Visual cortex encodes timing information in humans and mice.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Computational Neuroscience

Background:

• Understanding second-scale time perception is crucial but limited.
• The brain mechanisms underlying interval timing remain largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of the visual cortex (VC) in mediating second-scale time perception.
• To elucidate the neural mechanisms of interval timing in the human and rodent brain.

Main Methods:

• Intracranial stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) recordings in human epileptic patients.
• Optogenetic circuit dissection experiments in mice.
• Interval-timing behavioral tasks in humans and mice.
• Computational modeling of neural activity.

Main Results:

• The visual cortex (VC) was identified as a key brain area for interval timing in humans.
• Optogenetic manipulation confirmed the VC's crucial role in interval-timing behavior in mice.
• VC neurons exhibited time-keeping sequential firing patterns and timed increases in excitability.
• A computational model demonstrated a self-correcting learning process generating scalar timing properties.

Conclusions:

• The visual cortex (VC) plays a significant role in encoding second-scale time perception.
• Neural oscillations within the VC, in the seconds to deca-seconds range, are critical for relating external timing information to behavior.
• This study provides a framework for understanding how the brain processes temporal information for guiding actions.