Unexpected events trigger task-independent signaling in VIP and excitatory neurons of mouse visual cortex.

ABSTRACT: The visual cortex predicts incoming sensory stimuli through internal models that are updated following unexpected events. Cortical inhibitory neurons, particularly vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) interneurons, play a critical role in representing unexpected stimuli. Notably, this response is stimulus non-specific, raising the question of what information it conveys. Given their unique connectivity, we hypothesized that during unexpected stimuli, VIP neurons encode broad context signals, referred to here as task-independent information. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed the Allen Institute Visual Behavior dataset, in which mice viewed repeated familiar images and unexpected omissions of these images, while two-photon calcium imaging was performed from distinct cell types across p

SUBMITTER: Najafi F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11787536 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature