1
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Kang H, Babola TA, Kanold PO. Rapid rebalancing of co-tuned ensemble activity in the auditory cortex. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.17.599418. [PMID: 38948779 PMCID: PMC11212947 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.17.599418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/02/2024]
Abstract
Sensory information is represented by small neuronal ensembles in sensory cortices. Neuronal activity shows high trial-by-trial variability in that repeated presentation of the same stimulus, e. g., multiple presentations of the same sound activate differing ensembles in the auditory cortex (AC). How the differing ensembles interact to selectively activate to process incoming sound inputs with reduced energy is unknown. Efficient processing of complex acoustic signals requires that these sparsely distributed neuronal ensembles actively interact in order to provide a constant percept. Here, we probe interactions within and across ensembles by combining in vivo 2-photon Ca2+ imaging and holographic optogenetic stimulation to study how increased activity of single cells level affects the cortical network. We stimulated a small number of neurons sharing the same frequency preference alongside the presentation of a target pure tone, further increasing their tone-evoked activity. We found that other non-stimulated co-tuned neurons decreased their tone-evoked activity while non co-tuned neurons were unaffected. This shows that co-tuned ensembles communicated and balanced their total activity across the network. The rebalanced activity due to external stimulation remained constant. These effects suggest that co-tuned ensembles in AC interact and rapidly rebalance their activity to maintain encoding homeostasis, and that the rebalanced network is persistent.
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Affiliation(s)
- HiJee Kang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 20215
| | - Travis A. Babola
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 20215
| | - Patrick O. Kanold
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 20215
- Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 20215
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2
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Fontenele AJ, Sooter JS, Norman VK, Gautam SH, Shew WL. Low-dimensional criticality embedded in high-dimensional awake brain dynamics. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadj9303. [PMID: 38669340 PMCID: PMC11051676 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj9303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
Whether cortical neurons operate in a strongly or weakly correlated dynamical regime determines fundamental information processing capabilities and has fueled decades of debate. We offer a resolution of this debate; we show that two important dynamical regimes, typically considered incompatible, can coexist in the same local cortical circuit by separating them into two different subspaces. In awake mouse motor cortex, we find a low-dimensional subspace with large fluctuations consistent with criticality-a dynamical regime with moderate correlations and multi-scale information capacity and transmission. Orthogonal to this critical subspace, we find a high-dimensional subspace containing a desynchronized dynamical regime, which may optimize input discrimination. The critical subspace is apparent only at long timescales, which explains discrepancies among some previous studies. Using a computational model, we show that the emergence of a low-dimensional critical subspace at large timescales agrees with established theory of critical dynamics. Our results suggest that the cortex leverages its high dimensionality to multiplex dynamical regimes across different subspaces.
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3
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Osaki T, Duenki T, Chow SYA, Ikegami Y, Beaubois R, Levi T, Nakagawa-Tamagawa N, Hirano Y, Ikeuchi Y. Complex activity and short-term plasticity of human cerebral organoids reciprocally connected with axons. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2945. [PMID: 38600094 PMCID: PMC11006899 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46787-7] [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: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024] Open
Abstract
An inter-regional cortical tract is one of the most fundamental architectural motifs that integrates neural circuits to orchestrate and generate complex functions of the human brain. To understand the mechanistic significance of inter-regional projections on development of neural circuits, we investigated an in vitro neural tissue model for inter-regional connections, in which two cerebral organoids are connected with a bundle of reciprocally extended axons. The connected organoids produced more complex and intense oscillatory activity than conventional or directly fused cerebral organoids, suggesting the inter-organoid axonal connections enhance and support the complex network activity. In addition, optogenetic stimulation of the inter-organoid axon bundles could entrain the activity of the organoids and induce robust short-term plasticity of the macroscopic circuit. These results demonstrated that the projection axons could serve as a structural hub that boosts functionality of the organoid-circuits. This model could contribute to further investigation on development and functions of macroscopic neuronal circuits in vitro.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tatsuya Osaki
- Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo, 153-8505, Japan
- Institute for AI and Beyond, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan
| | - Tomoya Duenki
- Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo, 153-8505, Japan
- Institute for AI and Beyond, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan
- Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan
- LIMMS/CNRS, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Siu Yu A Chow
- Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo, 153-8505, Japan
- Institute for AI and Beyond, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan
| | - Yasuhiro Ikegami
- Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo, 153-8505, Japan
- Institute for AI and Beyond, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan
| | - Romain Beaubois
- Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo, 153-8505, Japan
- LIMMS/CNRS, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- IMS Laboratory, UMR5218, University of Bordeaux, Talence, France
| | - Timothée Levi
- Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo, 153-8505, Japan
- LIMMS/CNRS, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
- IMS Laboratory, UMR5218, University of Bordeaux, Talence, France
| | - Nao Nakagawa-Tamagawa
- Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo, 153-8505, Japan
- Department of Physiology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan
| | - Yoji Hirano
- Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo, 153-8505, Japan
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
- Department of Psychiatry, Division of Clinical Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Japan
| | - Yoshiho Ikeuchi
- Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Meguro, Tokyo, 153-8505, Japan.
- Institute for AI and Beyond, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan.
- Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan.
- LIMMS/CNRS, Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
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4
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Ribeiro TL, Jendrichovsky P, Yu S, Martin DA, Kanold PO, Chialvo DR, Plenz D. Trial-by-trial variability in cortical responses exhibits scaling of spatial correlations predicted from critical dynamics. Cell Rep 2024; 43:113762. [PMID: 38341856 PMCID: PMC10956720 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.113762] [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: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/13/2024] Open
Abstract
In the mammalian cortex, even simple sensory inputs or movements activate many neurons, with each neuron responding variably to repeated stimuli-a phenomenon known as trial-by-trial variability. Understanding the spatial patterns and dynamics of this variability is challenging. Using cellular 2-photon imaging, we study visual and auditory responses in the primary cortices of awake mice. We focus on how individual neurons' responses differed from the overall population. We find consistent spatial correlations in these differences that are unique to each trial and linearly scale with the cortical area observed, a characteristic of critical dynamics as confirmed in our neuronal simulations. Using chronic multi-electrode recordings, we observe similar scaling in the prefrontal and premotor cortex of non-human primates during self-initiated and visually cued motor tasks. These results suggest that trial-by-trial variability, rather than being random noise, reflects a critical, fluctuation-dominated state in the cortex, supporting the brain's efficiency in processing information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiago L Ribeiro
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Peter Jendrichovsky
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Shan Yu
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Daniel A Martin
- Center for Complex Systems & Brain Sciences (CEMSC3), Instituto de Ciencias Físicas, (ICIFI) Escuela de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM), San Martín 1650 Buenos Aires, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290 Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Patrick O Kanold
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Dante R Chialvo
- Center for Complex Systems & Brain Sciences (CEMSC3), Instituto de Ciencias Físicas, (ICIFI) Escuela de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM), San Martín 1650 Buenos Aires, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290 Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Dietmar Plenz
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
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5
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Bowen Z, Shilling-Scrivo K, Losert W, Kanold PO. Fractured columnar small-world functional network organization in volumes of L2/3 of mouse auditory cortex. PNAS NEXUS 2024; 3:pgae074. [PMID: 38415223 PMCID: PMC10898513 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
The sensory cortices of the brain exhibit large-scale functional topographic organization, such as the tonotopic organization of the primary auditory cortex (A1) according to sound frequency. However, at the level of individual neurons, layer 2/3 (L2/3) A1 appears functionally heterogeneous. To identify if there exists a higher-order functional organization of meso-scale neuronal networks within L2/3 that bridges order and disorder, we used in vivo two-photon calcium imaging of pyramidal neurons to identify networks in three-dimensional volumes of L2/3 A1 in awake mice. Using tonal stimuli, we found diverse receptive fields with measurable colocalization of similarly tuned neurons across depth but less so across L2/3 sublayers. These results indicate a fractured microcolumnar organization with a column radius of ∼50 µm, with a more random organization of the receptive field over larger radii. We further characterized the functional networks formed within L2/3 by analyzing the spatial distribution of signal correlations (SCs). Networks show evidence of Rentian scaling in physical space, suggesting effective spatial embedding of subnetworks. Indeed, functional networks have characteristics of small-world topology, implying that there are clusters of functionally similar neurons with sparse connections between differently tuned neurons. These results indicate that underlying the regularity of the tonotopic map on large scales in L2/3 is significant tuning diversity arranged in a hybrid organization with microcolumnar structures and efficient network topologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zac Bowen
- Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Fraunhofer USA Center Mid-Atlantic, Riverdale, MD 20737, USA
| | - Kelson Shilling-Scrivo
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21230, USA
| | - Wolfgang Losert
- Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Patrick O Kanold
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 20215, USA
- Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 20215, USA
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6
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Fontenele AJ, Sooter JS, Norman VK, Gautam SH, Shew WL. Low dimensional criticality embedded in high dimensional awake brain dynamics. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.05.522896. [PMID: 37546833 PMCID: PMC10401950 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.05.522896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
Whether cortical neurons operate in a strongly or weakly correlated dynamical regime determines fundamental information processing capabilities and has fueled decades of debate. Here we offer a resolution of this debate; we show that two important dynamical regimes, typically considered incompatible, can coexist in the same local cortical circuit by separating them into two different subspaces. In awake mouse motor cortex, we find a low-dimensional subspace with large fluctuations consistent with criticality - a dynamical regime with moderate correlations and multi-scale information capacity and transmission. Orthogonal to this critical subspace, we find a high-dimensional subspace containing a desynchronized dynamical regime, which may optimize input discrimination. The critical subspace is apparent only at long timescales, which explains discrepancies among some previous studies. Using a computational model, we show that the emergence of a low-dimensional critical subspace at large timescale agrees with established theory of critical dynamics. Our results suggest that cortex leverages its high dimensionality to multiplex dynamical regimes across different subspaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio J. Fontenele
- UA Integrative Systems Neuroscience Group, Department of Physics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA, 72701
| | - J. Samuel Sooter
- UA Integrative Systems Neuroscience Group, Department of Physics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA, 72701
| | - V. Kindler Norman
- UA Integrative Systems Neuroscience Group, Department of Physics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA, 72701
| | - Shree Hari Gautam
- UA Integrative Systems Neuroscience Group, Department of Physics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA, 72701
| | - Woodrow L. Shew
- UA Integrative Systems Neuroscience Group, Department of Physics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA, 72701
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7
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Shine JM. Neuromodulatory control of complex adaptive dynamics in the brain. Interface Focus 2023; 13:20220079. [PMID: 37065268 PMCID: PMC10102735 DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2022.0079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 04/18/2023] Open
Abstract
How is the massive dimensionality and complexity of the microscopic constituents of the nervous system brought under sufficiently tight control so as to coordinate adaptive behaviour? A powerful means for striking this balance is to poise neurons close to the critical point of a phase transition, at which a small change in neuronal excitability can manifest a nonlinear augmentation in neuronal activity. How the brain could mediate this critical transition is a key open question in neuroscience. Here, I propose that the different arms of the ascending arousal system provide the brain with a diverse set of heterogeneous control parameters that can be used to modulate the excitability and receptivity of target neurons-in other words, to act as control parameters for mediating critical neuronal order. Through a series of worked examples, I demonstrate how the neuromodulatory arousal system can interact with the inherent topological complexity of neuronal subsystems in the brain to mediate complex adaptive behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- James M. Shine
- Brain and Mind Center, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
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8
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Capek E, Ribeiro TL, Kells P, Srinivasan K, Miller SR, Geist E, Victor M, Vakili A, Pajevic S, Chialvo DR, Plenz D. Parabolic avalanche scaling in the synchronization of cortical cell assemblies. Nat Commun 2023; 14:2555. [PMID: 37137888 PMCID: PMC10156782 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37976-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 04/07/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Neurons in the cerebral cortex fire coincident action potentials during ongoing activity and in response to sensory inputs. These synchronized cell assemblies are fundamental to cortex function, yet basic dynamical aspects of their size and duration are largely unknown. Using 2-photon imaging of neurons in the superficial cortex of awake mice, we show that synchronized cell assemblies organize as scale-invariant avalanches that quadratically grow with duration. The quadratic avalanche scaling was only found for correlated neurons, required temporal coarse-graining to compensate for spatial subsampling of the imaged cortex, and suggested cortical dynamics to be critical as demonstrated in simulations of balanced E/I-networks. The corresponding time course of an inverted parabola with exponent of χ = 2 described cortical avalanches of coincident firing for up to 5 s duration over an area of 1 mm2. These parabolic avalanches maximized temporal complexity in the ongoing activity of prefrontal and somatosensory cortex and in visual responses of primary visual cortex. Our results identify a scale-invariant temporal order in the synchronization of highly diverse cortical cell assemblies in the form of parabolic avalanches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elliott Capek
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Tiago L Ribeiro
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Patrick Kells
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Keshav Srinivasan
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
- Department of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Stephanie R Miller
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Elias Geist
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Mitchell Victor
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Ali Vakili
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Sinisa Pajevic
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Dante R Chialvo
- CEMSC3, Escuela de Ciencia y Tecnologia, UNSAM, San Martín, P. Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Dietmar Plenz
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
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9
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Mariani B, Nicoletti G, Bisio M, Maschietto M, Oboe R, Leparulo A, Suweis S, Vassanelli S. Neuronal Avalanches Across the Rat Somatosensory Barrel Cortex and the Effect of Single Whisker Stimulation. Front Syst Neurosci 2021; 15:709677. [PMID: 34526881 PMCID: PMC8435673 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2021.709677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Since its first experimental signatures, the so called "critical brain hypothesis" has been extensively studied. Yet, its actual foundations remain elusive. According to a widely accepted teleological reasoning, the brain would be poised to a critical state to optimize the mapping of the noisy and ever changing real-world inputs, thus suggesting that primary sensory cortical areas should be critical. We investigated whether a single barrel column of the somatosensory cortex of the anesthetized rat displays a critical behavior. Neuronal avalanches were recorded across all cortical layers in terms of both multi-unit activities and population local field potentials, and their behavior during spontaneous activity compared to the one evoked by a controlled single whisker deflection. By applying a maximum likelihood statistical method based on timeseries undersampling to fit the avalanches distributions, we show that neuronal avalanches are power law distributed for both multi-unit activities and local field potentials during spontaneous activity, with exponents that are spread along a scaling line. Instead, after the tactile stimulus, activity switches to a transient across-layers synchronization mode that appears to dominate the cortical representation of the single sensory input.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benedetta Mariani
- Laboratory of Interdisciplinary Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Giorgio Nicoletti
- Laboratory of Interdisciplinary Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Marta Bisio
- Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- Department of Biomedical Science, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Marta Maschietto
- Department of Biomedical Science, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Roberto Oboe
- Department of Management and Engineering, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | | | - Samir Suweis
- Laboratory of Interdisciplinary Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Stefano Vassanelli
- Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- Department of Biomedical Science, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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10
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Rupasinghe A, Francis N, Liu J, Bowen Z, Kanold PO, Babadi B. Direct extraction of signal and noise correlations from two-photon calcium imaging of ensemble neuronal activity. eLife 2021; 10:68046. [PMID: 34180397 PMCID: PMC8354639 DOI: 10.7554/elife.68046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuronal activity correlations are key to understanding how populations of neurons collectively encode information. While two-photon calcium imaging has created a unique opportunity to record the activity of large populations of neurons, existing methods for inferring correlations from these data face several challenges. First, the observations of spiking activity produced by two-photon imaging are temporally blurred and noisy. Secondly, even if the spiking data were perfectly recovered via deconvolution, inferring network-level features from binary spiking data is a challenging task due to the non-linear relation of neuronal spiking to endogenous and exogenous inputs. In this work, we propose a methodology to explicitly model and directly estimate signal and noise correlations from two-photon fluorescence observations, without requiring intermediate spike deconvolution. We provide theoretical guarantees on the performance of the proposed estimator and demonstrate its utility through applications to simulated and experimentally recorded data from the mouse auditory cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anuththara Rupasinghe
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, United States
| | - Nikolas Francis
- The Institute for Systems Research, University of Maryland, College Park, United States.,Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, United States
| | - Ji Liu
- The Institute for Systems Research, University of Maryland, College Park, United States.,Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, United States
| | - Zac Bowen
- The Institute for Systems Research, University of Maryland, College Park, United States.,Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, United States
| | - Patrick O Kanold
- The Institute for Systems Research, University of Maryland, College Park, United States.,Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, United States.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States
| | - Behtash Babadi
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, United States
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11
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Bellay T, Shew WL, Yu S, Falco-Walter JJ, Plenz D. Selective Participation of Single Cortical Neurons in Neuronal Avalanches. Front Neural Circuits 2021; 14:620052. [PMID: 33551757 PMCID: PMC7862716 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2020.620052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuronal avalanches are scale-invariant neuronal population activity patterns in the cortex that emerge in vivo in the awake state and in vitro during balanced excitation and inhibition. Theory and experiments suggest that avalanches indicate a state of cortex that improves numerous aspects of information processing by allowing for the transient and selective formation of local as well as system-wide spanning neuronal groups. If avalanches are indeed involved with information processing, one might expect that single neurons would participate in avalanche patterns selectively. Alternatively, all neurons could participate proportionally to their own activity in each avalanche as would be expected for a population rate code. Distinguishing these hypotheses, however, has been difficult as robust avalanche analysis requires technically challenging measures of their intricate organization in space and time at the population level, while also recording sub- or suprathreshold activity from individual neurons with high temporal resolution. Here, we identify repeated avalanches in the ongoing local field potential (LFP) measured with high-density microelectrode arrays in the cortex of awake nonhuman primates and in acute cortex slices from young and adult rats. We studied extracellular unit firing in vivo and intracellular responses of pyramidal neurons in vitro. We found that single neurons participate selectively in specific LFP-based avalanche patterns. Furthermore, we show in vitro that manipulating the balance of excitation and inhibition abolishes this selectivity. Our results support the view that avalanches represent the selective, scale-invariant formation of neuronal groups in line with the idea of Hebbian cell assemblies underlying cortical information processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy Bellay
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States
| | - Woodrow L. Shew
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Shan Yu
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Jessica J. Falco-Walter
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Dietmar Plenz
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
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12
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Bowen Z, Winkowski DE, Kanold PO. Functional organization of mouse primary auditory cortex in adult C57BL/6 and F1 (CBAxC57) mice. Sci Rep 2020; 10:10905. [PMID: 32616766 PMCID: PMC7331716 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-67819-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2019] [Accepted: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
The primary auditory cortex (A1) plays a key role for sound perception since it represents one of the first cortical processing stations for sounds. Recent studies have shown that on the cellular level the frequency organization of A1 is more heterogeneous than previously appreciated. However, many of these studies were performed in mice on the C57BL/6 background which develop high frequency hearing loss with age making them a less optimal choice for auditory research. In contrast, mice on the CBA background retain better hearing sensitivity in old age. Since potential strain differences could exist in A1 organization between strains, we performed comparative analysis of neuronal populations in A1 of adult (~ 10 weeks) C57BL/6 mice and F1 (CBAxC57) mice. We used in vivo 2-photon imaging of pyramidal neurons in cortical layers L4 and L2/3 of awake mouse primary auditory cortex (A1) to characterize the populations of neurons that were active to tonal stimuli. Pure tones recruited neurons of widely ranging frequency preference in both layers and strains with neurons in F1 (CBAxC57) mice exhibiting a wider range of frequency preference particularly to higher frequencies. Frequency selectivity was slightly higher in C57BL/6 mice while neurons in F1 (CBAxC57) mice showed a greater sound-level sensitivity. The spatial heterogeneity of frequency preference was present in both strains with F1 (CBAxC57) mice exhibiting higher tuning diversity across all measured length scales. Our results demonstrate that the tone evoked responses and frequency representation in A1 of adult C57BL/6 and F1 (CBAxC57) mice are largely similar.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zac Bowen
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, 1116 Biosciences Res. Bldg., College Park, MD, 20742, USA
| | - Daniel E Winkowski
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, 1116 Biosciences Res. Bldg., College Park, MD, 20742, USA
| | - Patrick O Kanold
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, 1116 Biosciences Res. Bldg., College Park, MD, 20742, USA.
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Antonakou EI, Triarhou LC. Through neuronal avalanches to consciousness: Conjectures and elaborations. J Chem Neuroanat 2019; 104:101741. [PMID: 31899293 DOI: 10.1016/j.jchemneu.2019.101741] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2019] [Revised: 12/25/2019] [Accepted: 12/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The concept of the "conduction avalanche" as a mechanism of signal propagation in the central nervous system was introduced in 1895 by Santiago Ramón y Cajal. Through such a mechanism, stimuli received by sensory receptor cells would be augmented as they reached the cerebral cortex through the corresponding anatomical pathways, leading to conscious perception. Cajal applied the concept to the visual, auditory, olfactory and somatosensory systems, and in 1896 extended it to the cerebellar cortex. Beginning in 1899 and up to 2003, prominent neuroscientists, including Lewellys F. Barker, C. Judson Herrick, Francis X. Dercum, Rafael Lorente de Nó, Cornelius U. Ariëns Kappers, Hartwig Kuhlenbeck, Gordon M. Shepherd, and Rodolfo Llinás, have referred in their writings to the principle of conduction avalanches, crediting Cajal. In 2003, John Beggs and Dietmar Plenz introduced the concept of the "neuronal avalanche," modelled after the power law of physics, as a property of neocortical networks and a new mode of spontaneous activity, distinct from the oscillatory, synchronized and wave states previously conceived to underpin the integrative function of the cerebral cortex. The topic has become an issue of intensive research over the past 15 years. In this paper, we discuss the basic tenets of the Cajalian principle, followed by an exposition of ideas throughout the 20th century, and an overview, in a modern perspective, of the neuronal avalanche as a mechanism in the current study of the neural bases of consciousness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena I Antonakou
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience and Education, University of Macedonia, Thessalonica 54636, Greece
| | - Lazaros C Triarhou
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience and Education, University of Macedonia, Thessalonica 54636, Greece; Laboratory of Theoretical and Applied Neuroscience, University of Macedonia, Thessalonica 54636, Greece; Center for Lifelong Learning, University of Macedonia, Thessalonica 54636, Greece.
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