Cellular mechanisms of brain-state-dependent gain modulation in visual cortex

By Pierre-Olivier Polack, Jonathan Friedman, P. Golshani. Nature Neuroscience, 2013

617 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Visual cortical neurons fire at higher rates to visual stimuli during locomotion than during immobility, while maintaining orientation selectivity. The mechanisms underlying this change in gain are not understood. We performed whole-cell recordings from layer 2/3 and layer 4 visual cortical excitatory neurons and from parvalbumin-positive and somatostatin-positive inhibitory neurons in mice that were free to rest or run on a spherical treadmill. We found that the membrane potential of all cell types became more depolarized and (with the exception of somatostatin-positive interneurons) less variable during locomotion. Cholinergic input was essential for maintaining the unimodal membrane potential distribution during immobility, whereas noradrenergic input was necessary for the tonic depolarization associated with locomotion. Our results provide a mechanism for how neuromodulation controls the gain and signal-to-noise ratio of visual cortical neurons during changes in the state of vigilance.

Subfields: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, Cognitive Neuroscience

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/2106476025d4af68c09c70efeb992176085017ca

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Citations in the corpus

Pupil fluctuations track fast switching of cortical states during quiet wakefulness (2014, positive): “We performed whole-cell patching and two-photon calcium imaging in awake mice (Bennett et al., 2013; Niell and Stryker, 2010; Polack et al., 2013) and focused our analysis on quiet periods between epochs of running and whisking.”
Waking State: Rapid Variations Modulate Neural and Behavioral Responses (2015, positive): “…et al., 2007; Gentet et al., 2010; Haider et al., 2013; Lee et al., 2013; McGinley et al., 2015; Nelson et al., 2013; Niell and Stryker, 2010; Polack et al., 2013; Poulet and Petersen, 2008; Reimer et al., 2014; Schölvinck et al., 2015; Vinck et al., 2015; Zagha et al., 2013; 1146 Neuron…”
Fast-spiking, parvalbumin+ GABAergic interneurons: From cellular design to microcircuit function (2014, background): “The action potential frequency of PV interneurons in both hippocampal and neocortical circuits increaseswith running (88, 97).”
Relationships between pupil diameter and neuronal activity in the locus coeruleus, colliculi, and cingulate cortex (2015, background): “This timed NE release, possibly in tandem with other neuromodulatory systems, may contribute to links between pupil fluctuations; network activity (or cortical states); and sensory,motor, and cognitive processing (Polack et al., 2013; Reimer et al., 2014; McGinley et al., 2015; Vinck et al., 2015; S”
A Sensorimotor Circuit in Mouse Cortex for Visual Flow Predictions. (2017, neutral): “, 2014) and noradrenergic (Polack et al., 2013) inputs to V1 have been described.”
Predictive Processing: A Canonical Cortical Computation (2018, positive): “, 2015) is thought to be the consequence of neuromodulatory inputs (Fu et al., 2014; Polack et al., 2013), which exert context dependent influence on responses in visual cortex (Pakan et al.”
Cortical membrane potential signature of optimal states for sensory signal detection (2015, background): “…locomotion is associated with enhanced sensory-evoked visual responses (over non-locomotion ) (Bennett et al., 2013; Niell and Stryker, 2010; Polack et al., 2013), while in auditory cortex locomotion results in significant suppression of sensory-evoked responses (McGinley et al., 2013;…”
A cortical circuit for gain control by behavioral state (2014, background): “…while SST neurons are inhibited during locomotion are in good agreement with the current consensus that VIP neuronsmainly innervate SST neurons (Lee et al., 2013; Pfeffer et al., 2013; Pi et al., 2013), although different effects on SST neurons have also been reported (Polack et al., 2013).”