Mesoscopic Mapping of Stimulus-Selective Response Plasticity in the Visual Pathways Modulated by the Cholinergic...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Visual System Plasticity
• Cholinergic Modulation

Background:

• Cholinergic potentiation enhances visual acuity and discrimination.
• Long-term plastic changes in cortical maps and connectivity are not fully understood.
• Investigating the role of cholinergic system in visual learning is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if cholinergic potentiation of visual conditioning induces long-term plastic changes in cortical maps and connectivity.
• To examine the effects of Donepezil (DPZ) on visual cortex activity and functional connectivity.
• To compare DPZ treatment with sham-conditioning and conditioning alone.

Main Methods:

• Mesoscopic calcium imaging in awake GCaMP6s adult mice.
• Daily presentation of a conditioned visual stimulus for one week.
• Administration of Donepezil (DPZ) or saline prior to conditioning sessions.

Main Results:

• DPZ treatment during conditioning significantly decreased integrated neuronal activity in superficial cortical layers (V1, AL, PM, LM) evoked by the conditioned stimulus.
• The size of the activated area decreased in V1 and PM, and signal-to-noise ratio decreased in AL and PM.
• DPZ administration reduced signal correlation between V1, the ventral visual pathway, and the retrosplenial cortex (RSC).

Conclusions:

• Cholinergic potentiation of visual conditioning induces changes in visual processing within superficial cortical layers.
• These alterations in cortical activity and connectivity may underlie fine-tuning of the visual cortex to conditioned stimuli.
• The findings highlight the role of the cholinergic system in visual learning-induced cortical plasticity.