Abstract
Neurons in visual cortex are linked by an extensive network of lateral connections. To study the effect of these connections on neural responses, we recorded spikes and local field potentials (LFPs) from multi-electrode arrays that were implanted in monkey and cat primary visual cortex. Spikes at each location generated outward traveling LFP waves. When the visual stimulus was absent or had low contrast, these LFP waves had large amplitudes and traveled over long distances. Their effect was strong: LFP traces at any site could be predicted by the superposition of waves that were evoked by spiking in a ∼1.5-mm radius. As stimulus contrast increased, both the magnitude and the distance traveled by the waves progressively decreased. We conclude that the relative weight of feedforward and lateral inputs in visual cortex is not fixed, but rather depends on stimulus contrast. Lateral connections dominate at low contrast, when spatial integration of signals is perhaps most beneficial.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to B. Malone, A. Benucci and S. Katzner for help with data collection and valuable discussions. This work was supported by grants from the US National Institutes of Health (EY-17396 to M.C., EY-12816 and EY-18322 to D.L.R.) and DARPA (FA8650-06-C-7633 to D.L.R.), an Oppenheimer/Stein Endowment Award (D.L.R.), a Scholar Award from the McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience (M.C.) and a Leopoldina fellowship (BMBF-LPD9901/8-165 to L.B.). M.C. holds the GlaxoSmithKline/Fight for Sight Chair in Visual Neuroscience.
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Nauhaus, I., Busse, L., Carandini, M. et al. Stimulus contrast modulates functional connectivity in visual cortex. Nat Neurosci 12, 70–76 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.2232
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.2232
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