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Bolaños F, Orlandi JG, Aoki R, Jagadeesh AV, Gardner JL, Benucci A. Efficient coding of natural images in the mouse visual cortex. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2466. [PMID: 38503746 PMCID: PMC10951403 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45919-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024] Open
Abstract
How the activity of neurons gives rise to natural vision remains a matter of intense investigation. The mid-level visual areas along the ventral stream are selective to a common class of natural images-textures-but a circuit-level understanding of this selectivity and its link to perception remains unclear. We addressed these questions in mice, first showing that they can perceptually discriminate between textures and statistically simpler spectrally matched stimuli, and between texture types. Then, at the neural level, we found that the secondary visual area (LM) exhibited a higher degree of selectivity for textures compared to the primary visual area (V1). Furthermore, textures were represented in distinct neural activity subspaces whose relative distances were found to correlate with the statistical similarity of the images and the mice's ability to discriminate between them. Notably, these dependencies were more pronounced in LM, where the texture-related subspaces were smaller than in V1, resulting in superior stimulus decoding capabilities. Together, our results demonstrate texture vision in mice, finding a linking framework between stimulus statistics, neural representations, and perceptual sensitivity-a distinct hallmark of efficient coding computations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Bolaños
- University of British Columbia, Neuroimaging and NeuroComputation Centre, Vancouver, BC, V6T, Canada
| | - Javier G Orlandi
- University of Calgary, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada.
| | - Ryo Aoki
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Laboratory for Neural Circuits and Behavior, Wakoshi, Japan
| | | | - Justin L Gardner
- Stanford University, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Andrea Benucci
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Laboratory for Neural Circuits and Behavior, Wakoshi, Japan.
- Queen Mary, University of London, School of Biological and Behavioral Science, London, E1 4NS, UK.
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Lyamzin DR, Aoki R, Abdolrahmani M, Benucci A. Probabilistic discrimination of relative stimulus features in mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:e2103952118. [PMID: 34301903 PMCID: PMC8325293 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2103952118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
During perceptual decision-making, the brain encodes the upcoming decision and the stimulus information in a mixed representation. Paradigms suitable for studying decision computations in isolation rely on stimulus comparisons, with choices depending on relative rather than absolute properties of the stimuli. The adoption of tasks requiring relative perceptual judgments in mice would be advantageous in view of the powerful tools available for the dissection of brain circuits. However, whether and how mice can perform a relative visual discrimination task has not yet been fully established. Here, we show that mice can solve a complex orientation discrimination task in which the choices are decoupled from the orientation of individual stimuli. Moreover, we demonstrate a typical discrimination acuity of 9°, challenging the common belief that mice are poor visual discriminators. We reached these conclusions by introducing a probabilistic choice model that explained behavioral strategies in 40 mice and demonstrated that the circularity of the stimulus space is an additional source of choice variability for trials with fixed difficulty. Furthermore, history biases in the model changed with task engagement, demonstrating behavioral sensitivity to the availability of cognitive resources. In conclusion, our results reveal that mice adopt a diverse set of strategies in a task that decouples decision-relevant information from stimulus-specific information, thus demonstrating their usefulness as an animal model for studying neural representations of relative categories in perceptual decision-making research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitry R Lyamzin
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, RIKEN, Wako-shi 351-0198, Japan;
| | - Ryo Aoki
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, RIKEN, Wako-shi 351-0198, Japan
| | | | - Andrea Benucci
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, RIKEN, Wako-shi 351-0198, Japan;
- Department of Mathematical Informatics, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo City 113-0032, Japan
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Lopez-Cruz L, Bussey TJ, Saksida LM, Heath CJ. Using touchscreen-delivered cognitive assessments to address the principles of the 3Rs in behavioral sciences. Lab Anim (NY) 2021; 50:174-184. [PMID: 34140683 DOI: 10.1038/s41684-021-00791-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2020] [Accepted: 05/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Despite considerable advances in both in silico and in vitro approaches, in vivo studies that involve animal model systems remain necessary in many research disciplines. Neuroscience is one such area, with studies often requiring access to a complete nervous system capable of dynamically selecting between and then executing a full range of cognitive and behavioral outputs in response to a given stimulus or other manipulation. The involvement of animals in research studies is an issue of active public debate and concern and is therefore carefully regulated. Such regulations are based on the principles of the 3Rs of Replacement, Reduction and Refinement. In the sub-specialty of behavioral neuroscience, Full/Absolute Replacement remains a major challenge, as the complete ex vivo recapitulation of a system as complex and dynamic as the nervous system has yet to be achieved. However, a number of very positive developments have occurred in this area with respect to Relative Replacement and to both Refinement and Reduction. In this review, we discuss the Refinement- and Reduction-related benefits yielded by the introduction of touchscreen-based behavioral assessment apparatus. We also discuss how data generated by a specific panel of behavioral tasks developed for this platform might substantially enhance monitoring of laboratory animal welfare and provide robust, quantitative comparisons of husbandry techniques to define and ensure maintenance of best practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Lopez-Cruz
- Department of Psychology and MRC/Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK. .,School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
| | - Timothy J Bussey
- Department of Psychology and MRC/Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Robarts Research Institute & Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.,The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lisa M Saksida
- Department of Psychology and MRC/Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Robarts Research Institute & Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.,The Brain and Mind Institute, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Christopher J Heath
- School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
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Crijns E, Kaliukhovich DA, Vankelecom L, Op de Beeck H. Unsupervised Temporal Contiguity Experience Does Not Break the Invariance of Orientation Selectivity Across Spatial Frequency. Front Syst Neurosci 2019; 13:22. [PMID: 31231196 PMCID: PMC6558410 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2019.00022] [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: 02/18/2019] [Accepted: 04/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The images projected onto the retina can vary widely for a single object. Despite these transformations primates can quickly and reliably recognize objects. At the neural level, transformation tolerance in monkey inferotemporal cortex is affected by the temporal contiguity statistics of the visual input. Here we investigated whether temporal contiguity learning also influences the basic feature detectors in lower levels of the visual hierarchy, in particular the independent coding of orientation and spatial frequency (SF) in primary visual cortex. Eight male Long Evans rats were repeatedly exposed to a temporal transition between two gratings that changed in SF and had either the same (control SF) or a different (swap SF) orientation. Electrophysiological evidence showed that the responses of single neurons during this exposure were sensitive to the change in orientation. Nevertheless, the tolerance of orientation selectivity for changes in SF was unaffected by the temporal contiguity manipulation, as observed in 239 single neurons isolated pre-exposure and 234 post-exposure. Temporal contiguity learning did not affect orientation selectivity in V1. The basic filter mechanisms that characterize V1 processing seem unaffected by temporal contiguity manipulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Els Crijns
- Laboratory of Biological Psychology, Department of Brain and Cognition, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Leuven Brain Institute, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Dzmitry A Kaliukhovich
- Laboratory of Biological Psychology, Department of Brain and Cognition, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Lara Vankelecom
- Laboratory of Biological Psychology, Department of Brain and Cognition, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Hans Op de Beeck
- Laboratory of Biological Psychology, Department of Brain and Cognition, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Leuven Brain Institute, Leuven, Belgium
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Bytautiene J, Baranauskas G. Experimentally derived model shows that adaptation acts as a powerful spatiotemporal filter of visual responses in the rat collicular neurons. Sci Rep 2018; 8:8942. [PMID: 29895940 PMCID: PMC5997664 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-27331-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2017] [Accepted: 05/31/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Adaptation of visual responses enhances visual information processing mainly by preserving the full dynamic range of neuronal responses during changing light conditions and is found throughout the whole visual system. Although adaptation in the primate superior colliculus neurons has received much attention little is known about quantitative properties of such adaptation in rodents, an increasingly important model in vision research. By employing single unit recordings, we demonstrate that in the rat collicular neurons visual responses are shaped by at least two forms of adaptation. When visual stimuli were repeatedly presented in the same location, visual responses were reduced in the majority of single units. However, when the adaptor stimulus was outside a small diameter receptive field (RF), responses to stimulus onset but not offset were enhanced in the majority of units. Responses to stimulus offset were reduced less and recovered faster than responses to stimulus onset and the effect was limited to a fraction of RF area. Simulations showed that such adaptation acted as a powerful spatiotemporal filter and could explain several tuning properties of collicular neurons. These results demonstrate that in rodents the adaption of visual responses has a complex spatiotemporal structure and can profoundly shape visual information processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juntaute Bytautiene
- Faculty of Medicine, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, 50161, Lithuania
| | - Gytis Baranauskas
- Neurophysiology laboratory, Neuroscience Institute, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, 50161, Lithuania.
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Abstract
The literature has long emphasized the neocortex's role in volitional processes. In this work, we examined endogenous orienting in an evolutionarily older species, the archer fish, which lacks neocortex-like cells. We used Posner's classic endogenous cuing task, in which a centrally presented, spatially informative cue is followed by a target. The fish responded to the target by shooting a stream of water at it. Interestingly, the fish demonstrated a human-like "volitional" facilitation effect: their reaction times to targets that appeared on the side indicated by the precue were faster than their reaction times to targets on the opposite side. The fish also exhibited inhibition of return, an aftermath of orienting that commonly emerges only in reflexive orienting tasks in human participants. We believe that this pattern demonstrates the acquisition of an arbitrary connection between spatial orienting and a nonspatial feature of a centrally presented stimulus in nonprimate species. In the literature on human attention, orienting in response to such contingencies has been strongly associated with volitional control. We discuss the implications of these results for the evolution of orienting, and for the study of volitional processes in all species, including humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- William Saban
- Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel 3498838;
- The Institute of Information Processing and Decision Making, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel 3498838
| | - Liora Sekely
- Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel 3498838
- The Institute of Information Processing and Decision Making, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel 3498838
| | - Raymond M Klein
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Shai Gabay
- Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel 3498838;
- The Institute of Information Processing and Decision Making, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel 3498838
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