scholarly journals Maps of cone opsin input to mouse V1 and higher visual areas

2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 1674-1682 ◽  
Author(s):  
Issac Rhim ◽  
Gabriela Coello-Reyes ◽  
Hee-Kyoung Ko ◽  
Ian Nauhaus

Studies in the mouse retina have characterized the spatial distribution of an anisotropic ganglion cell and photoreceptor mosaic, which provides a solid foundation to study how the cortex pools from afferent parallel color channels. In particular, the mouse’s retinal mosaic exhibits a gradient of wavelength sensitivity along its dorsoventral axis. Cones at the ventral extreme mainly express S opsin, which is sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths. Then, moving toward the retina’s dorsal extreme, there is a transition to M-opsin dominance. Here, we tested the hypothesis that the retina’s opsin gradient is recapitulated in cortical visual areas as a functional map of wavelength sensitivity. We first identified visual areas in each mouse by mapping retinotopy with intrinsic signal imaging (ISI). Next, we measured ISI responses to stimuli along different directions of the S- and M-color plane to quantify the magnitude of S and M input to each location of the retinotopic maps in five visual cortical areas (V1, AL, LM, PM, and RL). The results illustrate a significant change in the S:M-opsin input ratio along the axis of vertical retinotopy that is consistent with the gradient along the dorsoventral axis of the retina. In particular, V1 populations encoding the upper visual field responded to S-opsin contrast with 6.1-fold greater amplitude than to M-opsin contrast. V1 neurons encoding lower fields responded with 4.6-fold greater amplitude to M- than S-opsin contrast. The maps in V1 and higher visual areas (HVAs) underscore the significance of a wavelength sensitivity gradient for guiding the mouse’s behavior. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Two elements of this study are particularly novel. For one, it is the first to quantify cone inputs to mouse visual cortex; we have measured cone input in five visual areas. Next, it is the first study to identify a feature map in the mouse visual cortex that is based on well-characterized anisotropy of cones in the retina; we have identified maps of opsin selectivity in five visual areas.

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

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.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin A. Murgas ◽  
Ashley M. Wilson ◽  
Valerie Michael ◽  
Lindsey L. Glickfeld

AbstractNeurons in the visual system integrate over a wide range of spatial scales. This diversity is thought to enable both local and global computations. To understand how spatial information is encoded across the mouse visual system, we use two-photon imaging to measure receptive fields in primary visual cortex (V1) and three downstream higher visual areas (HVAs): LM (lateromedial), AL (anterolateral) and PM (posteromedial). We find significantly larger receptive field sizes and less surround suppression in PM than in V1 or the other HVAs. Unlike other visual features studied in this system, specialization of spatial integration in PM cannot be explained by specific projections from V1 to the HVAs. Instead, our data suggests that distinct connectivity within PM may support the area’s unique ability to encode global features of the visual scene, whereas V1, LM and AL may be more specialized for processing local features.


Author(s):  
I. Rhim ◽  
G. Coello-Reyes ◽  
I. Nauhaus

ABSTRACTVisual input to primary visual cortex (V1) depends on highly adaptive filtering in the retina. In turn, isolation of V1 computations to study cortical circuits requires control over retinal adaption and its corresponding spatio-temporal-chromatic output. Here, we first measure the balance of input to V1 from the three main photoreceptor opsins – M-opsin, S-opsin, and rhodopsin – as a function of light adaption and retinotopy. Results show that V1 is rod-mediated in common laboratory settings, yet cone-mediated in natural daylight, as evidenced by exclusive sensitivity to UV wavelengths via cone S-opsin in the upper visual field. Next, we show that cone-mediated V1 responds to 2.5-fold higher temporal frequencies than rod-mediated V1. Furthermore, cone-mediated V1 has smaller RFs, yet similar spatial frequency tuning. V1 responses in rod-deficient (Gnat1−/−) mice confirm that the effects are due to differences in photoreceptor contribution. This study provides foundation for using mouse V1 to study cortical circuits.


2005 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 685-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
JIANHUA CANG ◽  
VALERY A. KALATSKY ◽  
SIEGRID LÖWEL ◽  
MICHAEL P. STRYKER

The responses of cells in the visual cortex to stimulation of the two eyes changes dramatically following a period of monocular visual deprivation (MD) during a critical period in early life. This phenomenon, referred to as ocular dominance (OD) plasticity, is a widespread model for understanding cortical plasticity. In this study, we designed stimulus patterns and quantification methods to analyze OD in the mouse visual cortex using optical imaging of intrinsic signals. Using periodically drifting bars restricted to the binocular portion of the visual field, we obtained cortical maps for both contralateral (C) and ipsilateral (I) eyes and computed OD maps as (C − I)/(C + I). We defined the OD index (ODI) for individual animals as the mean of the OD map. The ODI obtained from an imaging session of less than 30 min gives reliable measures of OD for both normal and monocularly deprived mice under Nembutal anesthesia. Surprisingly, urethane anesthesia, which yields excellent topographic maps, did not produce consistent OD findings. Normal Nembutal-anesthetized mice have positive ODI (0.22 ± 0.01), confirming a contralateral bias in the binocular zone. For mice monocularly deprived during the critical period, the ODI of the cortex contralateral to the deprived eye shifted negatively towards the nondeprived, ipsilateral eye (ODI after 2-day MD: 0.12 ± 0.02, 4-day: 0.03 ± 0.03, and 6- to 7-day MD: −0.01 ± 0.04). The ODI shift induced by 4-day MD appeared to be near maximal, consistent with previous findings using single-unit recordings. We have thus established optical imaging of intrinsic signals as a fast and reliable screening method to study OD plasticity in the mouse.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Kirchberger ◽  
Sreedeep Mukherjee ◽  
Ulf H. Schnabel ◽  
Enny H. van Beest ◽  
Areg Barsegyan ◽  
...  

AbstractThe segregation of figures from the background is an important step in visual perception. In primary visual cortex, figures evoke stronger activity than backgrounds during a delayed phase of the neuronal responses, but it is unknown how this figure-ground modulation (FGM) arises and whether it is necessary for perception. Here we show, using optogenetic silencing in mice, that the delayed V1 response phase is necessary for figure-ground segregation. Neurons in higher visual areas also exhibit FGM and optogenetic silencing of higher areas reduced FGM in V1. In V1, figures elicited higher activity of vasoactive intestinal peptide-expressing (VIP) interneurons than the background, whereas figures suppressed somatostatin-positive interneurons, resulting in an increased activation of pyramidal cells. Optogenetic silencing of VIP neurons reduced FGM in V1, indicating that disinhibitory circuits contribute to FGM. Our results provide new insight in how lower and higher areas of the visual cortex interact to shape visual perception.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Mika Diamanti ◽  
Charu Bai Reddy ◽  
Sylvia Schröder ◽  
Tomaso Muzzu ◽  
Kenneth D. Harris ◽  
...  

During navigation, the visual responses of neurons in primary visual cortex (V1) are modulated by the animal’s spatial position. Here we show that this spatial modulation is similarly present across multiple higher visual areas but largely absent in the main thalamic pathway into V1. Similar to hippocampus, spatial modulation in visual cortex strengthens with experience and requires engagement in active behavior. Active navigation in a familiar environment, therefore, determines spatial modulation of visual signals starting in the cortex.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yulia Revina ◽  
Lucy S Petro ◽  
Cristina B Denk-Florea ◽  
Isa S Rao ◽  
Lars Muckli

The majority of synaptic inputs to the primary visual cortex (V1) are non-feedforward, instead originating from local and anatomical feedback connections. Animal electrophysiology experiments show that feedback signals originating from higher visual areas with larger receptive fields modulate the surround receptive fields of V1 neurons. Theories of cortical processing propose various roles for feedback and feedforward processing, but systematically investigating their independent contributions to cortical processing is challenging because feedback and feedforward processes coexist even in single neurons. Capitalising on the larger receptive fields of higher visual areas compared to primary visual cortex (V1), we used an occlusion paradigm that isolates top-down influences from feedforward processing. We utilised functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and multi-voxel pattern analysis methods in humans viewing natural scene images. We parametrically measured how the availability of contextual information determines the presence of detectable feedback information in non-stimulated V1, and how feedback information interacts with feedforward processing. We show that increasing the visibility of the contextual surround increases scene-specific feedback information, and that this contextual feedback enhances feedforward information. Our findings are in line with theories that cortical feedback signals transmit internal models of predicted inputs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 124 (1) ◽  
pp. 245-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miaomiao Jin ◽  
Lindsey L. Glickfeld

Rapid adaptation dynamically alters sensory signals to account for recent experience. To understand how adaptation affects sensory processing and perception, we must determine how it impacts the diverse set of cortical and subcortical areas along the hierarchy of the mouse visual system. We find that rapid adaptation strongly impacts neurons in primary visual cortex, the higher visual areas, and the colliculus, consistent with its profound effects on behavior.


2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (9) ◽  
pp. 1862-1873 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin A. Murgas ◽  
Ashley M. Wilson ◽  
Valerie Michael ◽  
Lindsey L. Glickfeld

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
E Mika Diamanti ◽  
Charu Bai Reddy ◽  
Sylvia Schröder ◽  
Tomaso Muzzu ◽  
Kenneth D Harris ◽  
...  

During navigation, the visual responses of neurons in mouse primary visual cortex (V1) are modulated by the animal’s spatial position. Here we show that this spatial modulation is similarly present across multiple higher visual areas but negligible in the main thalamic pathway into V1. Similar to hippocampus, spatial modulation in visual cortex strengthens with experience and with active behavior. Active navigation in a familiar environment, therefore, enhances the spatial modulation of visual signals starting in the cortex.


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