Selective modulation of cortical state during spatial attention

Tatiana A Engel; Nicholas A Steinmetz; Marc A Gieselmann; Alexander Thiele; Tirin Moore; Kwabena Boahen

doi:10.1126/science.aag1420

Selective modulation of cortical state during spatial attention

Science. 2016 Dec 2;354(6316):1140-1144. doi: 10.1126/science.aag1420.

Authors

Tatiana A Engel^{1

2}, Nicholas A Steinmetz³, Marc A Gieselmann⁴, Alexander Thiele⁴, Tirin Moore^{2

3}, Kwabena Boahen⁵

Affiliations

¹ Departments of Bioengineering and Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA. tatiana.engel@stanford.edu.
² Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
³ Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
⁴ Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK.
⁵ Departments of Bioengineering and Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.

PMID: 27934763
DOI: 10.1126/science.aag1420

Abstract

Neocortical activity is permeated with endogenously generated fluctuations, but how these dynamics affect goal-directed behavior remains a mystery. We found that ensemble neural activity in primate visual cortex spontaneously fluctuated between phases of vigorous (On) and faint (Off) spiking synchronously across cortical layers. These On-Off dynamics, reflecting global changes in cortical state, were also modulated at a local scale during selective attention. Moreover, the momentary phase of local ensemble activity predicted behavioral performance. Our results show that cortical state is controlled locally within a cortical map according to cognitive demands and reveal the impact of these local changes in cortical state on goal-directed behavior.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Attention / physiology*
Brain Mapping
Goals*
Macaca mulatta
Male
Nerve Net / physiology
Visual Cortex / physiology*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding