State dependence of noise correlations in macaque primary visual cortex.
Shared, trial-to-trial variability in neuronal populations has a strong impact on the accuracy of information processing in the brain. Estimates of the level of such noise correlations are diverse, ranging from 0.01 to 0.4, with little consensus on which factors account for these differences. Here we addressed one important factor that varied across studies, asking how anesthesia affects the population activity structure in macaque primary visual cortex. We found that under opioid anesthesia, activity was dominated by strong coordinated fluctuations on a timescale of 1-2 Hz, which were mostly absent in awake, fixating monkeys. Accounting for these global fluctuations markedly reduced correlations under anesthesia, matching those observed during wakefulness and reconciling earlier studies conducted under anesthesia and in awake animals. Our results show that internal signals, such as brain state transitions under anesthesia, can induce noise correlations but can also be estimated and accounted for based on neuronal population activity.
Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Tübingen, Germany; Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Tübingen, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany. Electronic address: alexander.ecker@uni-tuebingen.de.
Alexander S
AS
Ecker
Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Tübingen, Germany; Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Tübingen, Germany.
Philipp
P
Berens
Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
R James
RJ
Cotton
Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Manivannan
M
Subramaniyan
Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
George H
GH
Denfield
Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Cathryn R
CR
Cadwell
Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Stelios M
SM
Smirnakis
Werner Reichardt Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of Tübingen, Germany; Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Tübingen, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.
Matthias
M
Bethge
Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Tübingen, Germany; Department of Computational and Applied Mathematics, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA. Electronic address: astolias@bcm.edu.
Andreas S
AS
Tolias
D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D008297:Male; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D014795:Visual Pathways; D014851:Wakefulness
D000701:Analgesics, Opioid