Enhancement and contextual modulation of visuospatial processing by thalamocollicular projections from ventral lateral geniculate nucleus.

ABSTRACT: In the mammalian visual system, the ventral lateral geniculate nucleus (vLGN) of the thalamus receives salient visual input from the retina and sends prominent GABAergic axons to the superior colliculus (SC). However, whether and how vLGN contributes to fundamental visual information processing remains largely unclear. Here, we report in mice that vLGN facilitates visually-guided approaching behavior mediated by the lateral SC and enhances the sensitivity of visual object detection. This can be attributed to the extremely broad spatial integration of vLGN neurons, as reflected in their much lower preferred spatial frequencies and broader spatial receptive fields than SC neurons. Through GABAergic thalamocollicular projections, vLGN specifically exerts prominent surround suppression of visu

SUBMITTER: Li Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10638288 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature