Characteristics and dynamical signatures of recurrent cortical circuits during context-dependent processing

Context profoundly shapes neural responses and behavior. During context-dependent sensory processing, recurrent connections shape the integration of feedforward sensory input and feedback input from downstream brain regions. How do different cell types, interacting through spatially structured recurrent lateral connections, give rise to context-dependent processing and circuit stability, and what dynamical signatures reveal their individual roles? To answer these questions, we employ data-driven approaches to construct spatially extended stabilized supralinear network models that capture the responses of diverse cell types in the mouse primary visual cortex during context-dependent processing. Analysis of well-fitting models reveals that the dominant inhibitory cell type affecting excitatory neurons is not fixed but dynamically varies with stimulus and space. While PV-mediated stabilization is indispensable across all models and stimulus conditions, SST-mediated stabilization is also required, and likely in a stimulus-dependent manner. Interestingly, even when a specific inhibitory cell type is required for circuit stabilization, a uniform perturbation of it does not necessarily produce a paradoxical change in its mean activity. Instead, assessing cell-type-specific circuit stabilization requires patterned perturbations, where paradoxical effects manifest along specific activity modes. Finally, we show that recurrent connections and input-output nonlinearities are essential for integrating feedforward and feedback inputs to reproduce the observed spatial response profiles. Recurrent excitatory connections, in particular, are required to account for responses to small stimuli, where external inputs are relatively weak. Taken together, our work reveals the crucial role of ubiquitous biological components in context-dependent processing and delineates the characteristics and dynamical signatures of these circuits.