Department of Neurobiology, The Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 7610001, Israel.
Laboratory for Perceptual Dynamics, KU Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium.
Cereb Cortex. 2018 May 1;28(5):1794-1807. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhx090.
In cat early visual cortex, neural activity patterns resembling evoked orientation maps emerge spontaneously under anesthesia. To test if such patterns are synchronized between hemispheres, we performed bilateral imaging in anesthetized cats using a new improved voltage-sensitive dye. We observed map-like activity patterns spanning early visual cortex in both hemispheres simultaneously. Patterns virtually identical to maps associated with the cardinal and oblique orientations emerged as leading principal components of the spontaneous fluctuations, and the strength of transient orientation states was correlated with their duration, providing evidence that these maps are transiently attracting states. A neural mass model we developed reproduced the dynamics of both smooth and abrupt orientation state transitions observed experimentally. The model suggests that map-like activity arises from slow modulations in spontaneous firing in conjunction with interplay between excitation and inhibition. Our results highlight the efficiency and functional precision of interhemispheric connectivity.
在猫的早期视觉皮层中，麻醉状态下会自发出现类似于诱发的方位图的神经活动模式。为了测试这些模式是否在大脑两半球之间同步，我们使用一种新的改良的电压敏感染料在麻醉的猫中进行双侧成像。我们观察到双侧早期视觉皮层同时出现类似地图的活动模式。与主要方位和斜方位相关的几乎相同的模式作为自发波动的主导主成分出现，并且瞬态方位状态的强度与其持续时间相关，这为这些图是瞬态吸引状态提供了证据。我们开发的神经群体模型再现了实验中观察到的平滑和突然的方位状态转变的动力学。该模型表明，类似于地图的活动是由自发放电的缓慢调制以及兴奋和抑制之间的相互作用引起的。我们的结果突出了大脑两半球之间连接的效率和功能精度。
