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| Open AccessLayer 4 of mouse neocortex differs in cell types and circuit organization between sensory areas
Layer 4 of the mammalian neocortex is important for cortical information processing but its cellular composition and local circuits remains elusive. The authors compared two primary sensory cortical areas of mice and found differences in cell composition and local connectivity.
- Federico Scala
- , Dmitry Kobak
- & Andreas Savas Tolias
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Article
| Open AccessConscious perception of natural images is constrained by category-related visual features
Visual objects from similar semantic categories present activity patterns that cluster together in higher visual areas. The authors show that conscious access differs between semantic categories and is driven by category-related visual features commonly associated with processing in higher level visual areas.
- Daniel Lindh
- , Ilja G. Sligte
- & Ian Charest
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Article
| Open AccessMuscarinic acetylcholine receptor signaling generates OFF selectivity in a simple visual circuit
Drosophila larvae are able to perform visually-guided behaviours yet the molecular and circuit mechanisms for discriminating changes in light intensity are not known. Here, the authors report that ON versus OFF discrimination results from opposing cholinergic and glutamatergic mechanisms.
- Bo Qin
- , Tim-Henning Humberg
- & Quan Yuan
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Article
| Open AccessHippocampal-neocortical interactions sharpen over time for predictive actions
In familiar environments, humans automatically anticipate the sensory consequences of their motor actions. Here, the authors show how action-based predictions arise from interactions between the hippocampus and visual cortex, and how these interactions strengthen and weaken over time.
- Nicholas C. Hindy
- , Emily W. Avery
- & Nicholas B. Turk-Browne
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Article
| Open AccessEvidence for allocentric boundary and goal direction information in the human entorhinal cortex and subiculum
In rodents, cells in the medial entorhinal cortex and subiculum are known to encode the allocentric direction to nearby walls and boundaries. Here, using fMRI the authors show that this is also true in humans, with allocentric boundary direction being encoded in posterior entorhinal cortex and subiculum.
- J. P. Shine
- , J. P. Valdés-Herrera
- & T. Wolbers
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Article
| Open AccessA dual role of prestimulus spontaneous neural activity in visual object recognition
The effect of spontaneous variations in prestimulus neural activity on subsequent perception is incompletely understood. Here, using MEG, the authors identify two distinct neural processes that can influence object recognition in different ways.
- Ella Podvalny
- , Matthew W. Flounders
- & Biyu J. He
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Article
| Open AccessVentral midbrain stimulation induces perceptual learning and cortical plasticity in primates
Practice can improve the perception of stimuli used to achieve a task (perceptual learning). Here, the authors show in monkeys that perceptual learning can be produced even for irrelevant stimuli if the stimuli are paired with stimulation of a dopaminergic centre, the ventral tegmental area (VTA).
- John T. Arsenault
- & Wim Vanduffel
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Article
| Open AccessA flexible readout mechanism of human sensory representations
It is known that attention can modify the brain's representations of sensory stimuli to enhance features of importance. Here, the authors show that flexible readout of cortical representations is also required to explain the behavioral effects of attention.
- Daniel Birman
- & Justin L. Gardner
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Perspective
| Open AccessA systems biology approach towards understanding and treating non-neovascular age-related macular degeneration
No effective therapies exist for dry age-related macular degeneration. In this perspective, the authors propose that research should emphasize system biology approaches that integrate various ‘omics’ data into mathematical models to establish pathogenic mechanisms on which to design novel treatments, and identify biomarkers that predict disease progression and therapeutic response.
- James T. Handa
- , Cathy Bowes Rickman
- & Lindsay A. Farrer
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Article
| Open AccessPlasticity versus stability across the human cortical visual connectome
It is thought that higher cortical areas are more plastic than lower ones, but there is little direct evidence for this. Here, the authors show that plasticity (defined as lower heritability) of functional connectivity decreases from early to mid-level visual cortex, and then increases further up the visual hierarchy.
- Koen V. Haak
- & Christian F. Beckmann
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Article
| Open AccessParadoxical impact of memory on color appearance of faces
What is the function of color vision? Here, the authors show that when retinal mechanisms of color are impaired, memory has a paradoxical impact on color appearance that is selective for faces, providing evidence that color contributes to face encoding and social communication.
- Maryam Hasantash
- , Rosa Lafer-Sousa
- & Bevil R. Conway
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Article
| Open AccessSpatial suppression promotes rapid figure-ground segmentation of moving objects
The visual system excels at segregating moving objects from their backgrounds, a key visual function hypothesized to be driven by suppressive centre-surround mechanisms. Here, the authors show that spatial suppression of background motion signals is critical for rapid segmentation of moving objects.
- Duje Tadin
- , Woon Ju Park
- & Randolph Blake
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Article
| Open AccessA neuronal correlate of insect stereopsis
The praying mantis, a predatory insect, estimates depth via binocular vision. In this way, the animal decides whether prey is within reach. Here, the authors explore the neural correlates of binocular distance estimation and report that individual neurons are tuned to specific locations in 3D space.
- Ronny Rosner
- , Joss von Hadeln
- & Jenny C. A. Read
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Article
| Open AccessNeural mechanisms of contextual modulation in the retinal direction selective circuit
The mechanisms of contextual modulation in direction selective ganglion cells in the retina remain unclear. Here, the authors find that that On-Off direction-selective ganglion cells are differentially sensitive to discontinuities of dark and bright moving edges in the visual environment and, using synapse-specific genetic manipulations with functional measurements, reveal the microcircuits underlying this contextual sensitivity.
- Xiaolin Huang
- , Melissa Rangel
- & Wei Wei
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Article
| Open AccessForm vision from melanopsin in humans
The perception of spatial patterns (form vision) is thought to rely on rod and cone cells in the retina. Here, the authors show that a third kind of retinal cell, melanopsin-expressing ganglion cells, can also detect form in humans, under particular conditions.
- Annette E. Allen
- , Franck P. Martial
- & Robert J. Lucas
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Article
| Open AccessDynamic assembly of ribbon synapses and circuit maintenance in a vertebrate sensory system
Ribbon synapses in our sensory nervous system are central to hearing and sight, yet little is known about how these synapses are assembled and maintained during development. In this study, authors use live imaging techniques to monitor ribbon appearance, loss and maintenance in a retinal circuit during development to show that nascent synapses comprising of both ribbons and PSD95 are more stable over time compared to contacts without ribbons.
- Haruhisa Okawa
- , Wan-Qing Yu
- & Rachel O. L. Wong
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Article
| Open AccessHow face perception unfolds over time
We can rapidly determine the gender, age and identity of a face, but the exact steps involved are unclear. Here, the authors show using magnetoencephalography (MEG) that gender and age are encoded in the brain before identity, and reveal the role of familiarity in the earliest stages of face processing.
- Katharina Dobs
- , Leyla Isik
- & Nancy Kanwisher
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Article
| Open AccessRestoration of high-sensitivity and adapting vision with a cone opsin
Activating the spared neurons downstream of rods and cones is a potential therapeutic approach for retinal degeneration, but has been limited by the characteristics of the opsins available. Here, the authors use medium wavelength cone opsin which has faster kinetics than others and show that it resolves some of these difficulties in a mouse model.
- Michael H. Berry
- , Amy Holt
- & Ehud Y. Isacoff
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Article
| Open AccessInverse resource allocation between vision and olfaction across the genus Drosophila
Neural architecture may be shaped by selection, but is likely also constrained by development. Here, Keesey and colleagues find an inverse relationship between allocation towards visual and olfactory sensory systems across the genus Drosophila, which may reflect a developmental trade-off.
- Ian W. Keesey
- , Veit Grabe
- & Bill S. Hansson
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Article
| Open AccessContrast and luminance adaptation alter neuronal coding and perception of stimulus orientation
Sensory systems produce stable stimulus representations despite constant changes across multiple stimulus dimensions. Here, the authors reveal dynamic neural coding mechanisms by testing how coding of one dimension (orientation) changes with adaptations to other dimensions (luminance and contrast).
- Masoud Ghodrati
- , Elizabeth Zavitz
- & Nicholas S. C. Price
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Article
| Open AccessLearning to optimize perceptual decisions through suppressive interactions in the human brain
Learning improves perceptual decisions by enhancing the brain's ability to filter noise and irrelevant information. Here, the authors show that GABAergic inhibition in decision-making circuits supports our ability to optimize perceptual judgments through learning and experience.
- Polytimi Frangou
- , Uzay E. Emir
- & Zoe Kourtzi
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Article
| Open AccessAvian UV vision enhances leaf surface contrasts in forest environments
The utility of UV vision for visualizing habitat structure is poorly known. Here, the authors use optical models and multispectral imaging to show that UV vision reveals sharp visual contrasts between leaf surfaces, potentially an advantage in navigating forest environments.
- Cynthia Tedore
- & Dan-Eric Nilsson
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Article
| Open AccessThe HisCl1 histamine receptor acts in photoreceptors to synchronize Drosophila behavioral rhythms with light-dark cycles
The role of the HisCl1 histamine receptor in the Drosophila visual system remains unclear. This study shows that HisCl1 is expressed in Rh6-photoreceptors where its function is sufficient for circadian entrainment by incorporating synaptic inputs from other photoreceptors.
- Faredin Alejevski
- , Alexandra Saint-Charles
- & François Rouyer
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Article
| Open AccessFunctional imaging of visual cortical layers and subplate in awake mice with optimized three-photon microscopy
Two-photon microscopy is a powerful tool for studying neuronal activity but cannot easily image deeper cortical layers. Here, the authors design a custom microscope for three-photon microscopy and use it to reveal response properties of layer 5, 6, and subplate visual cortical neurons.
- Murat Yildirim
- , Hiroki Sugihara
- & Mriganka Sur
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Article
| Open AccessConcurrent influence of top-down and bottom-up inputs on correlated activity of Macaque extrastriate neurons
Changes in correlated activity of neurons are believed to influence their information coding capacity. Here, the authors show how top-down and bottom-up inputs and their interaction differentially alter the correlated activity of neurons in extrastriate cortex
- Yaser Merrikhi
- , Kelsey Clark
- & Behrad Noudoost
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Article
| Open AccessOrganizing principles of pulvino-cortical functional coupling in humans
The pulvinar is involved in vision and attention, but its interactions with other brain regions are little-studied. Here, using fMRI the authors show that the human pulvinar has widespread functional coupling with cortical areas that reflects its intrinsic organization and the topographic layout of cortex.
- Michael J. Arcaro
- , Mark A. Pinsk
- & Sabine Kastner
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Article
| Open AccessLocomotion modulates specific functional cell types in the mouse visual thalamus
Locomotion is known to modulate neuronal firing in both the visual thalamus (LGN) and V1. Here, the authors characterize the LGN modulation in detail and report that neurons with transient ON responses for high spatial frequency stimuli show the strongest gain modulation.
- Çağatay Aydın
- , João Couto
- & Vincent Bonin
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Article
| Open AccessHigh-resolution ultramicroscopy of the developing and adult nervous system in optically cleared Drosophila melanogaster
Optical aberrations due to pigments in the eye and cuticle have undermined the ability for high-resolution imaging of the intact Drosophila. Here, the authors report an improved tissue-clearing agent, light-sheet optics and a multi-view combining algorithm to overcome these limitations.
- Marko Pende
- , Klaus Becker
- & Hans-Ulrich Dodt
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Article
| Open AccessPerceptual learning of fine contrast discrimination changes neuronal tuning and population coding in macaque V4
Perceptual learning, the improvement in perceptual abilities with training, is thought to involve changes in neuronal 'tuning'. Here, the authors show that perceptual learning works by making neurons increasingly sensitive to task-relevant differences in stimuli, and by improving population coding mechanisms.
- Mehdi Sanayei
- , Xing Chen
- & Alexander Thiele
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Article
| Open AccessFunctional modulation of primary visual cortex by the superior colliculus in the mouse
The role of the superior colliculus (SC) in modulating V1 cortical activity is not clear. Here, the authors demonstrate the functional role of SC in modulating V1 responses through an excitatory pathway via the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus.
- Mehran Ahmadlou
- , Larry S. Zweifel
- & J. Alexander Heimel
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Article
| Open AccessForward models demonstrate that repetition suppression is best modelled by local neural scaling
The neural mechanisms underlying the suppression of fMRI responses to repeated stimuli are under debate. Here, the authors compare computational models to show that only a local scaling model can fit univariate and multivariate fMRI repetition effects across two paradigms and multiple brain regions.
- Arjen Alink
- , Hunar Abdulrahman
- & Richard N. Henson
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Article
| Open AccessAdaptation decorrelates shape representations
Adaptation is thought to improve discrimination by pulling neural representations of similar stimuli farther apart. Here, the authors separately show that adaptation to a 3D shape class leads to better discrimination performance on similar shapes, and activity patterns diverge in object selective cortical areas.
- Marcelo G. Mattar
- , Maria Olkkonen
- & Geoffrey K. Aguirre
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Article
| Open AccessRevisiting the functional significance of binocular cues for perceiving motion-in-depth
The presence of opposite horizontal motion in the two eyes is a cue for perceiving motion-in-depth, but also leads to suppressed motion sensitivity. Here, the authors address this paradox and show that spatial and interocular integration mechanisms, distinct from the extraction of motion-in-depth, drive suppression.
- Peter J. Kohler
- , Wesley J. Meredith
- & Anthony M. Norcia
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Article
| Open AccessCommensal microflora-induced T cell responses mediate progressive neurodegeneration in glaucoma
Glaucoma is a neurodegenerative disease of which the etiology is still unclear. Here the authors show that elevation of intraocular pressure induces T cell infiltration in the eyes. Furthermore, they show that T cell cross-reactivity between endogenous and commensal antigens contributes to disease onset in mice.
- Huihui Chen
- , Kin-Sang Cho
- & Dong F. Chen
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Article
| Open AccessSpatial frequency sensitivity in macaque midbrain
In primates, the superior colliculus (SC) contributes to rapid visual exploration with saccades. Here the authors show that the superior colliculus preferentially represents low spatial frequencies, which are the most prevalent in natural scenes.
- Chih-Yang Chen
- , Lukas Sonnenberg
- & Ziad M. Hafed
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Article
| Open AccessSingle cell transcriptome profiling of retinal ganglion cells identifies cellular subtypes
Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are diverse in cellular function and physiology. This study demonstrates additional RGC heterogeneity using single cell transcriptomic analyses to classify 40 classes of RGCs in early postnatal mice before eye opening.
- Bruce A. Rheaume
- , Amyeo Jereen
- & Ephraim F. Trakhtenberg
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Article
| Open AccessAttentional fluctuations induce shared variability in macaque primary visual cortex
Attention reduces correlated variability in population activity, however the effect of fluctuations in attentional state has not been studied. Here, the authors report in a novel visual task that fluctuations in attentional allocation have a pronounced effect on correlated variability at longer timescales.
- George H. Denfield
- , Alexander S. Ecker
- & Andreas S. Tolias
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Article
| Open AccessTask-dependent representations of stimulus and choice in mouse parietal cortex
The precise role of PPC in transforming sensory signals to relevant actions is not yet clear. Here, the authors show that unlike V1, which is largely driven by visual input, PPC is strongly task-dependent and exhibits a mixture of stimulus and choice signals in a visual decision task.
- Gerald N. Pho
- , Michael J. Goard
- & Mriganka Sur
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Article
| Open AccessArousal dependent modulation of thalamo-cortical functional interaction
Thalamo-cortical circuit dynamics are tuned according to behavioral demands, yet the neural mechanisms are not well understood. Here the authors report arousal level-dependent switch in the functional interactions between the thalamus and cortex in ferrets both in spontaneous activity as well as during visual processing.
- Iain Stitt
- , Zhe Charles Zhou
- & Flavio Fröhlich
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Article
| Open AccessTop-down feedback controls spatial summation and response amplitude in primate visual cortex
Feedback modulation of V1 is implicated in functions such as attention yet the precise neural mechanisms are not known. Here the authors report that optogenetic inactivation of V2 projections leads to modulation of V1 receptive field properties such as size, surround suppression and response amplitude.
- Lauri Nurminen
- , Sam Merlin
- & Alessandra Angelucci
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Article
| Open AccessMapping higher-order relations between brain structure and function with embedded vector representations of connectomes
The function of a brain region is determined by the network it is embedded in. Here the authors implement the word2vec algorithm for connectomes generating a vector embedding of the connectivity structure for each node allowing inference about functional relationships between brain regions.
- Gideon Rosenthal
- , František Váša
- & Olaf Sporns
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Article
| Open AccessRepresentation of multiple objects in macaque category-selective areas
Inferotemporal cortex (IT) neurons respond to specific objects but the precise neural mechanisms for clutter-invariant representation is not known. Here the authors show that face and body patch IT neurons respond to multiple objects with winner-take-all, contralateral-take-all or weighted averaging depending on the stimulus properties.
- Pinglei Bao
- & Doris Y. Tsao
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Article
| Open AccessIncreased proteasomal activity supports photoreceptor survival in inherited retinal degeneration
Proteasomal overload can be found in a broad spectrum of mouse models of retinal degeneration. Here the authors find that overexpressing the PA28α subunit of the 11S proteasome cap increased the number of surviving functional photoreceptor cells in a mouse model of retinal degeneration bearing the P23H mutation in rhodopsin.
- Ekaterina S. Lobanova
- , Stella Finkelstein
- & Vadim Y. Arshavsky
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Article
| Open AccessDedicated photoreceptor pathways in Drosophila larvae mediate navigation by processing either spatial or temporal cues
The response of Drosophila larva to light depends on both spatial and temporal inputs. Here the authors show that Rhodopsin5 photoreceptors, but not Rhodopsin6 photoreceptors, are required for conveying spatial light cues.
- Tim-Henning Humberg
- , Pascal Bruegger
- & Simon G. Sprecher
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Article
| Open AccessDivergent midbrain circuits orchestrate escape and freezing responses to looming stimuli in mice
In response to environmental threats, such as visual looming stimuli, mice either freeze or escape. Here the authors demonstrate that these two behaviors are mediated by separate tectofugal pathways formed by parvalbumin-positive neurons in the superior colliculus.
- Congping Shang
- , Zijun Chen
- & Peng Cao
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Article
| Open AccessDesign and validation of a foldable and photovoltaic wide-field epiretinal prosthesis
Retinal prostheses are being developed to fight severe retinal diseases where wider visual field and higher visual acuity are desired. Here Ferlauto et al. design a foldable and wide-field epiretinal prosthesis that can meet the performance and safety requirements and show a long lifetime of 2 years.
- Laura Ferlauto
- , Marta Jole Ildelfonsa Airaghi Leccardi
- & Diego Ghezzi
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Article
| Open AccessDevelopment differentially sculpts receptive fields across early and high-level human visual cortex
Population receptive fields (pRFs) in the visual system are key information-processors, but how they develop is unknown. Here, authors use fMRI and pRF modeling in children and adults to show that in the ventral stream only pRFs in face- and word-selective regions continue to develop, mirroring changes in viewing behavior.
- Jesse Gomez
- , Vaidehi Natu
- & Kalanit Grill-Spector
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Article
| Open AccessSystematic generation of biophysically detailed models for diverse cortical neuron types
Neocortical circuits exhibit diverse cell types that can be difficult to build into computational models. Here the authors employ a genetic algorithm-based parameter optimization to generate multi-compartment Hodgkin-Huxley models for diverse cell types in the Allen Cell Types Database.
- Nathan W. Gouwens
- , Jim Berg
- & Anton Arkhipov
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Article
| Open AccessJoint coding of shape and blur in area V4
Blurred edges of objects can aid in depth perception and segmentation, yet how it is combined with shape information in the visual pathway is unknown. Here the authors report that neurons in higher visual area V4 represent both object shape and boundary blur, controlling for stimulus size, intensity and curvature.
- Timothy D. Oleskiw
- , Amy Nowack
- & Anitha Pasupathy