Stimulus-specific regulation of visual oddball differentiation in posterior parietal cortex

Zhe Charles Zhou,Wei Angel Huang,Ehsan Negahbani,Hiroyuki K Kato,Iain M Stitt,Flavio Fröhlich,Morgan L Alexander,Yiyi Yu,Jordan P Hamm

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-70448-6

Abstract

The frequency at which a stimulus is presented determines how it is interpreted. For example, a repeated image may be of less interest than an image that violates the prior sequence. This process involves integration of sensory information and internal representations of stimulus history, functions carried out in higher-order sensory areas such as the posterior parietal cortex (PPC). Thus far, there are few detailed reports investigating the single-neuron mechanisms for processing of stimulus presentation frequency in PPC. To address this gap in knowledge, we recorded PPC activity using 2-photon calcium imaging and electrophysiology during a visual oddball paradigm. Calcium imaging results reveal differentiation at the level of single neurons for frequent versus rare conditions which varied depending on whether the stimulus was preferred or non-preferred by the recorded neural population. Such differentiation of oddball conditions was mediated primarily by stimulus-independent adaptation in the frequent condition.

Highlights

The frequency at which a stimulus is presented determines how it is interpreted
We investigated how direction preference in posterior parietal cortex (PPC) influences processing of oddball conditions at the level of single neurons in the population using electrophysiology and 2-photon calcium imaging
We found that mismatch response (MMR) manifested in a stimulus-specific manner in both the single-neuron 2-photon calcium imaging and in the local field potential (LFP) activity: MMR occurred for the local population-preferred stimulus, but not for the opponent direction stimulus

Summary

Introduction

The frequency at which a stimulus is presented determines how it is interpreted. For example, a repeated image may be of less interest than an image that violates the prior sequence. To address this gap in knowledge, we recorded PPC activity using 2-photon calcium imaging and electrophysiology during a visual oddball paradigm. Calcium imaging results reveal differentiation at the level of single neurons for frequent versus rare conditions which varied depending on whether the stimulus was preferred or non-preferred by the recorded neural population. Such differentiation of oddball conditions was mediated primarily by stimulusindependent adaptation in the frequent condition. Neurons encoding different stimulus features effectively compete to relay behaviorally-relevant information to downstream areas

Methods

Findings

Conclusion