Vera Katharina Veith1, Cliodhna Quigley1,2, Stefan Treue3,4,5. 1. Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany. 2. Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Vienna, Austria. 3. Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Goettingen, Germany. treue@gwdg.de. 4. Faculty for Biology and Psychology, University of Goettingen, Goettingen, Germany. treue@gwdg.de. 5. Leibniz ScienceCampus Primate Cognition, Goettingen, Germany. treue@gwdg.de.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Attentional modulation in the visual cortex of primates is characterized by multiplicative changes of sensory responses with changes in the attentional state of the animal. The cholinergic system has been linked to such gain changes in V1. Here, we aim to determine if a similar link exists in macaque area MT. While rhesus monkeys performed a top-down spatial attention task, we locally injected a cholinergic agonist or antagonist and recorded single-cell activity. RESULTS: Although we confirmed cholinergic influences on sensory responses, there was no additional cholinergic effect on the attentional gain changes. Neither a muscarinic blockage nor a local increase in acetylcholine led to a significant change in the magnitude of spatial attention effects on firing rates. CONCLUSIONS: This suggests that the cellular mechanisms of attentional modulation in the extrastriate cortex cannot be directly inferred from those in the primary visual cortex.
BACKGROUND: Attentional modulation in the visual cortex of primates is characterized by multiplicative changes of sensory responses with changes in the attentional state of the animal. The cholinergic system has been linked to such gain changes in V1. Here, we aim to determine if a similar link exists in macaque area MT. While rhesus monkeys performed a top-down spatial attention task, we locally injected a cholinergic agonist or antagonist and recorded single-cell activity. RESULTS: Although we confirmed cholinergic influences on sensory responses, there was no additional cholinergic effect on the attentional gain changes. Neither a muscarinic blockage nor a local increase in acetylcholine led to a significant change in the magnitude of spatial attention effects on firing rates. CONCLUSIONS: This suggests that the cellular mechanisms of attentional modulation in the extrastriate cortex cannot be directly inferred from those in the primary visual cortex.
Authors: Mohammad Bagher Khamechian; Vladislav Kozyrev; Stefan Treue; Moein Esghaei; Mohammad Reza Daliri Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2019-05-30 Impact factor: 11.205