Layer 5 Circuits in V1 Differentially Control Visuomotor Behavior.

ABSTRACT: Neocortical sensory areas are thought to act as distribution hubs, transmitting information about the external environment to downstream areas. Within primary visual cortex, various populations of pyramidal neurons (PNs) send axonal projections to distinct targets, suggesting multiple cellular networks may be independently engaged during behavior. We investigated whether PN subpopulations differentially support visual detection by training mice on a novel eyeblink conditioning task. Applying 2-photon calcium imaging and optogenetic manipulation of anatomically defined PNs, we show that layer 5 corticopontine neurons strongly encode sensory and motor task information and are selectively necessary for performance. Our findings support a model in which target-specific cortical subnetworks for

SUBMITTER: Tang L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6981039 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature