scholarly journals Gamma-band resonance of visual cortex to optogenetic stimulation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianguang Ni (倪剑光) ◽  
Christopher Murphy Lewis ◽  
Thomas Wunderle ◽  
Patrick Jendritza ◽  
Ilka Diester ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Transfer Function ◽  
White Noise ◽  
Frequency Band ◽  
Gamma Band ◽  
Cortical Circuits ◽  
Optogenetic Stimulation ◽  
Gamma Frequency ◽  
Visual Cortical ◽  
Modulated Light

AbstractActivated visual cortex typically engages in neuronal synchronization in the gamma-frequency band (30-90 Hz). Gamma-band synchronization is related to cognitive functioning, and its mechanisms have been extensively investigated, predominantly through in-vitro studies. To further elucidate its mechanisms in-vivo, we performed simultaneous optogenetic stimulation and electrophysiological recordings of visual cortical areas 17 and 21a in the anesthetized cat. Viral transfection with AAV1 or AAV9 under a CamKIIα promoter led to robust Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) expression. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that all ChR2-expressing neurons were negative for Parvalbumin, consistent with predominant or exclusive expression in excitatory neurons. Optogenetic stimulation used primarily surface illumination directly above the transfected and recorded cells. Stimulation with constant light led to strong and sustained gamma-band synchronization with strength and bandwidth similar to visually induced gamma. Rhythmic stimulation with light-pulse trains or sinusoidal light modulation revealed strongest resonance for gamma-band frequencies. Gamma resonance was confirmed by optogenetic white-noise stimulation. White-noise stimulation allowed the quantification of the transfer function between the optogenetic stimulation and the local field potential response. This transfer function showed a dominant peak in the gamma band. Thus, we find that visual cortical circuits resonate most strongly to gamma-band components in their input. This resonance renders both the sensitivity to input, and the output of these circuits, selectively tuned to gamma.Significance StatementActivated groups of cortical neurons often display rhythmic synchronization in the gamma-frequency band (30-90 Hz). Gamma-band synchronization is particularly well studied in visual cortex. We used optogenetics to control visual cortex neurons with light. Different optogenetic stimulation protocols, using constant light, rhythmically modulated light or white-noise modulated light, all demonstrated that the investigated circuits predominantly resonate to stimulation in the gamma band. The observed gamma-band resonance renders visual cortical circuits most sensitive to gamma-rhythmic synaptic inputs. This in turn renders their spike output and the ensuing interareal synchronization gamma rhythmic.This work was supported by DFG (SPP 1665, FOR 1847, FR2557/5-1-CORNET to P.F.; EXC 1086, DI 1908/5-1, DI 1908/6-1 to I.D.), BMBF (01GQ1301 to I.D.), EU (HEALTH-F2-2008-200728-BrainSynch, FP7-604102-HBP, FP7-600730-Magnetrodes to P.F.; ERC Starting Grant OptoMotorPath to I.D.), a European Young Investigator Award to P.F., the FENS-Kavli Network of Excellence to I.D., National Institutes of Health (1U54MH091657-WU-Minn-Consortium-HCP to P.F.), the LOEWE program (NeFF to P.F. and I.D.). Present address of I.D.: Optophysiology, Bernstein Center and BrainLinks-BrainTools, University of Freiburg, Albertstrase 23, 79104 Freiburg, Germany.Author contributionsJ.N, C.M.L., T.W., P.F. designed research; J.N, C.M.L., T.W., P.J., I.D., P.F. performed experiments; J.N., C.M.L., T.W. analyzed data; J.N., P.F. wrote the paper.

LFP Power Spectra in V1 Cortex: The Graded Effect of Stimulus Contrast

2005 ◽  
Vol 94 (1) ◽  
pp. 479-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Andrew Henrie ◽  
Robert Shapley
Keyword(s):  
Frequency Band ◽  
Power Spectra ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Wide Band ◽  
Gamma Band ◽  
Single Units ◽  
Total Power ◽  
Stimulus Contrast ◽  
Stimulus Response ◽  
Gamma Frequency

We recorded local field potentials (LFPs) and single-unit activity simultaneously in the macaque primary visual cortex (V1) and studied their responses to drifting sinusoidal gratings that were chosen to be “optimal” for the single units. Over all stimulus conditions, the LFP spectra have much greater power in the low-frequency band (≤10 Hz) than higher frequencies and can be described as “1/f.” Analysis of the total power limited to the low, gamma (25–90 Hz), or broad (8–240 Hz) frequency bands of the LFP as a function of stimulus contrast indicates that the LFP power gradually increases with stimulus strength across a wide band in a manner roughly comparable to the increase in the simultaneously recorded spike activity. However, the low-frequency band power remains approximately constant across all stimulus contrasts. More specifically the gamma-band LFP power increases differentially more with respect to baseline than either higher or lower bands as stimulus contrast increases. At the highest stimulus contrasts, we report as others have previously, that the power spectrum of the LFP typically contains an obvious peak in the gamma-frequency band. The gamma-band peak emerges from the overall broadband enhancement in LFP power at stimulus contrasts where most single units' responses have begun to saturate. The temporal/spectral structures of the LFP located in the gamma band—which become most evident at the highest contrasts—provide additional constraints on potential mechanisms underlying the stimulus response properties of spiking neurons in V1.

scholarly journals Visual Cortex Engagement in Retinitis Pigmentosa

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (17) ◽  
pp. 9412
Author(s):  
Gianluca Pietra ◽  
Tiziana Bonifacino ◽  
Davide Talamonti ◽  
Giambattista Bonanno ◽  
Alessandro Sale ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Retinitis Pigmentosa ◽  
Intracortical Inhibition ◽  
Visual Sensitivity ◽  
Cortical Circuits ◽  
Inherited Disorders ◽  
Progressive Degeneration ◽  
Visual Inputs ◽  
Retinal Photoreceptors ◽  
Visual Cortical

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a family of inherited disorders caused by the progressive degeneration of retinal photoreceptors. There is no cure for RP, but recent research advances have provided promising results from many clinical trials. All these therapeutic strategies are focused on preserving existing photoreceptors or substituting light-responsive elements. Vision recovery, however, strongly relies on the anatomical and functional integrity of the visual system beyond photoreceptors. Although the retinal structure and optic pathway are substantially preserved at least in early stages of RP, studies describing the visual cortex status are missing. Using a well-established mouse model of RP, we analyzed the response of visual cortical circuits to the progressive degeneration of photoreceptors. We demonstrated that the visual cortex goes through a transient and previously undescribed alteration in the local excitation/inhibition balance, with a net shift towards increased intracortical inhibition leading to improved filtering and decoding of corrupted visual inputs. These results suggest a compensatory action of the visual cortex that increases the range of residual visual sensitivity in RP.

scholarly journals Head Movements Control the Activity of Primary Visual Cortex in a Luminance Dependent Manner

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy Bouvier ◽  
Yuta Senzai ◽  
Massimo Scanziani
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Head Movements ◽  
Inhibitory Neurons ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Ambient Light ◽  
Cortical Circuits ◽  
Cortical Layers ◽  
Visual Cortical ◽  
The Brain

AbstractThe vestibular system broadcasts head-movement related signals to sensory areas throughout the brain, including visual cortex. These signals are crucial for the brain’s ability to assess whether motion of the visual scene results from the animal’s head-movements. How head-movements impact visual cortical circuits remains, however, poorly understood. Here, we discover that ambient luminance profoundly transforms how mouse primary visual cortex (V1) processes head-movements. While in darkness, head movements result in an overall suppression of neuronal activity, in ambient light the same head movements trigger excitation across all cortical layers. This light-dependent switch in how V1 processes head-movements is controlled by somatostatin expressing (SOM) inhibitory neurons, which are excited by head movements in dark but not in light. This study thus reveals a light-dependent switch in the response of V1 to head-movements and identifies a circuit in which SOM cells are key integrators of vestibular and luminance signals.

scholarly journals Subtraction and division of visual cortical population responses by the serotonergic system

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zohre Azimi ◽  
Katharina Spoida ◽  
Ruxandra Barzan ◽  
Patric Wollenweber ◽  
Melanie D. Mark ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Cortical Cell ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Wide Field ◽  
Population Responses ◽  
Optogenetic Stimulation ◽  
Receptor Blockers ◽  
Neuronal Systems ◽  
Visual Cortical

Normalization is a fundamental operation throughout neuronal systems to adjust dynamic range. In the visual cortex various cell circuits have been identified that provide the substrate for such a canonical function, but how these circuits are orchestrated remains unclear. Here we suggest the serotonergic (5-HT) system as another player involved in normalization. 5-HT receptors of different classes are co-distributed across different cortical cell types, but their individual contribution to cortical population responses is unknown. We combined wide-field calcium imaging of primary visual cortex (V1) with optogenetic stimulation of 5-HT neurons in mice dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) — the major hub for widespread release of serotonin across cortex — in combination with selective 5-HT receptor blockers. While inhibitory (5-HT1A) receptors accounted for subtractive suppression of spontaneous activity, depolarizing (5-HT2A) receptors promoted divisive suppression of response gain. Added linearly, these components led to normalization of population responses over a range of visual contrasts.

Phosphene perceptions and safety of chronic visual cortex stimulation in a blind subject

2020 ◽  
Vol 132 (6) ◽  
pp. 2000-2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soroush Niketeghad ◽  
Abirami Muralidharan ◽  
Uday Patel ◽  
Jessy D. Dorn ◽  
Laura Bonelli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Adverse Events ◽  
Clinical Intervention ◽  
Occipital Cortex ◽  
Neuronal Population ◽  
Serious Adverse Events ◽  
Stimulation Parameters ◽  
The Right ◽  
Visual Cortical ◽  
Stimulation Of

Stimulation of primary visual cortices has the potential to restore some degree of vision to blind individuals. Developing safe and reliable visual cortical prostheses requires assessment of the long-term stability, feasibility, and safety of generating stimulation-evoked perceptions.A NeuroPace responsive neurostimulation system was implanted in a blind individual with an 8-year history of bare light perception, and stimulation-evoked phosphenes were evaluated over 19 months (41 test sessions). Electrical stimulation was delivered via two four-contact subdural electrode strips implanted over the right medial occipital cortex. Current and charge thresholds for eliciting visual perception (phosphenes) were measured, as were the shape, size, location, and intensity of the phosphenes. Adverse events were also assessed.Stimulation of all contacts resulted in phosphene perception. Phosphenes appeared completely or partially in the left hemifield. Stimulation of the electrodes below the calcarine sulcus elicited phosphenes in the superior hemifield and vice versa. Changing the stimulation parameters of frequency, pulse width, and burst duration affected current thresholds for eliciting phosphenes, and increasing the amplitude or frequency of stimulation resulted in brighter perceptions. While stimulation thresholds decreased between an average of 5% and 12% after 19 months, spatial mapping of phosphenes remained consistent over time. Although no serious adverse events were observed, the subject experienced mild headaches and dizziness in three instances, symptoms that did not persist for more than a few hours and for which no clinical intervention was required.Using an off-the-shelf neurostimulator, the authors were able to reliably generate phosphenes in different areas of the visual field over 19 months with no serious adverse events, providing preliminary proof of feasibility and safety to proceed with visual epicortical prosthetic clinical trials. Moreover, they systematically explored the relationship between stimulation parameters and phosphene thresholds and discovered the direct relation of perception thresholds based on primary visual cortex (V1) neuronal population excitation thresholds.

scholarly journals Aberrant development of excitatory circuits to inhibitory neurons in the primary visual cortex after neonatal binocular enucleation

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rongkang Deng ◽  
Joseph P. Y. Kao ◽  
Patrick O. Kanold
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Nmda Receptors ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Inhibitory Neurons ◽  
Gabaergic Interneurons ◽  
Cortical Circuits ◽  
Retinal Input ◽  
Layer 4 ◽  
Ampa And Nmda Receptors ◽  
Laser Scanning Photostimulation

AbstractThe development of GABAergic interneurons is important for the functional maturation of cortical circuits. After migrating into the cortex, GABAergic interneurons start to receive glutamatergic connections from cortical excitatory neurons and thus gradually become integrated into cortical circuits. These glutamatergic connections are mediated by glutamate receptors including AMPA and NMDA receptors and the ratio of AMPA to NMDA receptors decreases during development. Since previous studies have shown that retinal input can regulate the early development of connections along the visual pathway, we investigated if the maturation of glutamatergic inputs to GABAergic interneurons in the visual cortex requires retinal input. We mapped the spatial pattern of glutamatergic connections to layer 4 (L4) GABAergic interneurons in mouse visual cortex at around postnatal day (P) 16 by laser-scanning photostimulation and investigated the effect of binocular enucleations at P1/P2 on these patterns. Gad2-positive interneurons in enucleated animals showed an increased fraction of AMPAR-mediated input from L2/3 and a decreased fraction of input from L5/6. Parvalbumin-expressing (PV) interneurons showed similar changes in relative connectivity. NMDAR-only input was largely unchanged by enucleation. Our results show that retinal input sculpts the integration of interneurons into V1 circuits and suggest that the development of AMPAR- and NMDAR-only connections might be regulated differently.

Critical periods for functional and anatomical compensation in lateral suprasylvian visual area following removal of visual cortex in cats

1984 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 941-960 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Tong ◽  
R. E. Kalil ◽  
P. D. Spear
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Critical Period ◽  
Ocular Dominance ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Visual Area ◽  
Critical Periods ◽  
Cortex Lesion ◽  
Thalamic Projections ◽  
Adult Cats ◽  
Visual Cortical

Previous experiments have found that neurons in the cat's lateral suprasylvian (LS) visual area of cortex show functional compensation following removal of visual cortical areas 17, 18, and 19 on the day of birth. Correspondingly, an enhanced retino-thalamic pathway to LS cortex develops in these cats. The present experiments investigated the critical periods for these changes. Unilateral lesions of areas 17, 18, and 19 were made in cats ranging in age from 1 day postnatal to 26 wk. When the cats were adult, single-cell recordings were made from LS cortex ipsilateral to the lesion. In addition, transneuronal autoradiographic methods were used to trace the retino-thalamic projections to LS cortex in many of the same animals. Following lesions in 18- and 26-wk-old cats, there is a marked reduction in direction-selective LS cortex cells and an increase in cells that respond best to stationary flashing stimuli. These results are similar to those following visual cortex lesions in adult cats. In contrast, the percentages of cells with these properties are normal following lesions made from 1 day to 12 wk of age. Thus the critical period for development of direction selectivity and greater responses to moving than to stationary flashing stimuli in LS cortex following a visual cortex lesion ends between 12 and 18 wk of age. Following lesions in 26-wk-old cats, there is a decrease in the percentage of cells that respond to the ipsilateral eye, which is similar to results following visual cortex lesions in adult cats. However, ocular dominance is normal following lesions made from 1 day to 18 wk of age. Thus the critical period for development of responses to the ipsilateral eye following a lesion ends between 18 and 26 wk of age. Following visual cortex lesions in 2-, 4-, or 8-wk-old cats, about 30% of the LS cortex cells display orientation selectivity to elongated slits of light. In contrast, few or no cells display this property in normal adult cats, cats with lesions made on the day of birth, or cats with lesions made at 12 wk of age or later. Thus an anomalous property develops for many LS cells, and the critical period for this property begins later (between 1 day and 2 wk) and ends earlier (between 8 and 12 wk) than those for other properties.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

scholarly journals Adaptive Integration in the Visual Cortex by Depressing Recurrent Cortical Circuits

2008 ◽  
Vol 20 (7) ◽  
pp. 1847-1872 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark C. W. van Rossum ◽  
Matthijs A. A. van der Meer ◽  
Dengke Xiao ◽  
Mike W. Oram
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Physiological Data ◽  
High Contrast ◽  
Cortical Circuits ◽  
Response Latencies ◽  
Low Contrast ◽  
Visual Areas ◽  
Higher Visual Areas ◽  
Recurrent Connections

Neurons in the visual cortex receive a large amount of input from recurrent connections, yet the functional role of these connections remains unclear. Here we explore networks with strong recurrence in a computational model and show that short-term depression of the synapses in the recurrent loops implements an adaptive filter. This allows the visual system to respond reliably to deteriorated stimuli yet quickly to high-quality stimuli. For low-contrast stimuli, the model predicts long response latencies, whereas latencies are short for high-contrast stimuli. This is consistent with physiological data showing that in higher visual areas, latencies can increase more than 100 ms at low contrast compared to high contrast. Moreover, when presented with briefly flashed stimuli, the model predicts stereotypical responses that outlast the stimulus, again consistent with physiological findings. The adaptive properties of the model suggest that the abundant recurrent connections found in visual cortex serve to adapt the network's time constant in accordance with the stimulus and normalizes neuronal signals such that processing is as fast as possible while maintaining reliability.

scholarly journals Thalamic inputs determine functionally distinct gamma bands in mouse primary visual cortex

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolò Meneghetti ◽  
Chiara Cerri ◽  
Elena Tantillo ◽  
Eleonora Vannini ◽  
Matteo Caleo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Narrow Band ◽  
Broad Band ◽  
Gamma Band ◽  
Neuron Network ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Thalamic Input ◽  
Visual Contrast

AbstractGamma band is known to be involved in the encoding of visual features in the primary visual cortex (V1). Recent results in rodents V1 highlighted the presence, within a broad gamma band (BB) increasing with contrast, of a narrow gamma band (NB) peaking at ∼60 Hz suppressed by contrast and enhanced by luminance. However, the processing of visual information by the two channels still lacks a proper characterization. Here, by combining experimental analysis and modeling, we prove that the two bands are sensitive to specific thalamic inputs associated with complementary contrast ranges. We recorded local field potentials from V1 of awake mice during the presentation of gratings and observed that NB power progressively decreased from low to intermediate levels of contrast. Conversely, BB power was insensitive to low levels of contrast but it progressively increased going from intermediate to high levels of contrast. Moreover, BB response was stronger immediately after contrast reversal, while the opposite held for NB. All the aforementioned dynamics were accurately reproduced by a recurrent excitatory-inhibitory leaky integrate-and-fire network, mimicking layer IV of mouse V1, provided that the sustained and periodic component of the thalamic input were modulated over complementary contrast ranges. These results shed new light on the origin and function of the two V1 gamma bands. In addition, here we propose a simple and effective model of response to visual contrast that might help in reconstructing network dysfunction underlying pathological alterations of visual information processing.Significance StatementGamma band is a ubiquitous hallmark of cortical processing of sensory stimuli. Experimental evidence shows that in the mouse visual cortex two types of gamma activity are differentially modulated by contrast: a narrow band (NB), that seems to be rodent specific, and a standard broad band (BB), observed also in other animal models.We found that narrow band correlates and broad band anticorrelates with visual contrast in two complementary contrast ranges (low and high respectively). Moreover, BB displayed an earlier response than NB. A thalamocortical spiking neuron network model reproduced the aforementioned results, suggesting they might be due to the presence of two complementary but distinct components of the thalamic input into visual cortical circuitry.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document