title: Spatial gradients and multidimensional dynamics in a neural integrator circuit.
abstract: In a neural integrator, the variability and topographical organization of neuronal firing-rate persistence can provide information about the circuit's functional architecture. We used optical recording to measure the time constant of decay of persistent firing (persistence time) across a population of neurons comprising the larval zebrafish oculomotor velocity-to-position neural integrator. We found extensive persistence time variation (tenfold; coefficients of variation = 0.58-1.20) across cells in individual larvae. We also found that the similarity in firing between two neurons decreased as the distance between them increased and that a gradient in persistence time was mapped along the rostrocaudal and dorsoventral axes. This topography is consistent with the emergence of persistence time heterogeneity from a circuit architecture in which nearby neurons are more strongly interconnected than distant ones. Integrator circuit models characterized by multiple dimensions of slow firing-rate dynamics can account for our results.
authors.affiliation: Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Miri
authors.forename: Kayvon
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Daie
authors.forename: Aristides B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Arrenberg
authors.forename: Herwig
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Baier
authors.forename: Emre
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aksay
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Tank
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000166:cytology; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D003198:Computer Simulation; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D007839:Functional Laterality; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D007814:Larva; D008027:Light; D051739:Microphthalmia-Associated Transcription Factor / Q000172:deficiency; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D013997:Time Factors; D015027:Zebrafish; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D051739:Microphthalmia-Associated Transcription Factor; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins; C497237:mitfa protein, zebrafish; D002118:Calcium