Dataset Information

Direction and contrast tuning of macaque MSTd neurons during saccades.

ABSTRACT: Saccades are rapid eye movements that change the direction of gaze, although the full-field image motion associated with these movements is rarely perceived. The attenuation of visual perception during saccades is referred to as saccadic suppression. The mechanisms that produce saccadic suppression are not well understood. We recorded from neurons in the dorsal medial superior temporal area (MSTd) of alert macaque monkeys and compared the neural responses produced by the retinal slip associated with saccades (active motion) to responses evoked by identical motion presented during fixation (passive motion). We provide evidence for a neural correlate of saccadic suppression and expand on two contentious results from previous studies. First, we confirm the finding that some neurons in MSTd reverse their preferred direction during saccades. We quantify this effect by calculating changes in direction tuning index for a large cell population. Second, it has been noted that neural activity associated with saccades can arrive in the parietal cortex

SUBMITTER: Crowder NA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2694120 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Direction and contrast tuning of macaque MSTd neurons during saccades.

Crowder Nathan A NA Price Nicholas S C NS Mustari Michael J MJ Ibbotson Michael R MR

Journal of neurophysiology 20090408 6

Saccades are rapid eye movements that change the direction of gaze, although the full-field image motion associated with these movements is rarely perceived. The attenuation of visual perception during saccades is referred to as saccadic suppression. The mechanisms that produce saccadic suppression are not well understood. We recorded from neurons in the dorsal medial superior temporal area (MSTd) of alert macaque monkeys and compared the neural responses produced by the retinal slip associated ...[more]

PMID: 19357345

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Project description:The head direction (HD) system functions as the brain's internal compass1,2, classically formalized as a one-dimensional ring attractor network3,4. In contrast to a globally consistent magnetic compass, the HD system does not have a universal reference frame. Instead, it anchors to local cues, maintaining a stable offset when cues rotate5-8 and drifting in the absence of referents5,8-10. However, questions about the mechanisms that underlie anchoring and drift remain unresolved and are best addressed at the population level. For example, the extent to which the one-dimensional description of population activity holds under conditions of reorientation and drift is unclear. Here we performed population recordings of thalamic HD cells using calcium imaging during controlled rotations of a visual landmark. Across experiments, population activity varied along a second dimension, which we refer to as network gain, especially under circumstances of cue conflict and ambiguity. Activity along this dimension predicted realignment and drift dynamics, including the speed of network realignment. In the dark, network gain maintained a 'memory trace' of the previously displayed landmark. Further experiments demonstrated that the HD network returned to its baseline orientation after brief, but not longer, exposures to a rotated cue. This experience dependence suggests that memory of previous associations between HD neurons and allocentric cues is maintained and influences the internal HD representation. Building on these results, we show that continuous rotation of a visual landmark induced rotation of the HD representation that persisted in darkness, demonstrating experience-dependent recalibration of the HD system. Finally, we propose a computational model to formalize how the neural compass flexibly adapts to changing environmental cues to maintain a reliable representation of HD. These results challenge classical one-dimensional interpretations of the HD system and provide insights into the interactions between this system and the cues to which it anchors.

Dataset Information

Direction and contrast tuning of macaque MSTd neurons during saccades.

Publications

Direction and contrast tuning of macaque MSTd neurons during saccades.

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