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Updated: Jun 7, 2026

Targeted Labeling of Neurons in a Specific Functional Micro-domain of the Neocortex by Combining Intrinsic Signal and Two-photon Imaging
Published on: December 12, 2012
Universality in the evolution of orientation columns in the visual cortex
Matthias Kaschube1, Michael Schnabel, Siegrid Löwel
1Max-Planck-Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Faculty of Physics, Göttingen University, D-37073 Göttingen, Germany. kaschube@princeton.edu
Abstract:
The brain's visual cortex processes information concerning form, pattern, and motion within functional maps that reflect the layout of neuronal circuits. We analyzed functional maps of orientation preference in the ferret, tree shrew, and galago--three species separated since the basal radiation of placental mammals more than 65 million years ago--and found a common organizing principle. A symmetry-based class of models for the self-organization of cortical networks predicts all essential features of the layout of these neuronal circuits, but only if suppressive long-range interactions dominate development. We show mathematically that orientation-selective long-range connectivity can mediate the required interactions. Our results suggest that self-organization has canalized the evolution of the neuronal circuitry underlying orientation preference maps into a single common design.
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