Orientation selectivity in inhibition-dominated networks of spiking neurons: effect of single neuron properties and network dynamics.

ABSTRACT: The neuronal mechanisms underlying the emergence of orientation selectivity in the primary visual cortex of mammals are still elusive. In rodents, visual neurons show highly selective responses to oriented stimuli, but neighboring neurons do not necessarily have similar preferences. Instead of a smooth map, one observes a salt-and-pepper organization of orientation selectivity. Modeling studies have recently confirmed that balanced random networks are indeed capable of amplifying weakly tuned inputs and generating highly selective output responses, even in absence of feature-selective recurrent connectivity. Here we seek to elucidate the neuronal mechanisms underlying this phenomenon by resorting to networks of integrate-and-fire neurons, which are amenable to analytic treatment. Specifica

SUBMITTER: Sadeh S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4287576 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature