Neural manifolds in V1 change with top-down signals from V4 targeting the foveal region
Aitor Morales-Gregorio,
Anno C. Kurth,
Junji Ito,
Alexander Kleinjohann,
Frédéric V. Barthélemy,
Thomas Brochier,
Sonja Grün,
Sacha J. van Albada
Affiliations
Aitor Morales-Gregorio
Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany; Institute of Zoology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany; Corresponding author
Anno C. Kurth
Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany; RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
Junji Ito
Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
Alexander Kleinjohann
Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany; Theoretical Systems Neurobiology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
Frédéric V. Barthélemy
Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany; Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone (INT), CNRS and Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France
Thomas Brochier
Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone (INT), CNRS and Aix-Marseille Université, Marseille, France
Sonja Grün
Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany; Theoretical Systems Neurobiology, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany; JARA-Institut Brain Structure-Function Relationships (INM-10), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
Sacha J. van Albada
Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6), Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany; Institute of Zoology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
Summary: High-dimensional brain activity is often organized into lower-dimensional neural manifolds. However, the neural manifolds of the visual cortex remain understudied. Here, we study large-scale multi-electrode electrophysiological recordings of macaque (Macaca mulatta) areas V1, V4, and DP with a high spatiotemporal resolution. We find that the population activity of V1 contains two separate neural manifolds, which correlate strongly with eye closure (eyes open/closed) and have distinct dimensionalities. Moreover, we find strong top-down signals from V4 to V1, particularly to the foveal region of V1, which are significantly stronger during the eyes-open periods. Finally, in silico simulations of a balanced spiking neuron network qualitatively reproduce the experimental findings. Taken together, our analyses and simulations suggest that top-down signals modulate the population activity of V1. We postulate that the top-down modulation during the eyes-open periods prepares V1 for fast and efficient visual responses, resulting in a type of visual stand-by state.
