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Activation of specific interneurons improves V1 feature selectivity and visual perception.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Lee, S-H; Kwan, AC; Zhang, S; Phoumthipphavong, V; Flannery, JG; Masmanidis, SC; Taniguchi, H; Huang, ZJ; Zhang, F; Boyden, ES; Deisseroth, K; Dan, Y
Published in: Nature
August 16, 2012

Inhibitory interneurons are essential components of the neural circuits underlying various brain functions. In the neocortex, a large diversity of GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) interneurons has been identified on the basis of their morphology, molecular markers, biophysical properties and innervation pattern. However, how the activity of each subtype of interneurons contributes to sensory processing remains unclear. Here we show that optogenetic activation of parvalbumin-positive (PV+) interneurons in the mouse primary visual cortex (V1) sharpens neuronal feature selectivity and improves perceptual discrimination. Using multichannel recording with silicon probes and channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2)-mediated optical activation, we found that increased spiking of PV+ interneurons markedly sharpened orientation tuning and enhanced direction selectivity of nearby neurons. These effects were caused by the activation of inhibitory neurons rather than a decreased spiking of excitatory neurons, as archaerhodopsin-3 (Arch)-mediated optical silencing of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IIα (CAMKIIα)-positive excitatory neurons caused no significant change in V1 stimulus selectivity. Moreover, the improved selectivity specifically required PV+ neuron activation, as activating somatostatin or vasointestinal peptide interneurons had no significant effect. Notably, PV+ neuron activation in awake mice caused a significant improvement in their orientation discrimination, mirroring the sharpened V1 orientation tuning. Together, these results provide the first demonstration that visual coding and perception can be improved by increased spiking of a specific subtype of cortical inhibitory interneurons.

Duke Scholars

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Published In

Nature

DOI

EISSN

1476-4687

Publication Date

August 16, 2012

Volume

488

Issue

7411

Start / End Page

379 / 383

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • gamma-Aminobutyric Acid
  • Wakefulness
  • Visual Perception
  • Visual Cortex
  • Rhodopsins, Microbial
  • Parvalbumins
  • Neural Inhibition
  • Models, Neurological
  • Mice
  • Interneurons
 

Citation

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ICMJE
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Lee, S.-H., Kwan, A. C., Zhang, S., Phoumthipphavong, V., Flannery, J. G., Masmanidis, S. C., … Dan, Y. (2012). Activation of specific interneurons improves V1 feature selectivity and visual perception. Nature, 488(7411), 379–383. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11312
Lee, Seung-Hee, Alex C. Kwan, Siyu Zhang, Victoria Phoumthipphavong, John G. Flannery, Sotiris C. Masmanidis, Hiroki Taniguchi, et al. “Activation of specific interneurons improves V1 feature selectivity and visual perception.Nature 488, no. 7411 (August 16, 2012): 379–83. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11312.
Lee S-H, Kwan AC, Zhang S, Phoumthipphavong V, Flannery JG, Masmanidis SC, et al. Activation of specific interneurons improves V1 feature selectivity and visual perception. Nature. 2012 Aug 16;488(7411):379–83.
Lee, Seung-Hee, et al. “Activation of specific interneurons improves V1 feature selectivity and visual perception.Nature, vol. 488, no. 7411, Aug. 2012, pp. 379–83. Pubmed, doi:10.1038/nature11312.
Lee S-H, Kwan AC, Zhang S, Phoumthipphavong V, Flannery JG, Masmanidis SC, Taniguchi H, Huang ZJ, Zhang F, Boyden ES, Deisseroth K, Dan Y. Activation of specific interneurons improves V1 feature selectivity and visual perception. Nature. 2012 Aug 16;488(7411):379–383.
Journal cover image

Published In

Nature

DOI

EISSN

1476-4687

Publication Date

August 16, 2012

Volume

488

Issue

7411

Start / End Page

379 / 383

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • gamma-Aminobutyric Acid
  • Wakefulness
  • Visual Perception
  • Visual Cortex
  • Rhodopsins, Microbial
  • Parvalbumins
  • Neural Inhibition
  • Models, Neurological
  • Mice
  • Interneurons