Roxana ZeraatiApr 6, 2023

Thrilled to share our paper "Intrinsic timescales in the visual cortex change with selective attention and reflect spatial connectivity" now out at #NatureCommunications
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-37613-7

We have added interesting new analyses to our preprint version (thanks to the reviewers!),
so here goes a new summary:

#NeuroNewPaper #NeuroPaperThread
#Timescale #Attention #visualcortex #connectivity

Intrinsic timescales in the visual cortex change with selective attention and reflect spatial connectivity - Nature Communications

Not much is known about how intrinsic timescales, which characterize the dynamics of endogenous fluctuations in neural activity, change during cognitive tasks. Here, the authors show that intrinsic timescales of neural activity in the primate visual cortex change during spatial attention. Experimental data were best explained by a network model in which timescales arise from spatially arranged connectivity.

Nature
Kanold labFeb 23, 2023

New preprint: Didhiti shows that there is crossmodal plasticity in the pre-critical period. Early enucleation in mice leads to changes in the auditory cortex before ear opening.

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.02.21.529453v1

#neuroscience #crossmodal #blind #hearing #neuronewpaper #auditory #cortex

Kanold labJan 21, 2023

New paper out: Rongkang wondered whether NMDA receptors are required for the development of intracortical circuits. So he deleted them. Turns out that cortical inhibitory but not excitatory synaptic transmission and circuit refinement are altered after the deletion of NMDA receptors during early development.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-27536-0

#neuroscience #surprise #nmda #cortex #NeuroNewPaper

Cortical inhibitory but not excitatory synaptic transmission and circuit refinement are altered after the deletion of NMDA receptors during early development - Scientific Reports

Neurons in the cerebral cortex form excitatory and inhibitory circuits with specific laminar locations. The mechanisms underlying the development of these spatially specific circuits is not fully understood. To test if postsynaptic N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors on excitatory neurons are required for the development of specific circuits to these neurons, we genetically ablated NMDA receptors from a subset of excitatory neurons in the temporal association cortex (TeA) through in utero electroporation and assessed the intracortical circuits connecting to L5 neurons through in vitro whole-cell patch clamp recordings coupled with laser-scanning photostimulation (LSPS). In NMDAR knockout neurons, α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor-mediated connections were largely intact. In contrast both LSPS and mini-IPSC recordings revealed that γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) receptor-mediated connections were impaired in NMDAR knockout neurons. These results suggest that postsynaptic NMDA receptors are important for the development of GABAergic circuits.

Nature
Zach ZeislerJan 19, 2023

What better way to introduce myself on this Neuromatch server than to announce that my first paper is out on bioRxiv!

We used MAPseq to characterize the branching patterns of single macaque amygdala neurons, finding that they often innervate multiple distinct areas in frontal cortex and form dissociable networks. Brief thread to follow:

#NeuroPaperThread #NeuroNewPaper

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.01.18.524407v1

Adrian ValenteJan 19, 2023

RT from Manuel Beiran on the blue bird about his new paper on parametric control of low-dimensional manifolds (a joint work with @nicognitive, Srdjan Ostojic, Mehrdad Jazayeri and Hansem Sohn out in Neuron last week).

Here is the open-access link:
https://t.co/uqgTApyAID

What neural mechanisms support generalization in temporal tasks? How can neural dynamics be controllable by inputs? Thread reproduced here:

#mastoprint #paper #Neuropaperthread #neuronewpaper

Dimos KaramanlisJan 17, 2023

Our new work with @TimGollisch and team is now out as a @biorxivpreprint!

We found that gaze shifts in natural movies drive concerted responses in populations of retinal ganglion cells. We think that these concerted responses violate the decorrelation prediction of efficient coding in a cell-type-specific manner in both marmosets and mice.

Check the manuscript for more details!

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.01.10.523412v1?rss=1

#NeuroNewPaper
#neuroscience

Serge DumoulinJan 12, 2023

Null-findings are important, but more difficult to prove and publish. Here is a null-finding #NewPaper / #NeuroNewPaper.

Line-scanning functional #MRI has both high spatial and high temporal resolutions, about 200 micrometers and 200 milliseconds. This is achieved by sacrificing spatial coverage, akin to a virtual BOLD electrode through the brain. Previously, we implemented a human line-scanning sequence using gradient-echo #BOLD #fMRI at 7T.

Spin-echo MRI sequences offer several advantages over gradient-echo MRI sequences, for example much improved spatial line-selection and microvascular specificity. However, despite many efforts, especially from the lead-author Luisa Raimondo, spin-echo line-scanning currently lacks adequate sensitivity for #neuroscience applications.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10334-022-01059-7

Towards functional spin-echo BOLD line-scanning in humans at 7T - Magnetic Resonance Materials in Physics, Biology and Medicine

Objective Neurons cluster into sub-millimeter spatial structures and neural activity occurs at millisecond resolutions; hence, ultimately, high spatial and high temporal resolutions are required for functional MRI. In this work, we implemented a spin-echo line-scanning (SELINE) sequence to use in high spatial and temporal resolution fMRI. Materials and methods A line is formed by simply rotating the spin-echo refocusing gradient to a plane perpendicular to the excited slice and by removing the phase-encoding gradient. This technique promises a combination of high spatial and temporal resolution (250 μm, 500 ms) and microvascular specificity of functional responses. We compared SELINE data to a corresponding gradient-echo version (GELINE). Results We demonstrate that SELINE showed much-improved line selection (i.e. a sharper line profile) compared to GELINE, albeit at the cost of a significant drop in functional sensitivity. Discussion This low functional sensitivity needs to be addressed before SELINE can be applied for neuroscientific purposes.

SpringerLink
Show threadAlbert CardonaJan 11, 2023
@summerfieldlab Welcome! Good places to start are these hashtags (which can be followed, just like following people): #neuroscience #NeuroNewPaper #NeuroPaperThread ... and so many more. Tags are the way to discover what's going on without following a thousand people.
Show threadRamon NogueiraJan 10, 2023

@chrisXrodgers @StefanoFusi #NeuroPaperThread #NeuroNewPaper

11) Also, I am on the job market this year, so please do not hesitate to reach out if you think I could be a good fit for a theoretical/computational faculty position in your department!

Show threadRamon NogueiraJan 10, 2023

@chrisXrodgers @StefanoFusi #NeuroPaperThread #NeuroNewPaper

10) Thanks for reading until the end. Many more details in the main article and supplementary figures. Thanks for the support from our many funding agencies and to the
Center for Theoretical Neuroscience, and the Zuckerman Brain at Columbia University. Please reach out if you have any questions or suggestions!