Distinct Waking States for Strong Evoked Responses in Primary Visual Cortex and Optimal Visual Detection Performance

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Sensory Processing
• Arousal and Behavior

Background:

• Cortical neuronal responses and perceptual decision-making show significant variability.
• Moment-to-moment fluctuations in arousal significantly contribute to this variability.
• The optimal arousal state for sensory processing remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize cortical neuronal responses and behavioral performance across the full spectrum of waking arousal states.
• To investigate the relationship between arousal, primary visual cortex (V1) neuronal activity, and visual detection performance.
• To determine the arousal level associated with optimal sensory processing and behavior.

Main Methods:

• Simultaneous pupillometry with extracellular multiunit and intracellular whole-cell recordings in male mice.
• Measurement of visually evoked responses in primary visual cortex (V1).
• Assessment of behavioral performance on two distinct visual detection tasks.

Main Results:

• Magnitude and reliability of V1 visually evoked responses increased monotonically with arousal.
• Neuronal responses were largest during sustained locomotion periods (high arousal).
• Optimal visual detection performance occurred at intermediate arousal levels, with performance declining during high arousal and locomotion.

Conclusions:

• V1 neuronal responsiveness and optimal behavioral performance are modulated by distinct arousal levels.
• High arousal and locomotion enhance sensory-evoked V1 responses but impair visual detection.
• Waking arousal continuum significantly impacts sensory processing and behavior, revealing new complexities.