Defining the V5/MT neuronal pool for perceptual decisions in a visual stereo-motion task

In the primate visual cortex, neurons signal differences in the appearance of objects with high precision. However, not all activated neurons contribute directly to perception. We defined the perceptual pool in extrastriate visual area V5/MT for a stereo-motion task, based on trial-by-trial co-varia...

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Main Authors: Krug, K, Curnow, TL, Parker, AJ
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: Royal Society 2016
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author Krug, K
Curnow, TL
Parker, AJ
author_facet Krug, K
Curnow, TL
Parker, AJ
author_sort Krug, K
collection OXFORD
description In the primate visual cortex, neurons signal differences in the appearance of objects with high precision. However, not all activated neurons contribute directly to perception. We defined the perceptual pool in extrastriate visual area V5/MT for a stereo-motion task, based on trial-by-trial co-variation between perceptual decisions and neuronal firing (choice probability (CP)). Macaque monkeys were trained to discriminate the direction of rotation of a cylinder, using the binocular depth between the moving dots that form its front and rear surfaces. We manipulated the activity of single neurons trial-to-trial by introducing task-irrelevant stimulus changes: dot motion in cylinders was aligned with neuronal preference on only half the trials, so that neurons were strongly activated with high firing rates on some trials and considerably less activated on others. We show that single neurons maintain high neurometric sensitivity for binocular depth in the face of substantial changes in firing rate. CP was correlated with neurometric sensitivity, not level of activation. In contrast, for individual neurons, the correlation between perceptual choice and neuronal activity may be fundamentally different when responding to different stimulus versions. Therefore, neuronal pools supporting sensory discrimination must be structured flexibly and independently for each stimulus configuration to be discriminated.
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spelling oxford-uuid:d6421acb-d653-482b-b526-d5059bad57762023-12-19T09:29:14ZDefining the V5/MT neuronal pool for perceptual decisions in a visual stereo-motion taskJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:d6421acb-d653-482b-b526-d5059bad5776EnglishSymplectic Elements at OxfordRoyal Society2016Krug, KCurnow, TLParker, AJIn the primate visual cortex, neurons signal differences in the appearance of objects with high precision. However, not all activated neurons contribute directly to perception. We defined the perceptual pool in extrastriate visual area V5/MT for a stereo-motion task, based on trial-by-trial co-variation between perceptual decisions and neuronal firing (choice probability (CP)). Macaque monkeys were trained to discriminate the direction of rotation of a cylinder, using the binocular depth between the moving dots that form its front and rear surfaces. We manipulated the activity of single neurons trial-to-trial by introducing task-irrelevant stimulus changes: dot motion in cylinders was aligned with neuronal preference on only half the trials, so that neurons were strongly activated with high firing rates on some trials and considerably less activated on others. We show that single neurons maintain high neurometric sensitivity for binocular depth in the face of substantial changes in firing rate. CP was correlated with neurometric sensitivity, not level of activation. In contrast, for individual neurons, the correlation between perceptual choice and neuronal activity may be fundamentally different when responding to different stimulus versions. Therefore, neuronal pools supporting sensory discrimination must be structured flexibly and independently for each stimulus configuration to be discriminated.
spellingShingle Krug, K
Curnow, TL
Parker, AJ
Defining the V5/MT neuronal pool for perceptual decisions in a visual stereo-motion task
title Defining the V5/MT neuronal pool for perceptual decisions in a visual stereo-motion task
title_full Defining the V5/MT neuronal pool for perceptual decisions in a visual stereo-motion task
title_fullStr Defining the V5/MT neuronal pool for perceptual decisions in a visual stereo-motion task
title_full_unstemmed Defining the V5/MT neuronal pool for perceptual decisions in a visual stereo-motion task
title_short Defining the V5/MT neuronal pool for perceptual decisions in a visual stereo-motion task
title_sort defining the v5 mt neuronal pool for perceptual decisions in a visual stereo motion task
work_keys_str_mv AT krugk definingthev5mtneuronalpoolforperceptualdecisionsinavisualstereomotiontask
AT curnowtl definingthev5mtneuronalpoolforperceptualdecisionsinavisualstereomotiontask
AT parkeraj definingthev5mtneuronalpoolforperceptualdecisionsinavisualstereomotiontask