[Specific modulation of neuronal responses to light of different intensities by sound in the rabbit's primary visual...

Changes in activity of 92 neurons in the primary visual cortex of four rabbits (Orictolagus cuniculus) were analyzed. In the first series of experiments, we recorded discharges of 63 neurons in response to replacement of visual stimuli in pairs (pairs of 0.28 - 1, 1 - 3, 3 - 6, 6 - 8.5, 8.5 - 14, 14 - 17, 17 - 20 cd/m2). Then the same stimuli were presented simultaneously with sound (70 dB, 2000 Hz, 40 ms). Neurons did not respond directly to the sound. Two groups of neurons were found. In the first group of neurons (31%), responses to the complex "light and sound" (40-100 ms from the moment of substitution of stimuli) increased on average by 41% (p < 0.0001) under conditions of the lowest stimuli intensities. With increasing light intensities, discharges to the complex were reduced to the background level of responses to light and even lower. The second group of neurons (19%) showed the opposite properties: at low intensities, responses to the complex were comparable to responses to light (or even lower). At high intensities (14-20 cd/m2), discharges to the complex were significantly (p < 0.05) different from the responses to light (20% and higher, up to 39%). In the second series of experiments, we reconstructed vector sensory spaces on the basis of responses of 29 neurons to light of different intensities and eight complexes of "light and sound." It was found that the sound had also a dual effect on the sensory space of complexes. Some neurons showed an enhancement of the angular distance between the two lowest light intensities (0.28 and 1 cd/m2). Other neurons showed an increase in the angular distance between the highest intensities. Such changes in the space structure are consistent with the groups of neurons revealed in the first two series of the experiments. Comparison of the dynamics of neuronal responses and the amplitudes of evoked potentials under the same conditions of stimulation revealed their considerable similarity. Thus, modulation of neuronal activity in the visual cortex by sound is a complex nonlinear process.