scholarly journals Pure tones modulate the representation of orientation and direction in the primary visual cortex

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (6) ◽  
pp. 2202-2214 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. McClure ◽  
Pierre-Olivier Polack
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Visual Stimulus ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Multimodal Integration ◽  
Visual Responses ◽  
V1 Neurons ◽  
Pure Tones ◽  
The Impact

Multimodal sensory integration facilitates the generation of a unified and coherent perception of the environment. It is now well established that unimodal sensory perceptions, such as vision, are improved in multisensory contexts. Whereas multimodal integration is primarily performed by dedicated multisensory brain regions such as the association cortices or the superior colliculus, recent studies have shown that multisensory interactions also occur in primary sensory cortices. In particular, sounds were shown to modulate the responses of neurons located in layers 2/3 (L2/3) of the mouse primary visual cortex (V1). Yet, the net effect of sound modulation at the V1 population level remained unclear. In the present study, we performed two-photon calcium imaging in awake mice to compare the representation of the orientation and the direction of drifting gratings by V1 L2/3 neurons in unimodal (visual only) or multimodal (audiovisual) conditions. We found that sound modulation depended on the tuning properties (orientation and direction selectivity) and response amplitudes of V1 L2/3 neurons. Sounds potentiated the responses of neurons that were highly tuned to the cue’s orientation and direction but weakly active in the unimodal context, following the principle of inverse effectiveness of multimodal integration. Moreover, sound suppressed the responses of neurons untuned for the orientation and/or the direction of the visual cue. Altogether, sound modulation improved the representation of the orientation and direction of the visual stimulus in V1 L2/3. Namely, visual stimuli presented with auditory stimuli recruited a neuronal population better tuned to the visual stimulus orientation and direction than when presented alone. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The primary visual cortex (V1) receives direct inputs from the primary auditory cortex. Yet, the impact of sounds on visual processing in V1 remains controverted. We show that the modulation by pure tones of V1 visual responses depends on the orientation selectivity, direction selectivity, and response amplitudes of V1 neurons. Hence, audiovisual stimuli recruit a population of V1 neurons better tuned to the orientation and direction of the visual stimulus than unimodal visual stimuli.

scholarly journals Sound improves neuronal encoding of visual stimuli in mouse primary visual cortex

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron M. Williams ◽  
Christopher F. Angeloni ◽  
Maria Neimark Geffen
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Visual Stimulus ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Audiovisual Integration ◽  
Neuronal Firing ◽  
Auditory Information ◽  
Visual Responses ◽  
Neuronal Encoding

In everyday life, we integrate visual and auditory information in routine tasks such as navigation and communication. While it is known that concurrent sound can improve visual perception, the neuronal correlates of this audiovisual integration are not fully understood. Specifically, it remains unknown whether improvement of the detection and discriminability of visual stimuli due to sound is reflected in the neuronal firing patterns in the primary visual cortex (V1). Furthermore, presentation of the sound can induce movement in the subject, but little is understood about whether and how sound-induced movement contributes to V1 neuronal activity. Here, we investigated how sound and movement interact to modulate V1 visual responses in awake, head-fixed mice and whether this interaction improves neuronal encoding of the visual stimulus. We presented visual drifting gratings with and without simultaneous auditory white noise to awake mice while recording mouse movement and V1 neuronal activity. Sound modulated the light-evoked activity of 80% of light-responsive neurons, with 95% of neurons exhibiting increased activity when the auditory stimulus was present. Sound consistently induced movement. However, a generalized linear model revealed that sound and movement had distinct and complementary effects of the neuronal visual responses. Furthermore, decoding of the visual stimulus from the neuronal activity was improved with sound, an effect that persisted even when controlling for movement. These results demonstrate that sound and movement modulate visual responses in complementary ways, resulting in improved neuronal representation of the visual stimulus. This study clarifies the role of movement as a potential confound in neuronal audiovisual responses, and expands our knowledge of how multi-modal processing is mediated at a neuronal level in the awake brain.

scholarly journals Pure tones modulate the representation of orientation and direction in the primary visual cortex

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P McClure ◽  
Pierre-Olivier Polack
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Visual Stimulus ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Neuronal Population ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Multimodal Integration ◽  
Multisensory Interactions ◽  
Sensory Cortices

Multimodal sensory integration facilitates the generation of a unified and coherent perception of the environment. It is now well established that unimodal sensory perceptions, such as vision, are improved in multisensory contexts. While multimodal integration is primarily performed by dedicated multisensory brain regions such as the association cortices or the superior colliculus, recent studies have shown that multisensory interactions also occur in primary sensory cortices. In particular, sounds were shown to modulate the responses of neurons located in layers 2/3 (L2/3) of the mouse primary visual cortex (V1). Yet, the net effect of sound modulation at the V1 population level remained unclear. Here, we performed two-photon calcium imaging in awake mice to compare the representation of the orientation and the direction of drifting gratings by V1 L2/3 neurons in unimodal (visual only) or multi-modal (audiovisual) conditions. We found that sound modulation depended on the tuning properties (orientation and direction selectivity) and response amplitudes of V1 L2/3 neurons. Sounds potentiated the responses of neurons that were highly tuned to the cue orientation and direction but weakly active in the unimodal context, following the principle of inverse effectiveness of multimodal integration. Moreover, sound suppressed the responses of neurons untuned for the orientation and/or the direction of the visual cue. Altogether, sound modulation improved the representation of the orientation and direction of the visual stimulus in V1 L2/3. Namely, visual stimuli presented with auditory stimuli recruited a neuronal population better tuned to the visual stimulus orientation and direction than when presented alone.

scholarly journals Traumatic brain injury to primary visual cortex produces long-lasting circuit dysfunction

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan C. Frankowski ◽  
Andrzej T. Foik ◽  
Alexa Tierno ◽  
Jiana R. Machhor ◽  
David C. Lyon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Brain Injury ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Orientation Tuning ◽  
V1 Neurons ◽  
Adult Mice ◽  
Electrophysiological Recordings

AbstractPrimary sensory areas of the mammalian neocortex have a remarkable degree of plasticity, allowing neural circuits to adapt to dynamic environments. However, little is known about the effects of traumatic brain injury on visual circuit function. Here we used anatomy and in vivo electrophysiological recordings in adult mice to quantify neuron responses to visual stimuli two weeks and three months after mild controlled cortical impact injury to primary visual cortex (V1). We found that, although V1 remained largely intact in brain-injured mice, there was ~35% reduction in the number of neurons that affected inhibitory cells more broadly than excitatory neurons. V1 neurons showed dramatically reduced activity, impaired responses to visual stimuli and weaker size selectivity and orientation tuning in vivo. Our results show a single, mild contusion injury produces profound and long-lasting impairments in the way V1 neurons encode visual input. These findings provide initial insight into cortical circuit dysfunction following central visual system neurotrauma.

scholarly journals Orientation Tuning, But Not Direction Selectivity, Is Invariant to Temporal Frequency in Primary Visual Cortex

2005 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 1336-1345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bartlett D. Moore ◽  
Henry J. Alitto ◽  
W. Martin Usrey
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Visual Stimulus ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
Temporal Frequency ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Orientation Tuning ◽  
Orientation Contrast ◽  
Wide Range

The activity of neurons in primary visual cortex is influenced by the orientation, contrast, and temporal frequency of a visual stimulus. This raises the question of how these stimulus properties interact to shape neuronal responses. While past studies have shown that the bandwidth of orientation tuning is invariant to stimulus contrast, the influence of temporal frequency on orientation-tuning bandwidth is unknown. Here, we investigate the influence of temporal frequency on orientation tuning and direction selectivity in area 17 of ferret visual cortex. For both simple cells and complex cells, measures of orientation-tuning bandwidth (half-width at half-maximum response) are ∼20–25° across a wide range of temporal frequencies. Thus cortical neurons display temporal-frequency invariant orientation tuning. In contrast, direction selectivity is typically reduced, and occasionally reverses, at nonpreferred temporal frequencies. These results show that the mechanisms contributing to the generation of orientation tuning and direction selectivity are differentially affected by the temporal frequency of a visual stimulus and support the notion that stability of orientation tuning is an important aspect of visual processing.

scholarly journals Microstimulation in the primary visual cortex: activity patterns and their relation to visual responses and evoked saccades

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Oz ◽  
H. Edelman-Klapper ◽  
S. Nivinsky-Margalit ◽  
H. Slovin
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Temporal Patterns ◽  
Visual Responses ◽  
Population Activity ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Saccade Generation

AbstractIntra cortical microstimulation (ICMS) in the primary visual cortex (V1) can generate the visual perception of phosphenes and evoke saccades directed to the stimulated location in the retinotopic map. Although ICMS is widely used, little is known about the evoked spatio-temporal patterns of neural activity and their relation to neural responses evoked by visual stimuli or saccade generation. To investigate this, we combined ICMS with Voltage Sensitive Dye Imaging in V1 of behaving monkeys and measured neural activity at high spatial (meso-scale) and temporal resolution. Small visual stimuli and ICMS evoked population activity spreading over few mm that propagated to extrastriate areas. The population responses evoked by ICMS showed faster dynamics and different spatial propagation patterns. Neural activity was higher in trials w/saccades compared with trials w/o saccades. In conclusion, our results uncover the spatio-temporal patterns evoked by ICMS and their relation to visual processing and saccade generation.

scholarly journals Continuous multiplexed population representations of task context in the mouse primary visual cortex

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marton Albert Hajnal ◽  
Duy Tran ◽  
Michael Einstein ◽  
Mauricio Vallejo Martelo ◽  
Karen Safaryan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Stimulus Onset ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Cognitive Variables ◽  
Task Context ◽  
Population Activity ◽  
V1 Neurons

Primary visual cortex (V1) neurons integrate motor and multisensory information with visual inputs during sensory processing. However, whether V1 neurons also integrate and encode higher-order cognitive variables is less understood. We trained mice to perform a context-dependent cross-modal decision task where the interpretation of identical audio-visual stimuli depends on task context. We performed silicon probe population recordings of neuronal activity in V1 during task performance and showed that task context (whether the animal should base its decision on visual or auditory stimuli) can be decoded during both intertrial intervals and stimulus presentations. Context and visual stimuli were represented in overlapping populations but were orthogonal in the population activity space. Context representation was not static but displayed distinctive dynamics upon stimulus onset and offset. Thus, activity patterns in V1 independently represent visual stimuli and cognitive variables relevant to task execution.

scholarly journals Specific excitatory connectivity for feature integration in mouse primary visual cortex

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dylan R Muir ◽  
Patricia Molina-Luna ◽  
Morgane M Roth ◽  
Fritjof Helmchen ◽  
Björn M Kampa
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Visual Representations ◽  
Feature Binding ◽  
Local Network ◽  
Visual Responses ◽  
Visual Properties ◽  
The Brain

AbstractLocal excitatory connections in mouse primary visual cortex (V1) are stronger and more prevalent between neurons that share similar functional response features. However, the details of how functional rules for local connectivity shape neuronal responses in V1 remain unknown. We hypothesised that complex responses to visual stimuli may arise as a consequence of rules for selective excitatory connectivity within the local network in the superficial layers of mouse V1. In mouse V1 many neurons respond to overlapping grating stimuli (plaid stimuli) with highly selective and facilitatory responses, which are not simply predicted by responses to single gratings presented alone. This complexity is surprising, since excitatory neurons in V1 are considered to be mainly tuned to single preferred orientations. Here we examined the consequences for visual processing of two alternative connectivity schemes: in the first case, local connections are aligned with visual properties inherited from feedforward input (a ‘like-to-like’ scheme specifically connecting neurons that share similar preferred orientations); in the second case, local connections group neurons into excitatory subnetworks that combine and amplify multiple feedforward visual properties (a ‘feature binding’ scheme). By comparing predictions from large scale computational models with in vivo recordings of visual representations in mouse V1, we found that responses to plaid stimuli were best explained by a assuming ‘feature binding’ connectivity. Unlike under the ‘like-to-like’ scheme, selective amplification within feature-binding excitatory subnetworks replicated experimentally observed facilitatory responses to plaid stimuli; explained selective plaid responses not predicted by grating selectivity; and was consistent with broad anatomical selectivity observed in mouse V1. Our results show that visual feature binding can occur through local recurrent mechanisms without requiring feedforward convergence, and that such a mechanism is consistent with visual responses and cortical anatomy in mouse V1.Author summaryThe brain is a highly complex structure, with abundant connectivity between nearby neurons in the neocortex, the outermost and evolutionarily most recent part of the brain. Although the network architecture of the neocortex can appear disordered, connections between neurons seem to follow certain rules. These rules most likely determine how information flows through the neural circuits of the brain, but the relationship between particular connectivity rules and the function of the cortical network is not known. We built models of visual cortex in the mouse, assuming distinct rules for connectivity, and examined how the various rules changed the way the models responded to visual stimuli. We also recorded responses to visual stimuli of populations of neurons in anaesthetised mice, and compared these responses with our model predictions. We found that connections in neocortex probably follow a connectivity rule that groups together neurons that differ in simple visual properties, to build more complex representations of visual stimuli. This finding is surprising because primary visual cortex is assumed to support mainly simple visual representations. We show that including specific rules for non-random connectivity in cortical models, and precisely measuring those rules in cortical tissue, is essential to understanding how information is processed by the brain.

Mechanisms underlying direction selectivity of neurons in the primary visual cortex of the macaque

1995 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 1382-1394 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Sato ◽  
N. Katsuyama ◽  
H. Tamura ◽  
Y. Hata ◽  
T. Tsumoto
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Threshold Level ◽  
Intracortical Inhibition ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Gamma Aminobutyric Acid ◽  
Visual Responses ◽  
Preferred Direction ◽  
Control Response ◽  
Layer Vi

1. We studied the effects of blocking intracortical inhibition by microiontophoretic administration of bicuculline methiodide (BMI), a selective antagonist for gamma-aminobutyric acid-A receptors, on direction sensitivity of 103 neurons in the primary visual cortex (VI) of anesthetized and paralyzed monkeys. 2. The direction selectivity index (DSI) of each cell was calculated for the control response and response during the BMI administration at the optimal stimulus orientation to assess the directionality of an individual cell. 3. The averaged direction tuning of visual responses of cells was sharp in layers IVa and IVb, moderate in both interblob and blob regions of layer II/III and layers V and VI, and poor in layers IVc alpha and IVc beta. 4. Iontophoretic administration of BMI uncovered or facilitated responses to stimuli moving in the nonpreferred direction, and reduced DSIs of cells to a varying extent in all the layers except layer VI. Responses to stimuli moving in the preferred direction were also facilitated so that a slight bias of response toward the originally preferred direction remained during BMI administration in most cells. 5. Most of the cells in layers II/III (both blobs and interblobs) and IVb that receive inputs from layers IVc alpha and IVc beta showed a clear reduction of direction selectivity during BMI administration. This result suggests that intracortical inhibition plays an important role in the elaboration of direction selectivity at the second stage of information processing in VI. 6. The direction selectivity of cells in layer VI was most resistant to the effects of BMI, suggesting that it is dependent on excitatory inputs that are already direction selective, even though the sample size of this layer was small. 7. In direction-selective cells outside layer VI, responses to a stimulus moving in the preferred direction were enhanced in a way that was linearly related with those in the nonpreferred direction as the BMI dose was increased. This suggests that various amounts of inhibition interact linearly with directionally biased excitatory inputs to raise the firing threshold to various levels so as to produce various degrees of directionality. 8. These results suggest that, in most of the directionally sensitive cells except for those in layer VI, there are excitatory inputs which are bidirectional but slightly biased to one direction, and that the intracortical inhibition raises a threshold level of responses to excitatory inputs so that the response become direction selective.

scholarly journals Coherent representations of subjective spatial position in primary visual cortex and hippocampus

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aman B. Saleem ◽  
E. Mika Diamanti ◽  
Julien Fournier ◽  
Kenneth D. Harris ◽  
Matteo Carandini
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
Visual Responses ◽  
V1 Neurons ◽  
Neuronal Populations ◽  
Subjective Estimate ◽  
Ca1 Region ◽  
Navigational Systems

A major role of vision is to guide navigation, and navigation is strongly driven by vision1-4. Indeed, the brain’s visual and navigational systems are known to interact5, 6, and signals related to position in the environment have been suggested to appear as early as in visual cortex6, 7. To establish the nature of these signals we recorded in primary visual cortex (V1) and in the CA1 region of the hippocampus while mice traversed a corridor in virtual reality. The corridor contained identical visual landmarks in two positions, so that a purely visual neuron would respond similarly in those positions. Most V1 neurons, however, responded solely or more strongly to the landmarks in one position. This modulation of visual responses by spatial location was not explained by factors such as running speed. To assess whether the modulation is related to navigational signals and to the animal’s subjective estimate of position, we trained the mice to lick for a water reward upon reaching a reward zone in the corridor. Neuronal populations in both CA1 and V1 encoded the animal’s position along the corridor, and the errors in their representations were correlated. Moreover, both representations reflected the animal’s subjective estimate of position, inferred from the animal’s licks, better than its actual position. Indeed, when animals licked in a given location – whether correct or incorrect – neural populations in both V1 and CA1 placed the animal in the reward zone. We conclude that visual responses in V1 are tightly controlled by navigational signals, which are coherent with those encoded in hippocampus, and reflect the animal’s subjective position in the environment. The presence of such navigational signals as early as in a primary sensory area suggests that these signals permeate sensory processing in the cortex.

scholarly journals Primary visual cortex injury produces loss of inhibitory neurons and long-term visual circuit dysfunction

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan C. Frankowski ◽  
Andrzej T. Foik ◽  
Jiana R. Machhor ◽  
David C. Lyon ◽  
Robert F. Hunt
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Primary Visual Cortex ◽  
Traumatic Injury ◽  
Cortical Inhibition ◽  
Inhibitory Neurons ◽  
List Type ◽  
V1 Neurons ◽  
Adult Mice ◽  
Brain Injured ◽  
The Impact

SummaryPrimary sensory areas of the mammalian neocortex have a remarkable degree of plasticity, allowing neural circuits to adapt to dynamic environments. However, little is known about the effect of traumatic brain injury on visual system function. Here we applied a mild focal contusion injury to primary visual cortex (V1) in adult mice. We found that, although V1 was largely intact in brain-injured mice, there was a reduction in the number of inhibitory interneurons that extended into deep cortical layers. In general, we found a preferential reduction of interneurons located in superficial layers, near the impact site, while interneurons positioned in deeper layers were better preserved. Three months after injury, V1 neurons showed dramatically reduced responses to visual stimuli and weaker orientation selectivity and tuning, consistent with the loss of cortical inhibition. Our results demonstrate that V1 neurons no longer robustly and stably encode visual input following a mild traumatic injury.HighlightsInhibitory neurons are lost throughout brain injured visual cortexVisually-evoked potentials are severely degraded after injuryInjured V1 neurons show weaker selectivity and tuning consistent with reduced interneurons

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document