Functional characterization and spatial clustering of visual cortical neurons in the predatory grasshopper mouse Onychomys arenicola
Abstract
Mammalian neocortical circuits are functionally organized such that the selectivity of individual neurons systematically shifts across the cortical surface, forming a continuous map. Maps of the sensory space exist in cortex, such as retinotopic maps in the visual system or tonotopic maps in the auditory system, but other functional response properties also may be similarly organized. For example, many carnivores and primates possess a map for orientation selectivity in primary visual cortex (V1), whereas mice, rabbits, and the gray squirrel lack orientation maps. In this report we show that a carnivorous rodent with predatory behaviors, the grasshopper mouse ( Onychomys arenicola), lacks a canonical columnar organization of orientation preference in V1; however, neighboring neurons within 50 μm exhibit related tuning preference. Using a combination of two-photon microscopy and extracellular electrophysiology, we demonstrate that the functional organization of visual cortical neurons in the grasshopper mouse is largely the same as in the C57/BL6 laboratory mouse. We also find similarity in the selectivity for stimulus orientation, direction, and spatial frequency. Our results suggest that the properties of V1 neurons across rodent species are largely conserved.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2017
- Source ID
- 10.1152/jn.00779.2016
Entities
People
- Ashlee Rowe
- Benjamin Scholl
- Jagruti J. Pattadkal
- Nicholas J. Priebe
Organizations
- Army Research Office
- Max Planck Florida Institute
- Michigan State University
- National Institutes of Health
- National Science Foundation
- The Pew Charitable Trusts
- University of Texas at Austin