Synchronized neural input shapes stimulus selectivity in a collision-detecting neuron

How higher-order sensory neurons generate complex selectivity from their simpler inputs is a fundamental question in neuroscience. The lobula giant movement detector (LGMD) is such a visual neuron in the locust Schistocerca americana that responds selectively to objects approaching on a collision course or their two-dimensional projections, looming stimuli [1-4]. To study how this selectivity arises, we designed an apparatus allowing us to stimulate, individually and independently, a sizable fraction of the ～15,000 elementary visual inputs impinging retinotopically onto the LGMD's dendritic fan [5-7] (Figure?1Ai). We then recorded intracellularly in?vivo throughout the visual pathway, assessing the LGMD's activity and that of all three successive presynaptic stages conveying local excitatory inputs. Our results suggest that as collision becomes increasingly imminent, the strength of these inputs increases, whereas their latency decreases. This latency decrease favors summation of inputs activated sequentially throughout the looming sequence, making the neuron maximally sensitive to collision-bound trajectories. Thus, the LGMD's selectivity arises partially from presynaptic mechanisms that synchronize a large population of inputs during a looming stimulus and subsequent detection by postsynaptic mechanisms within the neuron itself. Analogous mechanisms are likely to underlie the tuning properties of visual neurons in other species as well.     

Development of direction selectivity in mouse cortical neurons

Previous studies of the ferret visual cortex indicate that the development of direction selectivity requires visual experience. Here, we used two-photon calcium imaging to study the development of direction selectivity in layer 2/3 neurons of the mouse visual cortex in vivo. Surprisingly, just after eye opening nearly all orientation-selective neurons were also direction selective. During later development, the number of neurons responding to drifting gratings increased in parallel with the fraction of neurons that were orientation, but not direction, selective. Our experiments demonstrate that direction selectivity develops normally in dark-reared mice, indicating that the early development of direction selectivity is independent of visual experience. Furthermore, remarkable functional similarities exist between the development of direction selectivity in cortical neurons and the previously reported development of direction selectivity in the mouse retina. Together, these findings provide strong evidence that the development of orientation and direction selectivity in the mouse brain is distinctly different from that in ferrets.     

The inferior temporal cortex: Architecture, computation, and representation

Neurons in the inferior temporal cortex (IT), an area crucially involved in visual object recognition in monkeys, show the visual response properties and anatomical/chemical nature which are distinct from those in the cortical areas that feed visual inputs to the IT. Earlier physiological studies showed that IT neurons have large receptive fields covering the center and contralateral (often bilateral) visual fields, stimulus selectivity for images of complex objects or shapes, and translation invariance of the stimulus selectivity. Recent studies have revealed new aspects of their properties such as invariant selectivity for shapes despite drastic changes in various physical attributes of stimuli, latent excitatory inputs masked by stimulus-specific GABAergic inhibition, selectivity for binocular disparity and 3-dimensional surface structures, profound effects of learning on the stimulus selectivity, and columnar clustering of neurons with similarstimulus selectivity for shapes and other object features. Another line of research using histological techniques have revealed that pyramidal neurons in the IT are larger in the size of dendritic arbors, in the number of dendritic branches and spines, and in the size and distribution of horizontal axonal arbors than those in the earlier areas, allowing them to integrate a larger population of afferents and process more diverse inputs. The concentration of several neurochemicals including those related to synaptic transmission or plasticity changes systematically towards the IT along the occipitotemporal pathway. Many of the characteristics of IT neurons parallel or explain certain aspects of visual object perception, although the behavioral relevance has yet to be addressed experimentally.     

松墨天牛成虫对寄主颜色的视觉选择研究

为验证视觉信息在松墨天牛Monochamus alternatus Hope成虫寄主选择中的作用,并探索其对寄主健康状况的偏好,本文通过林间对寄主云南松针叶的色彩比对,选取国际标准色卡对应卡色作为视觉信号源,对松墨天牛雌、雄成虫的视觉选择进行了研究。研究表明,松墨天牛雌虫选择最多的颜色分别是:棕红色(选择率26.67%),赭石棕(选择率20.00%),栗棕色(选择率16.67%);松墨天牛雄虫选择最多的颜色为:信号褐(选择率26.67%),棕红色(选择率23.33%),栗棕色(选择率20.00%)。雌、雄成虫均偏好选择棕褐色系,对应于林间衰弱和濒死寄主针叶呈现的颜色,说明松墨天牛成虫通过视觉判断偏好攻击长势衰弱的林木,属于次期性蛀干害虫。     

Integration of local features into global shapes: monkey and human FMRI studies

The integration of local image features into global shapes was investigated in monkeys and humans using fMRI. An adaptation paradigm was used, in which stimulus selectivity was deduced by changes in the course of adaptation of a pattern of randomly oriented elements. Accordingly, we observed stronger activity when orientation changes in the adapting stimulus resulted in a collinear contour than a different random pattern. This selectivity to collinear contours was observed not only in higher visual areas that are implicated in shape processing, but also in early visual areas where selectivity depended on the receptive field size. These findings suggest that unified shape perception in both monkeys and humans involves multiple visual areas that may integrate local elements to global shapes at different spatial scales.     

Orientational and directional selectivities of visual neurons in the superior colliculus of the cat

Based on quantitative analyses of the response characteristics of visual neurons in the superior colliculus to moving optical bar stimuli, it is demonstrated for the first time that the visual neurons in superior colliculus of the cat have, to some extent, orientational selectivity. The significance of this selectivity is discussed in reference to its morphological substrate and physiological functions. In addition, both the directional and orientational selectivities in the superior colliculus are relatively weak when compared with those in the primary visual cortex, and the majority of the neurons prefer upward or downward motion in the visual field.     

Orientation tuning--a crooked path to the straight and narrow

Neurons in visual cortex are selective for the orientation of a visual stimulus, while the receptive fields of their thalamic input are circular. Cortical orientation selectivity arises from the organization of both thalamic input and local cortical circuits. In this issue of Neuron, Schummers and colleagues provide evidence that the local circuit mechanisms contributing to orientation selectivity differ depending on the local organization of the orientation map.     

A Postnatal Critical Period for Orientation Plasticity in the Cat Visual Cortex

Orientation selectivity of primary visual cortical neurons is an important requisite for shape perception. Although numerous studies have been previously devoted to a question of how orientation selectivity is established and elaborated in early life, how the susceptibility of orientation plasticity to visual experience changes in time remains unclear. In the present study, we showed a postnatal sensitive period profile for the modifiability of orientation selectivity in the visual cortex of kittens reared with head-mounted goggles for stable single-orientation exposure. When goggle rearing (GR) started at P16-P30, 2 weeks of GR induced a marked over-representation of the exposed orientation, and 2 more weeks of GR consolidated the altered orientation maps. GR that started later than P50, in turn, induced the under-representation of the exposed orientation. Orientation plasticity in the most sensitive period was markedly suppressed by cortical infusion of NMDAR antagonist. The present study reveals that the plasticity and consolidation of orientation selectivity in an early life are dynamically regulated in an experience-dependent manner.     

胼胝体输入对猫皮层17/18交界区细胞方向和取向选择性的影响

用抑制性神经递质GABA阻断胼胝体输入、用微机控制的运动光棒作为视觉刺激,用金属电极胞外记录技术,研究猫皮层17/18区交界附近细胞方向选择性和取向选择性的变化.在被检测的48个细胞中,50%细胞的方向选择性强度,54.2%细胞的取向选择性强度发生了改变;约20%细胞的最优反应方向或.及最优取向发生了10-30°的偏移;共有56.2%细胞的方向选择性、58.3%细胞的取向选择性受到明确的影响.这些结果表明胼胝体对皮层细胞视觉反应的贡献是多方面的.     

Perception matches selectivity in the human anterior color center

Human ventral cortex contains at least two visual areas selective for color [1]: a posterior center in the lingual gyrus labeled V4 [2-4], V8 [5], or VO-1 [6] and an anterior center in the medial fusiform that has been labeled V4alpha[3, 4]. We examined the properties of the anterior color center using electrical recording and electrical stimulation in a subject with an electrode implanted over the anterior color center, as determined with BOLD fMRI in the same subject. Presentation of visual stimuli evoked local field potentials from the electrode. Consistent with fMRI, the potentials were larger for chromatic than achromatic stimuli. The potentials differed depending on stimulus color, with blue-purple colors evoking the largest response. The spatial receptive field of the electrode was central/parafoveal with a contralateral bias. In the absence of a visual stimulus, electrical stimulation of the electrode produced an artificial visual percept of a blue-purple color near the center of gaze. These results provide direct evidence of a tight link between selectivity and perception in ventral temporal cortex. Electrical stimulation of the anterior color center is sufficient to produce the conscious percept of a color whose identity is determined by the selectivity of the stimulated neurons.     

Direction selectivity of excitation and inhibition in simple cells of the cat primary visual cortex

Direction selectivity in simple cells of primary visual cortex, defined from their spike responses, cannot be predicted using linear models. It has been suggested that the shunting inhibition evoked by visual stimulation is responsible for the nonlinear component of direction selectivity. Cortical inhibition would suppress a neuron's firing when stimuli move in the nonpreferred direction, but would allow responses to stimuli in the preferred direction. Models of direction selectivity based solely on input from the lateral geniculate nucleus, however, propose that the nonlinear response is caused by spike threshold. By extracting excitatory and inhibitory components of synaptic inputs from intracellular records obtained in vivo, we demonstrate that excitation and inhibition are tuned for the same direction, but differ in relative timing. Further, membrane potential responses combine in a linear fashion. Spike threshold, however, quantitatively accounts for the nonlinear component of direction selectivity, amplifying the direction selectivity of spike output relative to that of synaptic inputs.     

Stimulus timing-dependent plasticity in cortical processing of orientation.

The relative timing of presynaptic and postsynaptic spikes plays a critical role in activity-induced synaptic modification. Here we examined whether plasticity of orientation selectivity in the visual cortex depends on stimulus timing. Repetitive pairing of visual stimuli at two orientations induced a shift in orientation tuning of cat cortical neurons, with the direction of the shift depending on the temporal order of the pair. Induction of a significant shift required that the interval between the pair fall within +/-40 ms, reminiscent of the temporal window for spike timing-dependent synaptic plasticity. Mirroring the plasticity found in cat visual cortex, similar conditioning also induced a shift in perceived orientation by human subjects, further suggesting functional relevance of this phenomenon. Thus, relative timing of visual stimuli can play a critical role in dynamic modulation of adult cortical function, perhaps through spike timing-dependent synaptic plasticity.     

Striate, extrastriate and collicular processing of spatial disparity cues

The spatial disparity sensitivity of single units in the primary visual cortex (17-18 border), in extrastriate area 19 and in the superficial layers of the superior colliculus of the cat brain were compared in the present study. Unit recordings were performed in paralyzed and anesthetized animals. Centrally located receptive fields were mapped, separated using prisms and then stimulated simultaneously using two luminous bars optimally adjusted to the size of the excitatory receptive fields. In the three regions studied, cells selective to spatial disparity were found and four classes of disparity sensitivity profiles emerged. Although the disparity sensitivity profiles of the cells in the three regions appeared to have the same general shape, selectivity was clearly different. Cells at the 17-18 border were sharply tuned, those of area 19 were not only less numerous but also less well tuned and collicular cells exhibited coarse selectivity. These differences in selectivity appear to be linked to the projection pattern of the X, Y and W systems to these regions and the roles that these cells might play in vision.     

Sensitivity profile for orientation selectivity in the visual cortex of goggle-reared mice

It has been widely accepted that ocular dominance in the responses of visual cortical neurons can change depending on visual experience in a postnatal period. However, experience-dependent plasticity for orientation selectivity, which is another important response property of visual cortical neurons, is not yet fully understood. To address this issue, using intrinsic signal imaging and two-photon calcium imaging we attempted to observe the alteration of orientation selectivity in the visual cortex of juvenile and adult mice reared with head-mounted goggles, through which animals can experience only the vertical orientation. After one week of goggle rearing, the density of neurons optimally responding to the exposed orientation increased, while that responding to unexposed orientations decreased. These changes can be interpreted as a reallocation of preferred orientations among visually responsive neurons. Our obtained sensitivity profile for orientation selectivity showed a marked peak at 5 weeks and sustained elevation at 12 weeks and later. These features indicate the existence of a critical period between 4 and 7 weeks and residual orientation plasticity in adult mice. The presence of a dip in the sensitivity profile at 10 weeks suggests that different mechanisms are involved in orientation plasticity in childhood and adulthood.     

Spatial and Feature-Based Attention in a Layered Cortical Microcircuit Model

Directing attention to the spatial location or the distinguishing feature of a visual object modulates neuronal responses in the visual cortex and the stimulus discriminability of subjects. However, the spatial and feature-based modes of attention differently influence visual processing by changing the tuning properties of neurons. Intriguingly, neurons'' tuning curves are modulated similarly across different visual areas under both these modes of attention. Here, we explored the mechanism underlying the effects of these two modes of visual attention on the orientation selectivity of visual cortical neurons. To do this, we developed a layered microcircuit model. This model describes multiple orientation-specific microcircuits sharing their receptive fields and consisting of layers 2/3, 4, 5, and 6. These microcircuits represent a functional grouping of cortical neurons and mutually interact via lateral inhibition and excitatory connections between groups with similar selectivity. The individual microcircuits receive bottom-up visual stimuli and top-down attention in different layers. A crucial assumption of the model is that feature-based attention activates orientation-specific microcircuits for the relevant feature selectively, whereas spatial attention activates all microcircuits homogeneously, irrespective of their orientation selectivity. Consequently, our model simultaneously accounts for the multiplicative scaling of neuronal responses in spatial attention and the additive modulations of orientation tuning curves in feature-based attention, which have been observed widely in various visual cortical areas. Simulations of the model predict contrasting differences between excitatory and inhibitory neurons in the two modes of attentional modulations. Furthermore, the model replicates the modulation of the psychophysical discriminability of visual stimuli in the presence of external noise. Our layered model with a biologically suggested laminar structure describes the basic circuit mechanism underlying the attention-mode specific modulations of neuronal responses and visual perception.     

Remembering visual motion: neural correlates of associative plasticity and motion recall in cortical area MT

The pictorial content of visual memories recalled by association is embodied by neuronal activity at the highest processing stages of primate visual cortex. This activity is elicited by top-down signals from the frontal lobe and recapitulates the bottom-up pattern normally obtained by the recalled stimulus. To explore the generality and mechanisms of this phenomenon, we recorded motion-sensitive neurons at an early stage of cortical processing. After monkeys learned to associate directions of motion with static shapes, these neurons exhibited unprecedented selectivity for the shapes. This emergent shape selectivity reflects activation of neurons representing the motion stimuli recalled by association, and it suggests that recall-related activity may be a general feature of neurons in visual cortex.     

Gape-limitation,foraging tactics and prey size selectivity of two microcarnivorous species of fish

Summary Patterns of prey size selectivity were quantified in the field for two species of marine microcarnivorous fish, Embiotoca jacksoni and Embiotoca lateralis (Embiotocidae) to test Scott and Murdoch's (1983) size spectrum hypothesis. Two mechanisms accounted for observed selectivity: the relative size of a fish in relation to its prey, and the type of foraging behavior used. Juvenile E. jacksoni were gape limited and newborn individuals achieved highest selectivity for the smallest prey size by using a visual picking foraging strategy. As young E. jacksoni grew, highest preference shifted to the next larger prey sizes. When E. jacksoni reached adulthood, the principal mode of foraging changed from visual picking to relatively indiscriminant winnowing behavior. The shift in foraging behavior by adults was accompanied by a decline in overall preference for prey size; sizes were taken nearly in proportion to their relative abundance. Adult E. lateralis retained a visual picking strategy and achieved highest selectivity for the largest class of prey. These differences in selectivity patterns by adult fish were not explained by gape-limination since adults of both species could ingest the largest prey items available to them. These results support Scott and Murdoch's (1983) hypothesis that the qualitative pattern of size selectivity depends largely on the range of available prey sizes relative to that a predator can effectively harvest.     

Learning to Attend: Modeling the Shaping of Selectivity in Infero-temporal Cortex in a Categorization Task

Recent experiments on behaving monkeys have shown that learning a visual categorization task makes the neurons in infero-temporal cortex (ITC) more selective to the task-relevant features of the stimuli (Sigala and Logothetis in Nature 415 318–320, 2002). We hypothesize that such a selectivity modulation emerges from the interaction between ITC and other cortical area, presumably the prefrontal cortex (PFC), where the previously learned stimulus categories are encoded. We propose a biologically inspired model of excitatory and inhibitory spiking neurons with plastic synapses, modified according to a reward based Hebbian learning rule, to explain the experimental results and test the validity of our hypothesis. We assume that the ITC neurons, receiving feature selective inputs, form stronger connections with the category specific neurons to which they are consistently associated in rewarded trials. After learning, the top-down influence of PFC neurons enhances the selectivity of the ITC neurons encoding the behaviorally relevant features of the stimuli, as observed in the experiments. We conclude that the perceptual representation in visual areas like ITC can be strongly affected by the interaction with other areas which are devoted to higher cognitive functions. Electronic Supplementary Material: Supplementary material is available in the online: version of this article at http://dx.doi.org/10.007/s00422-006-0054-z     

Learning the selectivity of V2 and V4 neurons using non-linear multi-layer wavelet networks

We investigate a non-linear network with two processing stages optimized to reduce the statistical dependencies in natural images. This network serves as a model for the neural information processing in the higher visual areas of primates (visual cortices V2-V4). The resulting population is analyzed with regard to non-linear selectivity and invariance properties. We find units that are very selective with respect to the space spanned by all possible input signals and units that are invariant with respect to certain stimulus classes. In comparison to the measured distribution of selectivity in V2 neurons, the selectivity histogram of the network units shows an even more pronounced tendency towards higher selectivities. A special property of the system is the emergence of non-linear interactions between coefficients from different scales and orientations, which are necessary for the exploitation of higher-order statistical redundancies of natural images. We extend the concept to multi-layer systems and present some simulation results.