Optimal temporal decoding of neural population responses in a reaction-time visual detection task.

ABSTRACT: Behavioral performance in detection and discrimination tasks is likely to be limited by the quality and nature of the signals carried by populations of neurons in early sensory cortical areas. Here we used voltage-sensitive dye imaging (VSDI) to directly measure neural population responses in the primary visual cortex (V1) of monkeys performing a reaction-time detection task. Focusing on the temporal properties of the population responses, we found that V1 responses are consistent with a stimulus-evoked response with amplitude and latency that depend on target contrast and a stimulus-independent additive noise with long-lasting temporal correlations. The noise had much lower amplitude than the ongoing activity reported previously in anesthetized animals. To understand the implications of t

SUBMITTER: Chen Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2667890 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature