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Neuronal mechanisms of selectivity for object features revealed by blocking inhibition in inferotemporal cortex

Nature Neuroscience volume 3, pages 807–813 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

The inferotemporal cortex (area TE) of monkeys, a higher station of the visual information stream for object recognition, contains neurons selective for particular object features. Little is known about how and where this selectivity is generated. We show that blockade of inhibition mediated by γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) markedly altered the selectivity of TE neurons by augmenting their responses to some stimuli but not to others. The effects were observed for particular groups of stimuli related to the originally effective stimuli or those that did not originally excite the neurons but activated nearby neurons. Intrinsic neuronal interactions within area TE thus determine the final characteristic of their selectivity, and GABAergic inhibition contributes to this process.

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Figure 1: Stimulus specific effects of blocking GABAergic inhibition on visual responses of a TE neuron.
Figure 2: Change in stimulus selectivity of a TE neuron following bicuculline application was correlated with normal selectivity of a nearby neuron.
Figure 3: Stimulus features disinhibited by bicuculline were related to the originally effective stimulus features in specific parameter domains.
Figure 4: Population data for changes in stimulus selectivity for specific feature dimensions or for components of a stimulus.
Figure 5: Correlation between the change in stimulus selectivity induced by blocking GABAergic inhibition and the selectivity of nearby TE neurons under normal conditions.
Figure 6: Response correlation between neurons.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Hiroshi Tamura for comments on the manuscript. This work was supported by a CREST grant from the Japan Science and Technology Corporation, and grants from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture. In the earlier stages of this work, Y.W. was supported by a fellowship from the Uehara Memorial Foundation, and Y.M. by a fellowship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for Young Scientists.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Osaka University Medical School, Suita, 565-0871, Osaka, Japan

    Yi Wang, Ichiro Fujita & Yusuke Murayama

  2. Department of Biophysical Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, 560-8537, Osaka, Japan

    Yi Wang & Ichiro Fujita

  3. Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology (CREST), Japan Science and Technology Corporation,

    Yi Wang & Ichiro Fujita

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  1. Yi Wang
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Correspondence to Ichiro Fujita.

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Wang, Y., Fujita, I. & Murayama, Y. Neuronal mechanisms of selectivity for object features revealed by blocking inhibition in inferotemporal cortex. Nat Neurosci 3, 807–813 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/77712

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