Spatial frequency columns in primary visual cortex

Science ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 214 (4522) ◽  
pp. 813-815 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Tootell ◽  
M. Silverman ◽  
R. De Valois
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Spatial Frequency ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex

scholarly journals Temporo-nasally biased moving grating selectivity in mouse primary visual cortex

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Tolkiehn ◽  
Simon R. Schultz
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Spatial Frequency ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Moving Objects ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Orientation Tuning ◽  
High Signal ◽  
Forward Movement ◽  
Upward Moving

AbstractOrientation tuning in mouse primary visual cortex (V1) has long been reported to have a random or “salt-and-pepper” organisation, lacking the structure found in cats and primates. Laminar in-vivo multi-electrode array recordings here reveal previously elusive structure in the representation of visual patterns in the mouse visual cortex, with temporo-nasally drifting gratings eliciting consistently highest neuronal responses across cortical layers and columns, whilst upward moving gratings reliably evoked the lowest activities. We suggest this bias in direction selectivity to be behaviourally relevant as objects moving into the visual field from the side or behind may pose a predatory threat to the mouse whereas upward moving objects do not. We found furthermore that direction preference and selectivity was affected by stimulus spatial frequency, and that spatial and directional tuning curves showed high signal correlations decreasing with distance between recording sites. In addition, we show that despite this bias in direction selectivity, it is possible to decode stimulus identity and that spatiotemporal features achieve higher accuracy in the decoding task whereas spike count or population counts are sufficient to decode spatial frequencies implying different encoding strategies.Significance statementWe show that temporo-nasally drifting gratings (i.e. opposite the normal visual flow during forward movement) reliably elicit the highest neural activity in mouse primary visual cortex, whereas upward moving gratings reliably evoke the lowest responses. This encoding may be highly behaviourally relevant, as objects approaching from the periphery may pose a threat (e.g. predators), whereas upward moving objects do not. This is a result at odds with the belief that mouse primary visual cortex is randomly organised. Further to this biased representation, we show that direction tuning depends on the underlying spatial frequency and that tuning preference is spatially correlated both across layers and columns and decreases with cortical distance, providing evidence for structural organisation in mouse primary visual cortex.

scholarly journals Orthogonal micro-organization of orientation and spatial frequency in primate primary visual cortex

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 1683-1690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Nauhaus ◽  
Kristina J Nielsen ◽  
Anita A Disney ◽  
Edward M Callaway
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Spatial Frequency ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex

scholarly journals Erratum: Corrigendum: Orthogonal micro-organization of orientation and spatial frequency in primate primary visual cortex

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 1907-1907
Author(s):  
Ian Nauhaus ◽  
Kristina J Nielsen ◽  
Anita A Disney ◽  
Edward M Callaway
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Spatial Frequency ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex

scholarly journals Orientation tuning depends on spatial frequency in mouse visual cortex

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inbal Ayzenshtat ◽  
Jesse Jackson ◽  
Rafael Yuste
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Spatial Frequency ◽  
Visual System ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Receptive Fields ◽  
Orientation Selectivity ◽  
Natural Scenes ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
Layer 2 ◽  
Mouse Visual Cortex

AbstractThe response properties of neurons to sensory stimuli have been used to identify their receptive fields and functionally map sensory systems. In primary visual cortex, most neurons are selective to a particular orientation and spatial frequency of the visual stimulus. Using two-photon calcium imaging of neuronal populations from the primary visual cortex of mice, we have characterized the response properties of neurons to various orientations and spatial frequencies. Surprisingly, we found that the orientation selectivity of neurons actually depends on the spatial frequency of the stimulus. This dependence can be easily explained if one assumed spatially asymmetric Gabor-type receptive fields. We propose that receptive fields of neurons in layer 2/3 of visual cortex are indeed spatially asymmetric, and that this asymmetry could be used effectively by the visual system to encode natural scenes.Significance StatementIn this manuscript we demonstrate that the orientation selectivity of neurons in primary visual cortex of mouse is highly dependent on the stimulus SF. This dependence is realized quantitatively in a decrease in the selectivity strength of cells in non-optimum SF, and more importantly, it is also evident qualitatively in a shift in the preferred orientation of cells in non-optimum SF. We show that a receptive-field model of a 2D asymmetric Gabor, rather than a symmetric one, can explain this surprising observation. Therefore, we propose that the receptive fields of neurons in layer 2/3 of mouse visual cortex are spatially asymmetric and this asymmetry could be used effectively by the visual system to encode natural scenes.Highlights–Orientation selectivity is dependent on spatial frequency.–Asymmetric Gabor model can explain this dependence.

scholarly journals Erratum: Orthogonal micro-organization of orientation and spatial frequency in primate primary visual cortex

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 1907-1907
Author(s):  
Ian Nauhaus ◽  
Kristina J Nielsen ◽  
Anita A Disney ◽  
Edward M Callaway
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Spatial Frequency ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex

scholarly journals Dynamics of Tuning in the Fourier Domain

2008 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 239-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian J. Malone ◽  
Dario L. Ringach
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Spatial Frequency ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Fourier Domain ◽  
Cortex Area ◽  
New Findings ◽  
Cortical Responses ◽  
Low Pass ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Relationship

Neurons in primary visual cortex (area V1) are jointly tuned to the orientation and spatial frequency of sinusoidal stimuli (the Fourier domain). The role that suppressive mechanisms play in shaping the tuning and dynamics of cortical responses remains the subject of debate. Here we used subspace reverse correlation to study the relationship between suppression by nonoptimal stimuli, the spectral-temporal separability of the responses, and their persistence in time. Two clear relationships emerged from our data. First, cells with inseparable responses were often accompanied by suppression to nonpreferred stimuli, while separable responses showed mostly enhancement by their preferred stimuli. Second, inseparable responses were characterized by a longer persistence in time compared with those with separable dynamics. A parametric model that assumes the additive combination of separable enhancement and suppression signals, with suppression constrained to be low-pass in spatial frequency and untuned for orientation, explained the data well. These new findings, in addition to an established correlation between selectivity and suppression for nonoptimal stimuli, clarify how the dynamics and selectivity of cortical responses are shaped by suppressive signals and how their interplay generates the large diversity of responses observed in primary visual cortex.

scholarly journals Development of natural scene representation in primary visual cortex requires early postnatal experience

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Kowalewski ◽  
Janne Kauttonen ◽  
Patricia L. Stan ◽  
Brian B. Jeon ◽  
Thomas Fuchs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Spatial Frequency ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Visual Experience ◽  
Life Experience ◽  
Light Exposure ◽  
Natural Scenes ◽  
Natural Scene ◽  
Scene Representation ◽  
Scene Features

SummaryThe development of the visual system is known to be shaped by early-life experience. To identify response properties that contribute to enhanced natural scene representation, we performed calcium imaging of excitatory neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1) of awake mice raised in three different conditions (standard-reared, dark-reared, and delayed-visual experience) and compared neuronal responses to natural scene features relative to simpler grating stimuli that varied in orientation and spatial frequency. We assessed population selectivity in V1 using decoding methods and found that natural scene discriminability increased by 75% between the ages of 4 to 6 weeks. Both natural scene and grating discriminability were higher in standard-reared animals compared to those raised in the dark. This increase in discriminability was accompanied by a reduction in the number of neurons that responded to low-spatial frequency gratings. At the same time there was an increase in neuronal preference for natural scenes. Light exposure restricted to a 2-4 week window during adulthood did not induce improvements in natural scene nor in grating stimulus discriminability. Our results demonstrate that experience reduces the number of neurons required to effectively encode grating stimuli and that early visual experience enhances natural scene discriminability by directly increasing responsiveness to natural scene features.

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