title: Neuronal Representation of Ultraviolet Visual Stimuli in Mouse Primary Visual Cortex.
abstract: The mouse has become an important model for understanding the neural basis of visual perception. Although it has long been known that mouse lens transmits ultraviolet (UV) light and mouse opsins have absorption in the UV band, little is known about how UV visual information is processed in the mouse brain. Using a custom UV stimulation system and in vivo calcium imaging, we characterized the feature selectivity of layer 2/3 neurons in mouse primary visual cortex (V1). In adult mice, a comparable percentage of the neuronal population responds to UV and visible stimuli, with similar pattern selectivity and receptive field properties. In young mice, the orientation selectivity for UV stimuli increased steadily during development, but not direction selectivity. Our results suggest that, by expanding the spectral window through which the mouse can acquire visual information, UV sensitivity provides an important component for mouse vision.
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 19700 Helix Dr., Ashburn, Virginia, 20147.
authors.forename: Zhongchao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 19700 Helix Dr., Ashburn, Virginia, 20147.
authors.forename: Wenzhi
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 19700 Helix Dr., Ashburn, Virginia, 20147.
authors.forename: Tsai-Wen
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 19700 Helix Dr., Ashburn, Virginia, 20147.
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 19700 Helix Dr., Ashburn, Virginia, 20147.
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ji
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009949:Orientation / Q000502:physiology; D010775:Photic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*