Binocular integration of retinal motion information underlies optic flow processing by the cortex

Abstract

Summary Locomotion creates various patterns of optic flow on the retina, which provide the observer with information about their movement relative to the environment. However, it is unclear how these optic flow patterns are encoded by the cortex. Here, we use two-photon calcium imaging in awake mice to systematically map monocular and binocular responses to horizontal motion in four areas of the visual cortex. We find that neurons selective to translational or rotational optic flow are abundant in higher visual areas, whereas neurons suppressed by binocular motion are more common in the primary visual cortex. Disruption of retinal direction selectivity in Frmd7 mutant mice reduces the number of translation-selective neurons in the primary visual cortex and translation- and rotation-selective neurons as well as binocular direction-selective neurons in the rostrolateral and anterior visual cortex, blurring the functional distinction between primary and higher visual areas. Thus, optic flow representations in specific areas of the visual cortex rely on binocular integration of motion information from the retina.

Hierarchical and nonhierarchical features of the mouse visual cortical network

“…While dorsal stream areas AL, RL, and PM are all involved in processing optic flow information 55 – 57 , they appear to underlie distinct functions. RL has been shown to be specialized for optic flow signals inherited from the retina 57 , 58 and for the encoding of proximal visual stimuli in the binocular field 59 , whereas PM is not part of the specialized circuit that relies on direction selectivity produced in the retina 57 , 58 . RL and AL also form overall stronger connections than PM and AM with somatosensory areas, with PM and AM more strongly linked with cingulate and retrosplenial areas 8 , 21 , 48 .…”

EyeLoop: An Open-Source System for High-Speed, Closed-Loop Eye-Tracking

“…Thus, EyeLoop presents an attractive system for rodent biomedical research to investigate disease models, such as congenital nystagmus ( Figure 4 ). Similarly, we recently applied EyeLoop in our lab to monitor the optokinetic reflex and investigate optic flow computations in visual cortices ( Rasmussen et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Each display thus subtended 115.61° in azimuth and 80.95° in elevation. This setup was adapted from a previous study ( Rasmussen et al, 2021 ), which enabled us to cover most of the visual field of the mouse to evoke consistent visual responses. To evoke the optokinetic reflex in Frmd7 knockout and wild-type mice, we presented a square-wave drifting grating simulating binocular rotation.…”

A Hypothesis From Metabolomics Analysis of Diabetic Retinopathy: Arginine-Creatine Metabolic Pathway May Be a New Treatment Strategy for Diabetic Retinopathy

“…Diabetic retinopathy (DR) has been recognized as the main cause of blindness worldwide, with about one-third of all diabetes patients developing diabetic retinopathy ( 1 ). The retina is metabolically active and transmits electrochemical signals from photoreceptors to the brain via neurons, supported by glial cells and vascular tissue ( 2 ). The entire process relies on highly complex coordination between the various cell types, and the blood-vision barrier plays a key role ( 3 , 4 ).…”