Spatial clustering of orientation preference in primary visual cortex of the large rodent agouti

• Autor(a) principal: Ferreiro, Dardo Nahuel
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Outros Autores: Conde Ocazionez, Sergio Andrés, Patriota, João Henrique Nascimento, Souza, Luã Carlos de, Oliveira, Moacir Franco de, Wolf, Fred, Schmidt, Kerstin Erika
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da UFRN
• Texto Completo: https://repositorio.ufrn.br/handle/123456789/30969; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2020.101882
• topic: Primary visual cortex (V1); Agouti; Cuniculidae; Optical imaging; Orientation, spatial; Sensory Neuroscience

All rodents investigated so far possess orientation-selective neurons in the primary visual cortex (V1) but – in contrast to carnivores and primates – no evidence of periodic maps with pinwheel-like structures. Theoretical studies debating whether phylogeny or universal principles determine development of pinwheels point to V1 size as a critical constraint. Thus, we set out to study maps of agouti, a big diurnal rodent with a V1 size comparable to cats'. In electrophysiology, we detected interspersed orientation and direction-selective neurons with a bias for horizontal contours, corroborated by homogeneous activation in optical imaging. Compatible with spatial clustering at short distance, nearby neurons tended to exhibit similar orientation preference. Our results argue against V1 size as a key parameter in determining the presence of periodic orientation maps. They are consistent with a phylogenetic influence on the map layout and development, potentially reflecting distinct retinal traits or interspecies differences in cortical circuitry