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Topographically Localized Modulation of Tectal Cell Spatial Tuning by Complex Natural Scenes

The tuning properties of neurons in the visual system can be contextually modulated by the statistics of the area surrounding their receptive field (RF), particularly when the surround contains natural features. However, stimuli presented in specific egocentric locations may have greater behavioral...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Sainsbury, Thomas T. J., Diana, Giovanni, Meyer, Martin P.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Society for Neuroscience 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9833049/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36543538
http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0223-22.2022
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author Sainsbury, Thomas T. J.
Diana, Giovanni
Meyer, Martin P.
author_facet Sainsbury, Thomas T. J.
Diana, Giovanni
Meyer, Martin P.
author_sort Sainsbury, Thomas T. J.
collection PubMed
description The tuning properties of neurons in the visual system can be contextually modulated by the statistics of the area surrounding their receptive field (RF), particularly when the surround contains natural features. However, stimuli presented in specific egocentric locations may have greater behavioral relevance, raising the possibility that the extent of contextual modulation may vary with position in visual space. To explore this possibility, we utilized the small size and optical transparency of the larval zebrafish to describe the form and spatial arrangement of contextually modulated cells throughout an entire tectal hemisphere. We found that the spatial tuning of tectal neurons to a prey-like stimulus sharpens when the stimulus is presented against a background with the statistics of complex natural scenes, relative to a featureless background. These neurons are confined to a spatially restricted region of the tectum and have receptive fields centered within a region of visual space in which the presence of prey preferentially triggers hunting behavior. Our results suggest that contextual modulation of tectal neurons by complex backgrounds may facilitate prey-localization in cluttered visual environments.
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spelling pubmed-98330492023-01-12 Topographically Localized Modulation of Tectal Cell Spatial Tuning by Complex Natural Scenes Sainsbury, Thomas T. J. Diana, Giovanni Meyer, Martin P. eNeuro Research Article: New Research The tuning properties of neurons in the visual system can be contextually modulated by the statistics of the area surrounding their receptive field (RF), particularly when the surround contains natural features. However, stimuli presented in specific egocentric locations may have greater behavioral relevance, raising the possibility that the extent of contextual modulation may vary with position in visual space. To explore this possibility, we utilized the small size and optical transparency of the larval zebrafish to describe the form and spatial arrangement of contextually modulated cells throughout an entire tectal hemisphere. We found that the spatial tuning of tectal neurons to a prey-like stimulus sharpens when the stimulus is presented against a background with the statistics of complex natural scenes, relative to a featureless background. These neurons are confined to a spatially restricted region of the tectum and have receptive fields centered within a region of visual space in which the presence of prey preferentially triggers hunting behavior. Our results suggest that contextual modulation of tectal neurons by complex backgrounds may facilitate prey-localization in cluttered visual environments. Society for Neuroscience 2022-01-05 /pmc/articles/PMC9833049/ /pubmed/36543538 http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0223-22.2022 Text en Copyright © 2023 Sainsbury et al. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided that the original work is properly attributed.
spellingShingle Research Article: New Research
Sainsbury, Thomas T. J.
Diana, Giovanni
Meyer, Martin P.
Topographically Localized Modulation of Tectal Cell Spatial Tuning by Complex Natural Scenes
title Topographically Localized Modulation of Tectal Cell Spatial Tuning by Complex Natural Scenes
title_full Topographically Localized Modulation of Tectal Cell Spatial Tuning by Complex Natural Scenes
title_fullStr Topographically Localized Modulation of Tectal Cell Spatial Tuning by Complex Natural Scenes
title_full_unstemmed Topographically Localized Modulation of Tectal Cell Spatial Tuning by Complex Natural Scenes
title_short Topographically Localized Modulation of Tectal Cell Spatial Tuning by Complex Natural Scenes
title_sort topographically localized modulation of tectal cell spatial tuning by complex natural scenes
topic Research Article: New Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9833049/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36543538
http://dx.doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0223-22.2022
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