Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 3, 2026

Author Spotlight: Insights into Visual Cortex Research Through Wide-View fMRI Mapping
Published on: December 8, 2023
Feature Detection in Visual Cortex during Different Functional States
Pavel Esir1,2, Alexander Simonov1,2, Misha Tsodyks1,3
1Department of Neurotechnologies, Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny NovgorodNizhny Novgorod, Russia.
Abstract:
Cortical activity exhibits distinct characteristics in different functional states. In awake behaving animals it shows less synchrony, while in rest or sleeping state cortical activity is most synchronous. Previous studies showed that switching between functional states can change the efficiency of flowing sensory information. Switching between functional states can be triggered by releasing neuromodulators which affect neurotransmitter release probability and depolarization of cortical neurons. In this work we focus on studying primary visual area V1, by using firing rate ring model with short-term synaptic depression (STD). We show that reconstruction of visual features from V1 activity depends on the functional state, with best precision achieved at the state with intermediate release probability. We suggest that this regime corresponds to the state of maximal visual attention.
Related Concept Videos
Association Areas of the Cortex
Prefrontal Association Area: This area is located in the frontal lobe and is involved in planning, decision-making, and moderating social behavior. It connects with primary motor areas,...
Visual System
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...
Motor and Sensory Areas of the Cortex
Motor Areas
The motor areas located in the frontal lobe are central to controlling voluntary movements. This region is further subdivided into the primary motor cortex and the premotor cortex....
Parallel Processing
Vision

