TY - JOUR
T1 - Laminar dependence of neuronal correlations in visual cortex
AU - Smith, Matthew A.
AU - Jia, Xiaoxuan
AU - Zandvakili, Amin
AU - Kohn, Adam
PY - 2013/2/15
Y1 - 2013/2/15
N2 - Neuronal responses are correlated on a range of timescales. Correlations can affect population coding and may play an important role in cortical function. Correlations are known to depend on stimulus drive, behavioral context, and experience, but the mechanisms that determine their properties are poorly understood. Here we make use of the laminar organization of cortex, with its variations in sources of input, local circuit architecture, and neuronal properties, to test whether networks engaged in similar functions but with distinct properties generate different patterns of correlation. We find that slow timescale correlations are prominent in the superficial and deep layers of primary visual cortex (V1) of macaque monkeys, but near zero in the middle layers. Brief timescale correlation (synchrony), on the other hand, was slightly stronger in the middle layers of V1, although evident at most cortical depths. Laminar variations were also apparent in the power of the local field potential, with a complementary pattern for low frequency (<10 Hz) and gamma (30-50 Hz) power. Recordings in area V2 revealed a laminar dependence similar to V1 for synchrony, but slow timescale correlations were not different between the input layers and nearby locations. Our results reveal that cortical circuits in different laminae can generate remarkably different patterns of correlations, despite being tightly interconnected.
AB - Neuronal responses are correlated on a range of timescales. Correlations can affect population coding and may play an important role in cortical function. Correlations are known to depend on stimulus drive, behavioral context, and experience, but the mechanisms that determine their properties are poorly understood. Here we make use of the laminar organization of cortex, with its variations in sources of input, local circuit architecture, and neuronal properties, to test whether networks engaged in similar functions but with distinct properties generate different patterns of correlation. We find that slow timescale correlations are prominent in the superficial and deep layers of primary visual cortex (V1) of macaque monkeys, but near zero in the middle layers. Brief timescale correlation (synchrony), on the other hand, was slightly stronger in the middle layers of V1, although evident at most cortical depths. Laminar variations were also apparent in the power of the local field potential, with a complementary pattern for low frequency (<10 Hz) and gamma (30-50 Hz) power. Recordings in area V2 revealed a laminar dependence similar to V1 for synchrony, but slow timescale correlations were not different between the input layers and nearby locations. Our results reveal that cortical circuits in different laminae can generate remarkably different patterns of correlations, despite being tightly interconnected.
KW - Cortical layers
KW - Neuronal correlation
KW - Population coding
KW - V1
KW - Visual cortex
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84874074859&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84874074859&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1152/jn.00846.2012
DO - 10.1152/jn.00846.2012
M3 - Article
C2 - 23197461
AN - SCOPUS:84874074859
SN - 0022-3077
VL - 109
SP - 940
EP - 947
JO - Journal of neurophysiology
JF - Journal of neurophysiology
IS - 4
ER -