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Author Spotlight: Unveiling Neural Coding and Mechanisms of Visual Processing in the Superior Colliculus
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Superior colliculus modulates cortical coding of somatosensory information
Saba Gharaei1,2, Suraj Honnuraiah3,4, Ehsan Arabzadeh3,4
1Eccles Institute of Neuroscience, John Curtin School of Medical Research, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia. saba.gharaei@anu.edu.au.
Nature Communications
|April 5, 2020
Summary
The superior colliculus influences sensory processing in the somatosensory cortex. This study reveals a new di-synaptic pathway through the thalamus, enhancing whisker responses.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Sensory Processing
- Cortical Modulation
Background:
- The cortex influences the superior colliculus (SC) through direct projections.
- The reciprocal modulation of cortical activity by the SC remains largely uncharacterized.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how the superior colliculus (SC) modulates activity within the somatosensory cortex.
- To elucidate the neural pathways involved in SC-mediated cortical modulation.
Main Methods:
- Optogenetic activation of the SC in vivo.
- Electrophysiological recordings in the somatosensory cortex.
- Investigation of thalamic pathways, specifically the posterior medial (POm) nucleus.
Main Results:
- SC activation alters the input-output relationship of somatosensory cortex neurons.
- SC activation enhances cortical responses to low-amplitude whisker stimuli.
- A direct monosynaptic pathway from SC to the POm nucleus was identified.
- POm neurons receiving SC input project monosynaptically to the somatosensory cortex.
- Silencing the POm nucleus abolished SC-induced modulation of cortical whisker responses.
Conclusions:
- The superior colliculus (SC) modulates somatosensory cortex activity via a di-synaptic pathway.
- This pathway involves the posterior medial (POm) nucleus of the thalamus.
- The SC's role in attention extends to modulating sensory processing through this thalamic relay.
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