Primary visual cortex and visual awareness

The primary visual cortex (V1) is probably the best characterized area of primate cortex, but whether this region contributes directly to conscious visual experience is controversial. Early neurophysiological and neuroimaging studies found that visual awareness was best correlated with neural activity in extrastriate visual areas, but recent studies have found similarly powerful effects in V1. Lesion and inactivation studies have provided further evidence that V1 might be necessary for conscious perception. Whereas hierarchical models propose that damage to V1 simply disrupts the flow of information to extrastriate areas that are crucial for awareness, interactive models propose that recurrent connections between V1 and higher areas form functional circuits that support awareness. Further investigation into V1 and its interactions with higher areas might uncover fundamental aspects of the neural basis of visual awareness.     

Space-variant visual processing: spatially limited visual channels

A multichannel model incorporating visual inhomogeneity is presented in this paper. The parameters that describe inhomogeneity have been experimentally obtained both at threshold and in several suprathreshold conditions. At threshold, probability summation is taken into account in order to determine the spatial extent of visual channels from experimental data showing an asymptotic increase in sensitivity with increasing grating area. At suprathreshold contrast, the region where luminance variations at several scales are visible has also been found. The results support a spatially limited multichannel model of early visual processing and set out a basis for studying perceptual phenomena from the viewpoint of linear space-variant visual processing.     

Objective measurements of visual acuity by visual evoked potentials

Electrophysiological measurements of the threshold spatial frequency were conducted in 26 healthy subjects by using visual evoked potentials with the purpose of objective determination of the visual acuity. For that we proposed a universal method of the visual stimulation and EEG processing (using ICA decomposition in particular) to minimize errors arising on account of individual differences in the visual system functioning. As a result, a correlation of 0.74 and a logarithmic dependence were obtained between spatial resolution measured by electrophysiological and psychophysical methods. The proposed methods of objective measurement of visual resolution has a high effectiveness, does not depend on specificity of individual EEG and domination of different channels in the visual system. Therefore it is possible to determinate objectively the visual acuity in humans independently of their responses.     

Instructive effect of visual experience in mouse visual cortex

We describe a form of experience-dependent response enhancement in the visual cortex of awake mice. Repeated presentations of grating stimuli of a single orientation result in a persistent enhancement of responses evoked by the test stimulus. Response potentiation is specific to the orientation of the test stimulus, develops gradually over the course of several training sessions, and occurs in both juvenile and adult mice. The stimulus-selective response potentiation (SRP) can mask deprivation-induced response depression in adult mice. SRP requires NMDA receptor activation and is prevented by viral delivery of a peptide that interferes with AMPA receptor trafficking. SRP may reveal the mechanisms involved in certain forms of perceptual learning.     

Phase-of-firing coding of natural visual stimuli in primary visual cortex

We investigated the hypothesis that neurons encode rich naturalistic stimuli in terms of their spike times relative to the phase of ongoing network fluctuations rather than only in terms of their spike count. We recorded local field potentials (LFPs) and multiunit spikes from the primary visual cortex of anaesthetized macaques while binocularly presenting a color movie. We found that both the spike counts and the low-frequency LFP phase were reliably modulated by the movie and thus conveyed information about it. Moreover, movie periods eliciting higher firing rates also elicited a higher reliability of LFP phase across trials. To establish whether the LFP phase at which spikes were emitted conveyed visual information that could not be extracted by spike rates alone, we compared the Shannon information about the movie carried by spike counts to that carried by the phase of firing. We found that at low LFP frequencies, the phase of firing conveyed 54% additional information beyond that conveyed by spike counts. The extra information available in the phase of firing was crucial for the disambiguation between stimuli eliciting high spike rates of similar magnitude. Thus, phase coding may allow primary cortical neurons to represent several effective stimuli in an easily decodable format.     

Mouse visual cortex

Neurons in mouse visual cortex have diverse receptive field properties and they respond selectively to specific features of visual stimuli. Owing to the lateral position of the eyes, only about a third of the visual cortex receives input from both eyes, but many cells in this region are binocular. Similar to higher mammals, closing one eye during a critical period shifts the responses of cells, such that they are better driven by the non-deprived eye. In this review I illustrate how the combination of transgenic mouse technology with single cell recording and modern imaging techniques might lead to a further understanding of the mechanisms that underlie the development, plasticity, and function of the mammalian visual cortex.     

Acetylcholinesterase activity in visual cortex structures during early visual deprivation

By means of quantitative histochemical methods it has been shown that an early photic deprivation (animals kept in a dark chamber for two months after their birth) leads to a decrease in the activity level of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in the visual area of the cerebral cortex. With the recovery of the visual function (animals kept in normal photic conditions for two weeks) the AChE activity becomes markedly normalized. The obtained data allow to suggest that the decrease in AChE activity due to deprivation is functionally determined.     

Audio visual Reviews

Multi-mediaThe fight for food A pack consisting of a 15-page A4 size booklet, fully illustrated, 54 plastic mounted 35 mm slides, and a 15-minute commentary on a cassette tape. Commentary available with audible change signal or with an inaudible signal for automatic machines. Price £10.00. Additional copies of booklet free up to 10 copies and then 20p per copy. A vailable from British Agrochemicals Association, Alembic House, 93 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TU;John A. Barker

Tape/Slide A new look at the structure of living cells A discussion between Dr H. Hillman and Dr R. Gliddon about interpreting electron photomicrographs of cell structure. A set of 20 black-and-white slides, mounted in card in a plastic box, with an accompanying commentary on pipped tape, all in a presentation pack. A supplementary booklet of commentary and suggestions is included. Price £11.25. Ref. B1A021. Produced by Richard Gliddon. Available from Audio Learning Ltd, Sarda House, 183–189 Queensway, London W2 5HL;P. Burdett     

Cone visual pigments

Cone visual pigments are visual opsins that are present in vertebrate cone photoreceptor cells and act as photoreceptor molecules responsible for photopic vision. Like the rod visual pigment rhodopsin, which is responsible for scotopic vision, cone visual pigments contain the chromophore 11-cis-retinal, which undergoes cis–trans isomerization resulting in the induction of conformational changes of the protein moiety to form a G protein-activating state. There are multiple types of cone visual pigments with different absorption maxima, which are the molecular basis of color discrimination in animals. Cone visual pigments form a phylogenetic sister group with non-visual opsin groups such as pinopsin, VA opsin, parapinopsin and parietopsin groups. Cone visual pigments diverged into four groups with different absorption maxima, and the rhodopsin group diverged from one of the four groups of cone visual pigments. The photochemical behavior of cone visual pigments is similar to that of pinopsin but considerably different from those of other non-visual opsins. G protein activation efficiency of cone visual pigments is also comparable to that of pinopsin but higher than that of the other non-visual opsins. Recent measurements with sufficient time-resolution demonstrated that G protein activation efficiency of cone visual pigments is lower than that of rhodopsin, which is one of the molecular bases for the lower amplification of cones compared to rods. In this review, the uniqueness of cone visual pigments is shown by comparison of their molecular properties with those of non-visual opsins and rhodopsin. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Retinal Proteins — You can teach an old dog new tricks.     

The visual pigment and visual cycle of the lobster,Homarus

Summary The visual pigment of the American lobster,Homarus americanus, has been studied in individual isolated rhabdoms by microspectrophotometry. Lobster rhodopsin has _max at 515 nm and is converted by light to a stable metarhodopsin with _max at 490 nm. These figures are in good agreement with corresponding values obtained by Wald and Hubbard (1957) in digitonin extracts. Photoregeneration of rhodopsin to metarhodopsin is also observed. The absorbance spectrum of lobster metarhodopsin is invariant with pH in the range 5.4–9, indicating that even after isomerization of the chromophore fromcis totrans, the binding site of the chromophore remains sequestered from the solvent environment. Total axial density of the lobster rhabdom to unpolarized light is about 0.7.As described for several other Crustacea, aldehyde fixation renders the metarhodopsin susceptible to photobleaching, a process that is faster at alkaline than at neutral or acid pH. Small amounts of a photoproduct with _max at 370 nm are occasionally seen. A slower dark bleaching of lobster rhabdoms (_1/2–2 h) also occurs, frequently through intermediates with absorption similar to metarhodopsin.The molar extinction coefficient of metarhodopsin is about 1.2 times greater than that of rhodopsin, each measured at their respective _max. Isomerization of the chromophore fromcis totrans is accompanied by a change in the orientation of the absorption vector of about 3°. The absorption vector of metarhodopsin is either tilted more steeply into the membrane or is less tightly oriented with respect to the microvillar axes.When living lobsters are kept at room temperature, light adaptation does not result in an accumulation of metarhodopsin. At 4 °C, however, the same adapting lights cause a reduction of rhodopsin and an increase in metarhodopsin. There is thus a temperature-sensitive regeneration mechanism that supplements photoregeneration. Following 1 ms, 0.1 joule xenon flashes that convert about 70% of the rhodopsin to metarhodopsin in vivo, dark regeneration occurs in the living eye with half-times of about 25 and 55 min at 22 °C and 15 °C respectively.This work was supported by USPHS research grant EY 00222 to Yale University. S.N.B. was aided by NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship EY 52378.     

Conceptual and visual features contribute to visual memory for natural images

We examined the role of conceptual and visual similarity in a memory task for natural images. The important novelty of our approach was that visual similarity was determined using an algorithm [1] instead of being judged subjectively. This similarity index takes colours and spatial frequencies into account. For each target, four distractors were selected that were (1) conceptually and visually similar, (2) only conceptually similar, (3) only visually similar, or (4) neither conceptually nor visually similar to the target image. Participants viewed 219 images with the instruction to memorize them. Memory for a subset of these images was tested subsequently. In Experiment 1, participants performed a two-alternative forced choice recognition task and in Experiment 2, a yes/no-recognition task. In Experiment 3, testing occurred after a delay of one week. We analyzed the distribution of errors depending on distractor type. Performance was lowest when the distractor image was conceptually and visually similar to the target image, indicating that both factors matter in such a memory task. After delayed testing, these differences disappeared. Overall performance was high, indicating a large-capacity, detailed visual long-term memory.     

Sounds reset rhythms of visual cortex and corresponding human visual perception

An event in one sensory modality can phase reset brain oscillations concerning another modality. In principle, this may result in stimulus-locked periodicity in behavioral performance. Here we considered this possible cross-modal impact of a sound for one of the best-characterized rhythms arising from the visual system, namely occipital alpha-oscillations (8-14 Hz). We presented brief sounds and concurrently recorded electroencephalography (EEG) and/or probed visual cortex excitability (phosphene perception) through occipital transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). In a first, TMS-only experiment, phosphene perception rate against time postsound showed a periodic pattern cycling at ~10 Hz phase-aligned to the sound. In a second, combined TMS-EEG experiment, TMS-trials reproduced the cyclical phosphene pattern and revealed a ~10 Hz pattern also for EEG-derived measures of occipital cortex reactivity to the TMS pulses. Crucially, EEG-data from intermingled trials without TMS established cross-modal phase-locking of occipitoparietal alpha oscillations. These independently recorded variables, i.e., occipital cortex excitability and reactivity and EEG phase dynamics, were significantly correlated. This shows that cross-modal phase locking of oscillatory visual cortex activity can arise in the human brain to affect perceptual and EEG measures of visual processing in a cyclical manner, consistent with occipital alpha oscillations underlying a rapid cycling of neural excitability in visual areas.     

Unit responses of the squirrel visual cortex to shaped visual stimuli

Visual cortical unit responses of the squirrelSciurus vulgaris to shaped visual stimuli (stationary and moving spots and bands) were studied. Neurons responding selectively to the direction of stimulus movement and orientation of lines and those not responding selectively to these features were distinguished. Many neurons, whether responding selectively or not to movement direction, were specifically sensitive to high speeds of movement, of the order of hundreds of degrees per second. This selectivity in neurons responding selectively to movement direction persisted at these high speeds, despite the short time taken by the stimulus to move across the receptive field. Neurons responding selectively to line orientation were sensitive to lower speeds of stimulus movement — from units to tens of degrees per second. Neuronal sensitivity to high speeds of stimulus movement is achieved through rapid summation of excitation from large areas of the receptive field crossed by the fast-moving stimulus. Selectivity of the response to movement direction is produced under these conditions with the aid of directed short-latency inhibition, inhibiting unit activity for stimulus movement in "zero" direction.     

From visual experience to visual function: roles of neurotrophins.

Recently, a role for neurotrophins in regulating cortical developmental plasticity has clearly emerged. We present in this review a summary of the early data on the action of nerve growth factor (NGF) in visual cortical development and plasticity in the rat and of other neurotrophins in the visual cortex of other mammals. In addition, to clarify the differences in the results obtained with the various neurotrophins in different animal preparations, we also report new data on the action of NGF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotrophin (NT)3, and NT4 in the same preparation-namely, the visual cortex of the rat. We discuss old and new results in a physiological model in which different neurotrophins play different roles in regulating visual cortical development and plasticity by acting on different neural targets, such as lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) afferents, intracortical circuitry, and subcortical afferents, and propose a tentative scheme summarizing these actions.     

Similarity of visual selectivity among clonally related neurons in visual cortex

Neurons in rodent visual cortex are organized in a salt-and-pepper fashion for orientation selectivity, but it is still unknown how this functional architecture develops. A recent study reported that the progeny of single cortical progenitor cells are preferentially connected in the postnatal cortex. If these neurons acquire similar selectivity through their connections, a salt-and-pepper organization may be generated, because neurons derived from different progenitors are intermingled in rodents. Here we investigated whether clonally related cells have similar preferred orientation by using a transgenic mouse, which labels all the progeny of single cortical progenitor cells. We found that preferred orientations of clonally related cells are similar to each other, suggesting that cell lineage is involved in the development of response selectivity of neurons in the cortex. However, not all clonally related cells share response selectivity, suggesting that cell lineage is not the only determinant of response selectivity.