Neuropixels reveal structure-function relationships in monkey V1 in vivo

The relationship between structural properties of diverse neuronal populations in monkey primary visual cortex (V1) and their in vivo functional responses is not fully understood. We combined high-density Neuropixels recordings across cortical layers of macaque V1 with non-linear dimensionality reduction on waveform shape to delineate nine putative cell classes: 4 narrow-spiking (NS), 4 broad-spiking (BS) and 1 tri-phasic (TP). Using targeted analyses of laminar organization, spike amplitude, multichannel waveforms, functional properties, and network connectivity of these cell classes, we demonstrate four aspects of the V1 microcircuit predicted by anatomical studies but never fully demonstrated in vivo. First, NS neurons were concentrated in layer 4. Second, a large-amplitude NS cell class in layer 4B showed strong direction selectivity. Third, another layer 4B NS class exhibited robust bursting and orientation selectivity. Finally, cross-correlation analysis revealed functional interactions between cells in different layers. Our results highlight how high-resolution electrophysiology can reveal novel relationships between in vivo function of neurons and the underlying circuit.