Rapid mapping of visual receptive fields by filtered back projection: application to multi-neuronal electrophysiology and imaging.

ABSTRACT: Neurons in the visual system vary widely in the spatiotemporal properties of their receptive fields (RFs), and understanding these variations is key to elucidating how visual information is processed. We present a new approach for mapping RFs based on the filtered back projection (FBP), an algorithm used for tomographic reconstructions. To estimate RFs, a series of bars were flashed across the retina at pseudo-random positions and at a minimum of five orientations. We apply this method to retinal neurons and show that it can accurately recover the spatial RF and impulse response of ganglion cells recorded on a multi-electrode array. We also demonstrate its utility for in vivo imaging by mapping the RFs of an array of bipolar cell synapses expressing a genetically encoded Ca(2+) indicator.

SUBMITTER: Johnston J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4259530 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature