Disparity Sensitivity and Binocular Integration in Mouse Visual Cortex Areas.

Binocular disparity, the difference between the two eyes' images, is a powerful cue to generate the 3D depth percept known as stereopsis. In primates, binocular disparity is processed in multiple areas of the visual cortex, with distinct contributions of higher areas to specific aspects of depth perception. Mice, too, can perceive stereoscopic depth, and neurons in primary visual cortex (V1) and higher-order, lateromedial (LM) and rostrolateral (RL) areas were found to be sensitive to binocular disparity. A detailed characterization of disparity tuning across mouse visual areas is lacking, however, and acquiring such data might help clarifying the role of higher areas for disparity processing and establishing putative functional correspondences to primate areas. We used two-photon calcium imaging in female mice to characterize the disparity tuning properties of neurons in visual areas V1, LM, and RL in response to dichoptically presented binocular gratings, as well as random dot correlograms (RDC). In all three areas, many neurons were tuned to disparity, showing strong response facilitation or suppression at optimal or null disparity, respectively, even in neurons classified as monocular by conventional ocular dominance (OD) measurements. Neurons in higher areas exhibited broader and more asymmetric disparity tuning curves compared with V1, as observed in primate visual cortex. Finally, we probed neurons' sensitivity to true stereo correspondence by comparing responses to correlated RDC (cRDC) and anticorrelated RDC (aRDC). Area LM, akin to primate ventral visual stream areas, showed higher selectivity for correlated stimuli and reduced anticorrelated responses, indicating higher-level disparity processing in LM compared with V1 and RL.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT A major cue for inferring 3D depth is disparity between the two eyes' images. Investigating how binocular disparity is processed in the mouse visual system will not only help delineating the role of mouse higher areas for visual processing, but also shed light on how the mammalian brain computes stereopsis. We found that binocular integration is a prominent feature of mouse visual cortex, as many neurons are selectively and strongly modulated by binocular disparity. Comparison of responses to correlated and anticorrelated random dot correlograms (RDC) revealed that lateromedial area (LM) is more selective to correlated stimuli, while less sensitive to anticorrelated stimuli compared with primary visual cortex (V1) and rostrolateral area (RL), suggesting higher-level disparity processing in LM, resembling primate ventral visual stream areas.