Glial Laminar Cortical Architecture Matches Metabolic Demand

Glial laminar cortical architecture matches metabolic demand.

The link between increased neural activity and cerebral blood flow is well established (Roy and Sherrington, 1890); yet, the mechanism by which blood flow is matched to neuronal activity both spatially and temporally is unclear. Based on their morphology, gray matter (protoplasmic) astrocytes are ideally situated to translate regional synaptic activity to hyperemia (increased flow) as they exte...

Laminar Cortical Architecture

Cortical metabolic activity matches the pattern of visual suppression in strabismus.

When an eye becomes deviated in early childhood, a person does not experience double vision, although the globes are aimed at different targets. The extra image is prevented from reaching perception in subjects with alternating exotropia by suppression of each eye's peripheral temporal retina. To test the impact of visual suppression on neuronal activity in primary (striate) visual cortex, the ...

Correlated Variability in Laminar Cortical Circuits

Despite the fact that strong trial-to-trial correlated variability in responses has been reported in many cortical areas, recent evidence suggests that neuronal correlations are much lower than previously thought. Here, we used multicontact laminar probes to revisit the issue of correlated variability in primary visual (V1) cortical circuits. We found that correlations between neurons depend st...

Laminar processing in the visual cortical column.

Sensory regions of neocortex are organized as arrays of vertical columns composed of cells that share similar response properties, with the orientation columns of the cat's visual cortex being the best known example. Interest in how sensitivity to different stimulus features first emerges in the columns and how this selectivity is refined by subsequent processing has fueled decades of research....