Feature-tuned excitation of somatostatin interneurons drives figure-ground segregation

Yuan E Zhang1, Huizhong Whit Tao2

  • 1Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.

Neuron
|April 2, 2026
PubMed

Visual pop-out reflects feature-dependent surround modulation in primary visual cortex (V1). In this issue of Neuron, Hendricks et al.1 reveal that co-tuned pyramidal cells selectively engage somatostatin interneurons (SSTs) via like-to-like excitation, switching cortical circuits into a suppressed state that supports orientation-based figure-ground segmentation.