scholarly journals Cortical state dynamics and selective attention define the spatial pattern of correlated variability in neocortex

2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan-Liang Shi ◽  
Nicholas A. Steinmetz ◽  
Tirin Moore ◽  
Kwabena Boahen ◽  
Tatiana A. Engel
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Spatial Correlations ◽  
Anatomical Connectivity ◽  
Attentional Modulation ◽  
Cognitive States ◽  
Correlated Activity ◽  
Lateral Distance ◽  
Sensory Responses ◽  
And Behavior

AbstractCorrelated activity fluctuations in the neocortex influence sensory responses and behavior. Neural correlations reflect anatomical connectivity but also change dynamically with cognitive states such as attention. Yet, the network mechanisms defining the population structure of correlations remain unknown. We measured correlations within columns in the visual cortex. We show that the magnitude of correlations, their attentional modulation, and dependence on lateral distance are explained by columnar On-Off dynamics, which are synchronous activity fluctuations reflecting cortical state. We developed a network model in which the On-Off dynamics propagate across nearby columns generating spatial correlations with the extent controlled by attentional inputs. This mechanism, unlike previous proposals, predicts spatially non-uniform changes in correlations during attention. We confirm this prediction in our columnar recordings by showing that in superficial layers the largest changes in correlations occur at intermediate lateral distances. Our results reveal how spatially structured patterns of correlated variability emerge through interactions of cortical state dynamics, anatomical connectivity, and attention.

scholarly journals Influence of On-Off dynamics and selective attention on the spatial pattern of correlated variability in neocortex

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan-Liang Shi ◽  
Nicholas A. Steinmetz ◽  
Tirin Moore ◽  
Kwabena Boahen ◽  
Tatiana A. Engel
Keyword(s):  
Anatomical Connectivity ◽  
Cortical Layers ◽  
Attentional Modulation ◽  
Population Activity ◽  
Spatial Connectivity ◽  
Cognitive States ◽  
Correlated Activity ◽  
Lateral Distance ◽  
Sensory Responses ◽  
And Behavior

ABSTRACTCorrelated activity fluctuations in neocortex influence sensory responses and behavior. Neural correlations reflect anatomical connectivity and change dynamically with cognitive states, such as attention. Yet, how anatomical connectivity and cognitive states define the population structure of correlations is not known. We measured correlations in single cortical columns and found that the magnitude of correlations, their attentional modulation and dependence on lateral distance are predicted by On-Off dynamics, synchronous fluctuations in population activity across cortical layers. We developed a network model, in which spatial connectivity correlates the On-Off dynamics across nearby columns. We show that attentional inputs modulate the spatial extent of On-Off dynamics, resulting in spatially non-uniform changes in correlations. We confirm this prediction in our columnar recordings by showing that attentional modulation of correlations depends on lateral distance. Our results reveal how heterogeneous spatial patterns of correlations arise from the connectivity and network dynamics during attention.

scholarly journals Cholinergic manipulations affect sensory responses but not attentional enhancement in macaque MT

BMC Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vera Katharina Veith ◽  
Cliodhna Quigley ◽  
Stefan Treue
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Spatial Attention ◽  
Rhesus Monkeys ◽  
Cell Activity ◽  
Extrastriate Cortex ◽  
Attentional Modulation ◽  
Cellular Mechanisms ◽  
Attention Task ◽  
Sensory Responses ◽  
Cholinergic Effect

Abstract Background Attentional modulation in the visual cortex of primates is characterized by multiplicative changes of sensory responses with changes in the attentional state of the animal. The cholinergic system has been linked to such gain changes in V1. Here, we aim to determine if a similar link exists in macaque area MT. While rhesus monkeys performed a top-down spatial attention task, we locally injected a cholinergic agonist or antagonist and recorded single-cell activity. Results Although we confirmed cholinergic influences on sensory responses, there was no additional cholinergic effect on the attentional gain changes. Neither a muscarinic blockage nor a local increase in acetylcholine led to a significant change in the magnitude of spatial attention effects on firing rates. Conclusions This suggests that the cellular mechanisms of attentional modulation in the extrastriate cortex cannot be directly inferred from those in the primary visual cortex.

Differentiation and Interrelations of Two Representatives of Laudakia stellio Complex (Reptilia: Agamidae) in Israel

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 102-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evgenyi N. Panov ◽  
Larissa Yu. Zykova
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Gene Flow ◽  
Habitat Preference ◽  
Additional Data ◽  
Near East ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Subspecies Level ◽  
Limited Gene Flow ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
And Behavior

Field studies were conducted in Central Negev within the breeding range of Laudakia stellio brachydactyla and in NE Israel (Qyriat Shemona) in the range of an unnamed form (tentatively “Near-East Rock Agama”), during March – May 1996. Additional data have been collected in Jerusalem at a distance of ca. 110 km from the first and about 170 km from the second study sites. A total of 63 individuals were caught and examined. The animals were marked and their subsequent movements were followed. Social and signal behavior of both forms were described and compared. Lizards from Negev and Qyriat Shemona differ from each other sharply in external morphology, habitat preference, population structure, and behavior. The differences obviously exceed the subspecies level. At the same time, the lizards from Jerusalem tend to be intermediate morphologically between those from both above-named localities, which permits admitting the existence of a limited gene flow between lizard populations of Negev and northern Israel. The lizards from NE Israel apparently do not belong to the nominate subspecies of L. stellio and should be regarded as one more subspecies within the species.

scholarly journals An Intracortical Implantable Brain-Computer Interface for Telemetric Real-Time Recording and Manipulation of Neuronal Circuits for Closed-Loop Intervention

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamed Zaer ◽  
Ashlesha Deshmukh ◽  
Dariusz Orlowski ◽  
Wei Fan ◽  
Pierre-Hugues Prouvot ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Neural Circuit ◽  
Radio Communication ◽  
Computer Interfaces ◽  
Cerebral Mri ◽  
High Bandwidth ◽  
And Behavior

Recording and manipulating neuronal ensemble activity is a key requirement in advanced neuromodulatory and behavior studies. Devices capable of both recording and manipulating neuronal activity brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) should ideally operate un-tethered and allow chronic longitudinal manipulations in the freely moving animal. In this study, we designed a new intracortical BCI feasible of telemetric recording and stimulating local gray and white matter of visual neural circuit after irradiation exposure. To increase the translational reliance, we put forward a Göttingen minipig model. The animal was stereotactically irradiated at the level of the visual cortex upon defining the target by a fused cerebral MRI and CT scan. A fully implantable neural telemetry system consisting of a 64 channel intracortical multielectrode array, a telemetry capsule, and an inductive rechargeable battery was then implanted into the visual cortex to record and manipulate local field potentials, and multi-unit activity. We achieved a 3-month stability of the functionality of the un-tethered BCI in terms of telemetric radio-communication, inductive battery charging, and device biocompatibility for 3 months. Finally, we could reliably record the local signature of sub- and suprathreshold neuronal activity in the visual cortex with high bandwidth without complications. The ability to wireless induction charging combined with the entirely implantable design, the rather high recording bandwidth, and the ability to record and stimulate simultaneously put forward a wireless BCI capable of long-term un-tethered real-time communication for causal preclinical circuit-based closed-loop interventions.

scholarly journals Perceptual detection depends on spike count integration

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jackson J. Cone ◽  
Morgan L. Bade ◽  
Nicolas Y. Masse ◽  
Elizabeth A. Page ◽  
David J. Freedman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Networks ◽  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Recurrent Neural Networks ◽  
Neural Circuit ◽  
Visual Detection ◽  
Spike Count ◽  
Neuronal Responses ◽  
Neuronal Populations ◽  
And Behavior

AbstractWhenever the retinal image changes some neurons in visual cortex increase their rate of firing, while others decrease their rate of firing. Linking specific sets of neuronal responses with perception and behavior is essential for understanding mechanisms of neural circuit computation. We trained mice to perform visual detection tasks and used optogenetic perturbations to increase or decrease neuronal spiking primary visual cortex (V1). Perceptual reports were always enhanced by increments in V1 spike counts and impaired by decrements, even when increments and decrements were delivered to the same neuronal populations. Moreover, detecting changes in cortical activity depended on spike count integration rather than instantaneous changes in spiking. Recurrent neural networks trained in the task similarly relied on increments in neuronal activity when activity was costly. This work clarifies neuronal decoding strategies employed by cerebral cortex to translate cortical spiking into percepts that can be used to guide behavior.

Coding Perceptual Decisions: From Single Units to Emergent Signaling Properties in Cortical Circuits

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 387-409
Author(s):  
Kristine Krug
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Functional Properties ◽  
Sensory Neurons ◽  
Single Neurons ◽  
Cortical Circuits ◽  
Task Context ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
Correlated Activity ◽  
Primate Visual Cortex

Spiking activity in single neurons of the primate visual cortex has been tightly linked to perceptual decisions. Any mechanism that reads out these perceptual signals to support behavior must respect the underlying neuroanatomy that shapes the functional properties of sensory neurons. Spatial distribution and timing of inputs to the next processing levels are critical, as conjoint activity of precursor neurons increases the spiking rate of downstream neurons and ultimately drives behavior. I set out how correlated activity might coalesce into a micropool of task-sensitive neurons signaling a particular percept to determine perceptual decision signals locally and for flexible interarea transmission depending on the task context. As data from more and more neurons and their complex interactions are analyzed, the space of computational mechanisms must be constrained based on what is plausible within neurobiological limits. This review outlines experiments to test the new perspectives offered by these extended methods.

scholarly journals The Effect of Attention on Neuronal Responses to High and Low Contrast Stimuli

2010 ◽  
Vol 104 (2) ◽  
pp. 960-971 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joonyeol Lee ◽  
John H. R. Maunsell
Keyword(s):  
Cerebral Cortex ◽  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Rhesus Monkeys ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Visual Area ◽  
Neuronal Responses ◽  
Attentional Modulation ◽  
Low Contrast ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Visual Area Mt

It remains unclear how attention affects the tuning of individual neurons in visual cerebral cortex. Some observations suggest that attention preferentially enhances responses to low contrast stimuli, whereas others suggest that attention proportionally affects responses to all stimuli. Resolving how attention affects responses to different stimuli is essential for understanding the mechanism by which it acts. To explore the effects of attention on stimuli of different contrasts, we recorded from individual neurons in the middle temporal visual area (MT) of rhesus monkeys while shifting their attention between preferred and nonpreferred stimuli within their receptive fields. This configuration results in robust attentional modulation that makes it possible to readily distinguish whether attention acts preferentially on low contrast stimuli. We found no evidence for greater enhancement of low contrast stimuli. Instead, the strong attentional modulations were well explained by a model in which attention proportionally enhances responses to stimuli of all contrasts. These data, together with observations on the effects of attention on responses to other stimulus dimensions, suggest that the primary effect of attention in visual cortex may be to simply increase the strength of responses to all stimuli by the same proportion.

scholarly journals Attentional Enhancement via Selection and Pooling of Early Sensory Responses in Human Visual Cortex

Neuron ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 72 (5) ◽  
pp. 832-846 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franco Pestilli ◽  
Marisa Carrasco ◽  
David J. Heeger ◽  
Justin L. Gardner
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Human Visual Cortex ◽  
Sensory Responses
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