Neurons in the primary visual cortex of freely moving rats encode both sensory and non-sensory task variables.
Neurons in primary visual cortex (area V1) are strongly driven by both sensory stimuli and non-sensory events. However, although the representation of sensory stimuli has been well characterized, much less is known about the representation of non-sensory events. Here, we characterize the specificity...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2023-12-01
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| Series: | PLoS Biology |
| Online Access: | https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3002384&type=printable |
| _version_ | 1797319364647583744 |
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| author | Anqi Zhang Anthony M Zador |
| author_facet | Anqi Zhang Anthony M Zador |
| author_sort | Anqi Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Neurons in primary visual cortex (area V1) are strongly driven by both sensory stimuli and non-sensory events. However, although the representation of sensory stimuli has been well characterized, much less is known about the representation of non-sensory events. Here, we characterize the specificity and organization of non-sensory representations in rat V1 during a freely moving visual decision task. We find that single neurons encode diverse combinations of task features simultaneously and across task epochs. Despite heterogeneity at the level of single neuron response patterns, both visual and nonvisual task variables could be reliably decoded from small neural populations (5 to 40 units) throughout a trial. Interestingly, in animals trained to make an auditory decision following passive observation of a visual stimulus, some but not all task features could also be decoded from V1 activity. Our results support the view that even in V1-the earliest stage of the cortical hierarchy-bottom-up sensory information may be combined with top-down non-sensory information in a task-dependent manner. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T04:05:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a3d86014db434e6884ad8cb7d6014e1f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1544-9173 1545-7885 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T04:05:51Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-a3d86014db434e6884ad8cb7d6014e1f2024-02-09T05:30:25ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Biology1544-91731545-78852023-12-012112e300238410.1371/journal.pbio.3002384Neurons in the primary visual cortex of freely moving rats encode both sensory and non-sensory task variables.Anqi ZhangAnthony M ZadorNeurons in primary visual cortex (area V1) are strongly driven by both sensory stimuli and non-sensory events. However, although the representation of sensory stimuli has been well characterized, much less is known about the representation of non-sensory events. Here, we characterize the specificity and organization of non-sensory representations in rat V1 during a freely moving visual decision task. We find that single neurons encode diverse combinations of task features simultaneously and across task epochs. Despite heterogeneity at the level of single neuron response patterns, both visual and nonvisual task variables could be reliably decoded from small neural populations (5 to 40 units) throughout a trial. Interestingly, in animals trained to make an auditory decision following passive observation of a visual stimulus, some but not all task features could also be decoded from V1 activity. Our results support the view that even in V1-the earliest stage of the cortical hierarchy-bottom-up sensory information may be combined with top-down non-sensory information in a task-dependent manner.https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3002384&type=printable |
| spellingShingle | Anqi Zhang Anthony M Zador Neurons in the primary visual cortex of freely moving rats encode both sensory and non-sensory task variables. PLoS Biology |
| title | Neurons in the primary visual cortex of freely moving rats encode both sensory and non-sensory task variables. |
| title_full | Neurons in the primary visual cortex of freely moving rats encode both sensory and non-sensory task variables. |
| title_fullStr | Neurons in the primary visual cortex of freely moving rats encode both sensory and non-sensory task variables. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Neurons in the primary visual cortex of freely moving rats encode both sensory and non-sensory task variables. |
| title_short | Neurons in the primary visual cortex of freely moving rats encode both sensory and non-sensory task variables. |
| title_sort | neurons in the primary visual cortex of freely moving rats encode both sensory and non sensory task variables |
| url | https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3002384&type=printable |
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