RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Perceptual detection depends on spike count integration
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 865410
DO 10.1101/865410
A1 Jackson J. Cone
A1 Morgan L. Bade
A1 Nicolas Y. Masse
A1 Elizabeth A. Page
A1 David J. Freedman
A1 John H.R. Maunsell
YR 2020
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/03/14/865410.abstract
AB Whenever the retinal image changes some neurons in visual cortex increase their rate of firing, while others decrease their rate of firing. Linking specific sets of neuronal responses with perception and behavior is essential for understanding mechanisms of neural circuit computation. We trained mice to perform visual detection tasks and used optogenetic perturbations to increase or decrease neuronal spiking primary visual cortex (V1). Perceptual reports were always enhanced by increments in V1 spike counts and impaired by decrements, even when increments and decrements were delivered to the same neuronal populations. Moreover, detecting changes in cortical activity depended on spike count integration rather than instantaneous changes in spiking. Recurrent neural networks trained in the task similarly relied on increments in neuronal activity when activity was costly. This work clarifies neuronal decoding strategies employed by cerebral cortex to translate cortical spiking into percepts that can be used to guide behavior.