Coding of stimulus sequences by population responses in visual cortex

Neuronal populations in sensory cortex represent the time-changing sensory input through a spatiotemporal code. What are the rules that govern this code? We measured membrane potentials and spikes from neuronal populations in cat visual cortex (V1), through voltage-sensitive dyes and electrode arrays. We first characterized the population response to a single orientation. As response amplitude grew, population tuning width remained constant for membrane potential responses and became progressively sharper for spike responses. We then asked how these single-orientation responses combine to code for successive orientations. We found that they combine through simple linear summation. Linearity, however, is violated after stimulus offset, when responses exhibit an unexplained persistence. Thanks to linearity, the interactions between responses to successive stimuli are minimal. We demonstrate that higher cortical areas may reconstruct the stimulus sequence from V1 population responses through a simple instantaneous decoder. In area V1, therefore, spatial and temporal coding operate largely independently.