somatosensory thalamocortical loop. The "minimalistic" architecture and dynamics of the model presume that neurons in cortical layer 6 adapt, via synaptic depression, specifically to a frequently presented stimulus, resulting in reduced population activity in the corresponding cortical column when compared with the population activity evoked by a rare stimulus. This difference in population activity is then projected from the cortex to the thalamus and amplified through the interaction between neurons of the primary and reticular nuclei of the thalamus, resulting in rhythmic oscillations. These differentially activated thalamic oscillations are forwarded to cortical layer 4 as a late secondary response that is specific to rare stimuli that violate a particular stimulus pattern. Model results show a strong analogy between this late single neuron activity and EEG-based mismatch negativity in terms of their common sensitivity to presentation context and timescales of response latency, as observed experimentally. Our results indicate that adaptation in L6 can establish the thalamocortical dynamics that produce signatures of SSA and MMN and suggest a mechanistic model of novelty detection that could generalize to other sensory modalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Han
- Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Gwendolyn English
- Institute of Neuroinformatics, ETH Zurich & University of Zurich, Switzerland
- ZNZ Neuroscience Center Zurich, ETH Zurich & University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Hannes P Saal
- Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Giacomo Indiveri
- Institute of Neuroinformatics, ETH Zurich & University of Zurich, Switzerland
- ZNZ Neuroscience Center Zurich, ETH Zurich & University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Aditya Gilra
- Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
- Machine Learning Group, Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Wolfger von der Behrens
- Institute of Neuroinformatics, ETH Zurich & University of Zurich, Switzerland
- ZNZ Neuroscience Center Zurich, ETH Zurich & University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Eleni Vasilaki
- Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
- Institute of Neuroinformatics, ETH Zurich & University of Zurich, Switzerland
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12
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Li JY, Glickfeld LL. Input-specific synaptic depression shapes temporal integration in mouse visual cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.30.526211. [PMID: 36778279 PMCID: PMC9915496 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.30.526211] [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: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Efficient sensory processing requires the nervous system to adjust to ongoing features of the environment. In primary visual cortex (V1), neuronal activity strongly depends on recent stimulus history. Existing models can explain effects of prolonged stimulus presentation, but remain insufficient for explaining effects observed after shorter durations commonly encountered under natural conditions. We investigated the mechanisms driving adaptation in response to brief (100 ms) stimuli in L2/3 V1 neurons by performing in vivo whole-cell recordings to measure membrane potential and synaptic inputs. We find that rapid adaptation is generated by stimulus-specific suppression of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs. Targeted optogenetic experiments reveal that these synaptic effects are due to input-specific short-term depression of transmission between layers 4 and 2/3. Thus, distinct mechanisms are engaged following brief and prolonged stimulus presentation and together enable flexible control of sensory encoding across a wide range of time scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer Y Li
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27701, USA
| | - Lindsey L Glickfeld
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27701, USA
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Physiological noise facilitates multiplexed coding of vibrotactile-like signals in somatosensory cortex. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2118163119. [PMID: 36067307 PMCID: PMC9478643 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2118163119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurons can use different aspects of their spiking to simultaneously represent (multiplex) different features of a stimulus. For example, some pyramidal neurons in primary somatosensory cortex (S1) use the rate and timing of their spikes to, respectively, encode the intensity and frequency of vibrotactile stimuli. Doing so has several requirements. Because they fire at low rates, pyramidal neurons cannot entrain 1:1 with high-frequency (100 to 600 Hz) inputs and, instead, must skip (i.e., not respond to) some stimulus cycles. The proportion of skipped cycles must vary inversely with stimulus intensity for firing rate to encode stimulus intensity. Spikes must phase-lock to the stimulus for spike times (intervals) to encode stimulus frequency, but, in addition, skipping must occur irregularly to avoid aliasing. Using simulations and in vitro experiments in which mouse S1 pyramidal neurons were stimulated with inputs emulating those induced by vibrotactile stimuli, we show that fewer cycles are skipped as stimulus intensity increases, as required for rate coding, and that intrinsic or synaptic noise can induce irregular skipping without disrupting phase locking, as required for temporal coding. This occurs because noise can modulate the reliability without disrupting the precision of spikes evoked by small-amplitude, fast-onset signals. Specifically, in the fluctuation-driven regime associated with sparse spiking, rate and temporal coding are both paradoxically improved by the strong synaptic noise characteristic of the intact cortex. Our results demonstrate that multiplexed coding by S1 pyramidal neurons is not only feasible under in vivo conditions, but that background synaptic noise is actually beneficial.
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Borden PY, Wright NC, Morrissette AE, Jaeger D, Haider B, Stanley GB. Thalamic bursting and the role of timing and synchrony in thalamocortical signaling in the awake mouse. Neuron 2022; 110:2836-2853.e8. [PMID: 35803270 PMCID: PMC9464711 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2021] [Revised: 03/04/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The thalamus controls transmission of sensory signals from periphery to cortex, ultimately shaping perception. Despite this significant role, dynamic thalamic gating and the consequences for downstream cortical sensory representations have not been well studied in the awake brain. We optogenetically modulated the ventro-posterior-medial thalamus in the vibrissa pathway of the awake mouse and measured spiking activity in the thalamus and activity in primary somatosensory cortex (S1) using extracellular electrophysiology and genetically encoded voltage imaging. Thalamic hyperpolarization significantly enhanced thalamic sensory-evoked bursting; however, surprisingly, the S1 cortical response was not amplified, but instead, timing precision was significantly increased, spatial activation more focused, and there was an increased synchronization of cortical inhibitory neurons. A thalamocortical network model implicates the modulation of precise timing of feedforward thalamic population spiking, presenting a highly sensitive, timing-based gating of sensory signaling to the cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Y Borden
- Wallace H Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Nathaniel C Wright
- Wallace H Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | | | - Dieter Jaeger
- Emory University, Department of Biology, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Bilal Haider
- Wallace H Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Garrett B Stanley
- Wallace H Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA.
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Wyche IS, O'Connor DH. Spike timing-based regulation of thalamocortical signaling. Neuron 2022; 110:2707-2709. [PMID: 36076335 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
For decades, thalamic burst and tonic spiking modes have been theorized to regulate sensory signaling in the thalamocortical circuit. In this issue of Neuron, Borden et al. demonstrate a timing-based mechanism by which thalamic spiking mode controls sensory responses in the awake cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isis S Wyche
- The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Daniel H O'Connor
- The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
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Nestvogel DB, McCormick DA. Visual thalamocortical mechanisms of waking state-dependent activity and alpha oscillations. Neuron 2022; 110:120-138.e4. [PMID: 34687663 PMCID: PMC8815448 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.10.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Revised: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 10/01/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
The brain exhibits distinct patterns of recurrent activity closely related to behavioral state. The neural mechanisms that underlie state-dependent activity in the awake animal are incompletely understood. Here, we demonstrate that two types of state-dependent activity, rapid arousal/movement-related signals and a 3-5 Hz alpha-like rhythm, in the primary visual cortex (V1) of mice strongly correlate with activity in the visual thalamus. Inactivation of V1 does not interrupt arousal/movement signals in most visual thalamic neurons, but it abolishes the 3-5 Hz oscillation. Silencing of the visual thalamus similarly eradicates the alpha-like rhythm and perturbs arousal/movement-related activation in V1. Intracellular recordings in thalamic neurons reveal the 3-5 Hz oscillation to be associated with rhythmic low-threshold Ca2+ spikes. Our results indicate that thalamocortical interactions through ionotropic signaling, together with cell-intrinsic properties of thalamocortical cells, play a crucial role in shaping state-dependent activity in V1 of the awake animal.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - David A McCormick
- Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA.
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17
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Adibi M, Lampl I. Sensory Adaptation in the Whisker-Mediated Tactile System: Physiology, Theory, and Function. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:770011. [PMID: 34776857 PMCID: PMC8586522 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.770011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
In the natural environment, organisms are constantly exposed to a continuous stream of sensory input. The dynamics of sensory input changes with organism's behaviour and environmental context. The contextual variations may induce >100-fold change in the parameters of the stimulation that an animal experiences. Thus, it is vital for the organism to adapt to the new diet of stimulation. The response properties of neurons, in turn, dynamically adjust to the prevailing properties of sensory stimulation, a process known as "neuronal adaptation." Neuronal adaptation is a ubiquitous phenomenon across all sensory modalities and occurs at different stages of processing from periphery to cortex. In spite of the wealth of research on contextual modulation and neuronal adaptation in visual and auditory systems, the neuronal and computational basis of sensory adaptation in somatosensory system is less understood. Here, we summarise the recent finding and views about the neuronal adaptation in the rodent whisker-mediated tactile system and further summarise the functional effect of neuronal adaptation on the response dynamics and encoding efficiency of neurons at single cell and population levels along the whisker-mediated touch system in rodents. Based on direct and indirect pieces of evidence presented here, we suggest sensory adaptation provides context-dependent functional mechanisms for noise reduction in sensory processing, salience processing and deviant stimulus detection, shift between integration and coincidence detection, band-pass frequency filtering, adjusting neuronal receptive fields, enhancing neural coding and improving discriminability around adapting stimuli, energy conservation, and disambiguating encoding of principal features of tactile stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehdi Adibi
- Department of Physiology and Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
- Department of Neuroscience and Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Ilan Lampl
- Department of Brain Sciences, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
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18
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O'Reilly JA. Roving oddball paradigm elicits sensory gating, frequency sensitivity, and long-latency response in common marmosets. IBRO Neurosci Rep 2021; 11:128-136. [PMID: 34622244 PMCID: PMC8482433 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibneur.2021.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2021] [Revised: 08/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Mismatch negativity (MMN) is a candidate biomarker for neuropsychiatric disease. Understanding the extent to which it reflects cognitive deviance-detection or purely sensory processes will assist practitioners in making informed clinical interpretations. This study compares the utility of deviance-detection and sensory-processing theories for describing MMN-like auditory responses of a common marmoset monkey during roving oddball stimulation. The following exploratory analyses were performed on an existing dataset: responses during the transition and repetition sequence of the roving oddball paradigm (standard -> deviant/S1 -> S2 -> S3) were compared; long-latency potentials evoked by deviant stimuli were examined using a double-epoch waveform subtraction; effects of increasing stimulus repetitions on standard and deviant responses were analyzed; and transitions between standard and deviant stimuli were divided into ascending and descending frequency changes to explore contributions of frequency-sensitivity. An enlarged auditory response to deviant stimuli was observed. This decreased exponentially with stimulus repetition, characteristic of sensory gating. A slow positive deflection was viewed over approximately 300–800 ms after the deviant stimulus, which is more difficult to ascribe to afferent sensory mechanisms. When split into ascending and descending frequency transitions, the resulting difference waveforms were disproportionally influenced by descending frequency deviant stimuli. This asymmetry is inconsistent with the general deviance-detection theory of MMN. These findings tentatively suggest that MMN-like responses from common marmosets are predominantly influenced by rapid sensory adaptation and frequency preference of the auditory cortex, while deviance-detection may play a role in long-latency activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamie A O'Reilly
- College of Biomedical Engineering, Rangsit University, 52/347 Muang-Ake, Phaholyothin Road, Pathumthani 12000, Thailand
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Liew YJ, Pala A, Whitmire CJ, Stoy WA, Forest CR, Stanley GB. Inferring thalamocortical monosynaptic connectivity in vivo. J Neurophysiol 2021; 125:2408-2431. [PMID: 33978507 PMCID: PMC8285656 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00591.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2020] [Revised: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
As the tools to simultaneously record electrophysiological signals from large numbers of neurons within and across brain regions become increasingly available, this opens up for the first time the possibility of establishing the details of causal relationships between monosynaptically connected neurons and the patterns of neural activation that underlie perception and behavior. Although recorded activity across synaptically connected neurons has served as the cornerstone for much of what we know about synaptic transmission and plasticity, this has largely been relegated to ex vivo preparations that enable precise targeting under relatively well-controlled conditions. Analogous studies in vivo, where image-guided targeting is often not yet possible, rely on indirect, data-driven measures, and as a result such studies have been sparse and the dependence upon important experimental parameters has not been well studied. Here, using in vivo extracellular single-unit recordings in the topographically aligned rodent thalamocortical pathway, we sought to establish a general experimental and computational framework for inferring synaptic connectivity. Specifically, attacking this problem within a statistical signal detection framework utilizing experimentally recorded data in the ventral-posterior medial (VPm) region of the thalamus and the homologous region in layer 4 of primary somatosensory cortex (S1) revealed a trade-off between network activity levels needed for the data-driven inference and synchronization of nearby neurons within the population that results in masking of synaptic relationships. Here, we provide a framework for establishing connectivity in multisite, multielectrode recordings based on statistical inference, setting the stage for large-scale assessment of synaptic connectivity within and across brain structures.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Despite the fact that all brain function relies on the long-range transfer of information across different regions, the tools enabling us to measure connectivity across brain structures are lacking. Here, we provide a statistical framework for identifying and assessing potential monosynaptic connectivity across neuronal circuits from population spiking activity that generalizes to large-scale recording technologies that will help us to better understand the signaling within networks that underlies perception and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Juin Liew
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
- Joint PhD Program in Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology-Emory University-Peking University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Aurélie Pala
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Clarissa J Whitmire
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - William A Stoy
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Craig R Forest
- George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Garrett B Stanley
- Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
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