Attention decouples action potentials from the phase of local field potentials in macaque visual cortical area MT
Abstract Background The timing of action potentials (“spikes”) of cortical neurons has been shown to be aligned to the phase of low-frequency (< 10 Hz) local field potentials (LFPs) in several cortical areas. However, across the areas, this alignment varies and the role of this spike-phase coupli...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2018-08-01
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| Series: | BMC Biology |
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| Online Access: | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12915-018-0551-2 |
| _version_ | 1818131712830341120 |
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| author | Moein Esghaei Mohammad Reza Daliri Stefan Treue |
| author_facet | Moein Esghaei Mohammad Reza Daliri Stefan Treue |
| author_sort | Moein Esghaei |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The timing of action potentials (“spikes”) of cortical neurons has been shown to be aligned to the phase of low-frequency (< 10 Hz) local field potentials (LFPs) in several cortical areas. However, across the areas, this alignment varies and the role of this spike-phase coupling (SPC) in cognitive functions is not well understood. Results Here, we propose a role in the coordination of neural activity by selective attention. After refining previous analytical methods for measuring SPC, we show that first, SPC is present along the dorsal processing pathway in macaque visual cortex (area MT); second, spikes occur in falling phases of the low-frequency LFP independent of the location of spatial attention; third, switching spatial attention into the receptive field (RF) of MT neurons decreases this coupling; and finally, the LFP phase causally influences the spikes. Conclusions Here, we show that spikes are coupled to the phase of low-frequency LFP along the dorsal visual pathway. Our data suggest that attention harnesses this spike-LFP coupling to de-synchronize neurons and thereby enhance the neural representation of the attended stimuli. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T08:25:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-43731c8e8d3a41ac92e5f62f662b21f8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1741-7007 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T08:25:18Z |
| publishDate | 2018-08-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-43731c8e8d3a41ac92e5f62f662b21f82022-12-22T01:14:34ZengBMCBMC Biology1741-70072018-08-0116111310.1186/s12915-018-0551-2Attention decouples action potentials from the phase of local field potentials in macaque visual cortical area MTMoein Esghaei0Mohammad Reza Daliri1Stefan Treue2Cognitive Neurobiology Laboratory, School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM)Cognitive Neurobiology Laboratory, School of Cognitive Sciences, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM)Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center – Leibniz Institute for Primate ResearchAbstract Background The timing of action potentials (“spikes”) of cortical neurons has been shown to be aligned to the phase of low-frequency (< 10 Hz) local field potentials (LFPs) in several cortical areas. However, across the areas, this alignment varies and the role of this spike-phase coupling (SPC) in cognitive functions is not well understood. Results Here, we propose a role in the coordination of neural activity by selective attention. After refining previous analytical methods for measuring SPC, we show that first, SPC is present along the dorsal processing pathway in macaque visual cortex (area MT); second, spikes occur in falling phases of the low-frequency LFP independent of the location of spatial attention; third, switching spatial attention into the receptive field (RF) of MT neurons decreases this coupling; and finally, the LFP phase causally influences the spikes. Conclusions Here, we show that spikes are coupled to the phase of low-frequency LFP along the dorsal visual pathway. Our data suggest that attention harnesses this spike-LFP coupling to de-synchronize neurons and thereby enhance the neural representation of the attended stimuli.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12915-018-0551-2Local field potential (LFP)Spike-phase couplingArea MTMacaqueSpatial attentionInter-neuronal correlation |
| spellingShingle | Moein Esghaei Mohammad Reza Daliri Stefan Treue Attention decouples action potentials from the phase of local field potentials in macaque visual cortical area MT BMC Biology Local field potential (LFP) Spike-phase coupling Area MT Macaque Spatial attention Inter-neuronal correlation |
| title | Attention decouples action potentials from the phase of local field potentials in macaque visual cortical area MT |
| title_full | Attention decouples action potentials from the phase of local field potentials in macaque visual cortical area MT |
| title_fullStr | Attention decouples action potentials from the phase of local field potentials in macaque visual cortical area MT |
| title_full_unstemmed | Attention decouples action potentials from the phase of local field potentials in macaque visual cortical area MT |
| title_short | Attention decouples action potentials from the phase of local field potentials in macaque visual cortical area MT |
| title_sort | attention decouples action potentials from the phase of local field potentials in macaque visual cortical area mt |
| topic | Local field potential (LFP) Spike-phase coupling Area MT Macaque Spatial attention Inter-neuronal correlation |
| url | http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12915-018-0551-2 |
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