Neurons in the primary visual cortex of freely moving rats encode both sensory and non-sensory task variables.
PLoS Biol
; 21(12): e3002384, 2023 Dec.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38048367
ABSTRACT
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.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Córtex Visual
/
Percepção Visual
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
PLoS Biol
Assunto da revista:
BIOLOGIA
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos