Structural and functional connectivity between the lateral posterior-pulvinar complex and primary visual cortex in the ferret.
The role of higher-order thalamic structures in sensory processing remains poorly understood. Here, we used the ferret (Mustela putorius furo) as a novel model species for the study of the lateral posterior (LP)-pulvinar complex and its structural and functional connectivity with area 17 [primary visual cortex (V1)]. We found reciprocal anatomical connections between the lateral part of the LP nucleus of the LP-pulvinar complex (LPl) and V1. In order to investigate the role of this feedback loop between LPl and V1 in shaping network activity, we determined the functional interactions between LPl and the supragranular, granular and infragranular layers of V1 by recording multiunit activity and local field potentials. Coherence was strongest between LPl and the supragranular V1, with the most distinct peaks in the delta and alpha frequency bands. Inter-area interaction measured by spike-phase coupling identified the delta frequency band being dominated by the infragranular V1 and multiple frequency bands that were most pronounced in the supragranular V1. This inter-area coupling was differentially modulated by full-field synthetic and naturalistic visual stimulation. We also found that visual responses in LPl were distinct from those in V1 in terms of their reliability. Together, our data support a model of multiple communication channels between LPl and the layers of V1 that are enabled by oscillations in different frequency bands. This demonstration of anatomical and functional connectivity between LPl and V1 in ferrets provides a roadmap for studying the interaction dynamics during behaviour, and a template for identifying the activity dynamics of other thalamo-cortical feedback loops.
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 115 Mason Farm Road, NRB 4109F, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
Chunxiu
C
Yu
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 115 Mason Farm Road, NRB 4109F, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.|Neurobiology Curriculum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Kristin K
KK
Sellers
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 115 Mason Farm Road, NRB 4109F, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
Susanne
S
Radtke-Schuller
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 115 Mason Farm Road, NRB 4109F, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
Jinghao
J
Lu
Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Lei
L
Xing
Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Vladimir
V
Ghukasyan
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 115 Mason Farm Road, NRB 4109F, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
Yuhui
Y
Li
Neurobiology Curriculum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.|Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.|Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.|Biomedical Research Imaging Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Yen-Yu I
YY
Shih
Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.|Department of Neurosurgery, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Richard
R
Murrow
Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 115 Mason Farm Road, NRB 4109F, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.|Neurobiology Curriculum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.|Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.|Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.|Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.|Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Flavio
F
Fröhlich
D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D058256:Brain Waves; D005260:Female; D005289:Ferrets; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D020649:Pulvinar / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*
lateral posterior nucleus; local field potential; multiunit activity; networks; oscillations; pulvinar