Superior colliculus cell types and models of saccade generation

Human neuroimaging has revealed brain networks involving frontal and parietal cortical areas as well as subcortical areas, including the superior colliculus and pulvinar, which are involved in orienting to sensory stimuli. Because accumulating evidence points to similarities between both overt and covert orienting in humans and other animals, we propose that it is now feasible, using animal models, to move beyond these large-scale networks to address the local networks and cell types that mediate orienting of attention. In this opinion piece, we discuss optogenetic and related methods for testing the pathways involved, and obstacles to carrying out such tests in rodent and monkey populations.

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Target selection and saccade generation in monkey superior colliculus

Experimental Brain Research ◽

10.1007/s00221-008-1609-0 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 192 (3) ◽

pp. 465-477 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Nicholas L. Port ◽

Robert H. Wurtz

Keyword(s):

Superior Colliculus ◽

Target Selection ◽

Saccade Generation

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A projection specific logic to sampling visual inputs in mouse superior colliculus

10.1101/272914 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Katja Reinhard ◽

Chen Li ◽

Quan Do ◽

Emily Burke ◽

Steven Heynderickx ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Superior Colliculus ◽

Ganglion Cells ◽

Ex Vivo ◽

Sensory Information ◽

Cell Types ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Visual Response ◽

Retinal Ganglion ◽

Parabigeminal Nucleus

AbstractUsing sensory information to trigger different behaviours relies on circuits that pass-through brain regions. However, the rules by which parallel inputs are routed to different downstream targets is poorly understood. The superior colliculus mediates a set of innate behaviours, receiving input from ~30 retinal ganglion cell types and projecting to behaviourally important targets including the pulvinar and parabigeminal nucleus. Combining transsynaptic circuit tracing with in-vivo and ex-vivo electrophysiological recordings we observed a projection specific logic where each collicular output pathway sampled a distinct set of retinal inputs. Neurons projecting to the pulvinar or parabigeminal nucleus uniquely sampled 4 and 7 cell types, respectively. Four others innervated both pathways. The visual response properties of retinal ganglion cells correlated well with those of their disynaptic targets. These findings suggest that projection specific sampling of retinal inputs forms a mechanistic basis for the selective triggering of visually guided behaviours by the superior colliculus.

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A projection specific logic to sampling visual inputs in mouse superior colliculus

eLife ◽

10.7554/elife.50697 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Katja Reinhard ◽

Chen Li ◽

Quan Do ◽

Emily G Burke ◽

Steven Heynderickx ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Superior Colliculus ◽

Ex Vivo ◽

Sensory Information ◽

Cell Types ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Biased Sampling ◽

Visual Response ◽

Retinal Ganglion ◽

Parabigeminal Nucleus

Using sensory information to trigger different behaviors relies on circuits that pass through brain regions. The rules by which parallel inputs are routed to downstream targets are poorly understood. The superior colliculus mediates a set of innate behaviors, receiving input from >30 retinal ganglion cell types and projecting to behaviorally important targets including the pulvinar and parabigeminal nucleus. Combining transsynaptic circuit tracing with in vivo and ex vivo electrophysiological recordings, we observed a projection-specific logic where each collicular output pathway sampled a distinct set of retinal inputs. Neurons projecting to the pulvinar or the parabigeminal nucleus showed strongly biased sampling from four cell types each, while six others innervated both pathways. The visual response properties of retinal ganglion cells correlated well with those of their disynaptic targets. These findings open the possibility that projection-specific sampling of retinal inputs forms a basis for the selective triggering of behaviors by the superior colliculus.

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