| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cerebral Cortex 1996; 6:329-341
© Oxford University Press 1996
Feature Article |
The Functional Organization of Local Circuits in Visual Cortex: Insights from the Study of Tree Shrew Striate Cortex
Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center Durham, North Carolina 27710
Address correspondence to D. Fitzpatrick, Department of Neurobiology, Box 3209, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710
We have used a combination of anatomical and physiological techniques to explore the functional organization of vertical and horizontal connections in tree shrew striate cortex. Our studies of vertical connections reveal a remarkable specificity in the laminar arrangement of the projections from layer IV to layer III that establishes three parallel intracortical pathways. The pathways that emerge from layer IV are not simple continuations of parallel thalamocortical pathways. Layer IV and its connections with layer II/III restructure the inputs from the LGN, combining the activity from ON and OFF channels and from the left and right eye and transmit the products of this synthesis to separate strata within the overlying layers. In addition, studies of two other prominent vertical connection pathways, the projections from layer VI to layer IV and from layer II/III to layer V suggest that the parallel nature of these systems is perpetuated throughout the cortical depth.
Our studies of horizontal connections have revealed a systematic relationship between a neuron's orientation preference and the distribution of its axon arbor across the cortical map of visual space. Horizontal connections in layer II/III extend for greater distances and give rise to a greater number of terminals along an axis of the visual field map that corresponds to the neuron's preferred orientation. These findings suggest that the contribution of horizontal inputs to the response properties of layer II/III neurons is likely to be greater in regions of visual space that lie along the axis of preferred orientation (endzones) than along the orthogonal axis (side zones). Topographically aligned horizontal connections may contribute to the orientation preference of layer II/III neurons and could account for the axial specificity of some receptive field surround effects.
Together, these results emphasize that specificity in the spatial arrangement of local circuit axon arbors plays an important role in shaping the response properties of neurons in visual cortex.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  M. Kouh and T. Poggio A Canonical Neural Circuit for Cortical Nonlinear Operations Neural Comput., June 1, 2008; 20(6): 1427 - 1451. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 V. Egger, T. Nevian, and R. M. Bruno Subcolumnar Dendritic and Axonal Organization of Spiny Stellate and Star Pyramid Neurons within a Barrel in Rat Somatosensory Cortex Cereb Cortex, April 1, 2008; 18(4): 876 - 889. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. D. Van Hooser Similarity and Diversity in Visual Cortex: Is There a Unifying Theory of Cortical Computation? Neuroscientist, December 1, 2007; 13(6): 639 - 656. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J.-V. Le Be, G. Silberberg, Y. Wang, and H. Markram Morphological, Electrophysiological, and Synaptic Properties of Corticocallosal Pyramidal Cells in the Neonatal Rat Neocortex Cereb Cortex, September 1, 2007; 17(9): 2204 - 2213. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T. R. Tucker and D. Fitzpatrick Luminance-Evoked Inhibition in Primary Visual Cortex: A Transient Veto of Simultaneous and Ongoing Response J. Neurosci., December 27, 2006; 26(52): 13537 - 13547. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. F. McLaughlin and S. L. Juliano Disruption of Layer 4 Development Alters Laminar Processing in Ferret Somatosensory Cortex Cereb Cortex, November 1, 2005; 15(11): 1791 - 1803. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 B. D. Moore IV, H. J. Alitto, and W. M. Usrey Orientation Tuning, But Not Direction Selectivity, Is Invariant to Temporal Frequency in Primary Visual Cortex J Neurophysiol, August 1, 2005; 94(2): 1336 - 1345. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 E. D. JARVIS Learned Birdsong and the Neurobiology of Human Language Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., June 1, 2004; 1016(1): 749 - 777. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. H. Schwartz Optical Imaging of Epileptiform Events in Visual Cortex in Response to Patterned Photic Stimulation Cereb Cortex, December 1, 2003; 13(12): 1287 - 1298. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. M. Martinez and J.-M. Alonso Complex Receptive Fields in Primary Visual Cortex Neuroscientist, October 1, 2003; 9(5): 317 - 331. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. A. Hirsch Synaptic Physiology and Receptive Field Structure in the Early Visual Pathway of the Cat Cereb Cortex, January 1, 2003; 13(1): 63 - 69. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. D. S. Raizada and S. Grossberg Towards a Theory of the Laminar Architecture of Cerebral Cortex: Computational Clues from the Visual System Cereb Cortex, January 1, 2003; 13(1): 100 - 113. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. Contreras and R. Llinas Voltage-Sensitive Dye Imaging of Neocortical Spatiotemporal Dynamics to Afferent Activation Frequency J. Neurosci., December 1, 2001; 21(23): 9403 - 9413. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
R. S. Petersen and M. E. Diamond Spatial-Temporal Distribution of Whisker-Evoked Activity in Rat Somatosensory Cortex and the Coding of Stimulus Location J. Neurosci., August 15, 2000; 20(16): 6135 - 6143. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
E. Erwin and K. D. Miller Correlation-Based Development of Ocularly Matched Orientation and Ocular Dominance Maps: Determination of Required Input Activities J. Neurosci., December 1, 1998; 18(23): 9870 - 9895. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. A. Hirsch, C. A. Gallagher, J.-M. Alonso, and L. M. Martinez Ascending Projections of Simple and Complex Cells in Layer 6 of the Cat Striate Cortex J. Neurosci., October 1, 1998; 18(19): 8086 - 8094. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
V. Castellani, Y. Yue, P.-P. Gao, R. Zhou, and J. Bolz Dual Action of a Ligand for Eph Receptor Tyrosine Kinases on Specific Populations of Axons during the Development of Cortical Circuits J. Neurosci., June 15, 1998; 18(12): 4663 - 4672. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 Y. Adini, D. Sagi, and M. Tsodyks Excitatory-inhibitory network in the visual cortex: Psychophysical evidence PNAS, September 16, 1997; 94(19): 10426 - 10431. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
V. Castellani and J. Bolz Membrane-associated molecules regulate the formation of layer-specific cortical circuits PNAS, June 24, 1997; 94(13): 7030 - 7035. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 L. M. Martinez, J.-M. Alonso, R. C. Reid, and J. A. Hirsch Laminar processing of stimulus orientation in cat visual cortex J. Physiol., April 1, 2002; 540(1): 321 - 333. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. A. Hirsch, L. M. Martinez, J.-M. Alonso, K. Desai, C. Pillai, and C. Pierre Synaptic physiology of the flow of information in the cat's visual cortex in vivo J. Physiol., April 1, 2002; 540(1): 335 - 350. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|