Performance in even a simple perceptual task depends on mouse secondary visual areas

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Visual processing
• Animal models

Background:

• The primary visual cortex (V1) in mice connects to many brain regions, including secondary visual areas.
• Optogenetic silencing of V1 impairs visually guided behavior, but the roles of downstream areas remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the necessity of secondary visual areas for simple visual tasks.
• To determine which downstream brain regions are required for visual behaviors.

Main Methods:

• Mice were trained on a contrast-increment change detection task.
• Optogenetic silencing was used to inhibit visual responses in secondary visual areas.
• In vivo electrophysiology was employed to record neural activity.

Main Results:

• Activity in secondary visual areas is required for a simple visual task.
• Optogenetic silencing of secondary visual areas profoundly suppressed neural activity.
• Feedback effects in V1 were observed but were secondary to the suppression in targeted areas.

Conclusions:

• Pathways through secondary visual areas are necessary for even simple visual behaviors.
• This highlights the critical role of these areas in the visual processing hierarchy.