Circuit Mechanisms Governing Local vs. Global Motion Processing in Mouse Visual Cortex

Abstract

A withstanding question in neuroscience is how neural circuits encode representations and perceptions of the external world. A particularly well-defined visual computation is the representation of global object motion by pattern direction-selective (PDS) cells from convergence of motion of local components represented by component direction-selective (CDS) cells. However, how PDS and CDS cells develop their distinct response properties is still unresolved. The visual cortex of the mouse is an attractive model for experimentally solving this issue due to the large molecular and genetic toolbox available. Although mouse visual cortex lacks the highly ordered orientation columns of primates, it is organized in functional sub-networks and contains striate- and extrastriate areas like its primate counterparts. In this Perspective article, we provide an overview of the experimental and theoretical literature on global motion processing based on works in primates and mice. Lastly, we propose what types of experiments could illuminate what circuit mechanisms are governing cortical global visual motion processing. We propose that PDS cells in mouse visual cortex appear as the perfect arena for delineating and solving how individual sensory features extracted by neural circuits in peripheral brain areas are integrated to build our rich cohesive sensory experiences.

Distributed and retinotopically asymmetric processing of coherent motion in mouse visual cortex

“…Perception of visual motion is critical for animal survival, underlying behaviors such as visually guided navigation, pursuit of prey, and avoidance of threats. Although neurons selective for visual motion arise early in the visual system, extensive research in primates has shown that perception of coherent global motion independent of local motion relies on processing in specialized regions of visual cortex 1 , 2 . Although mouse visual cortical neurons are known to be well-tuned for coherent visual motion 3 , 4 , and vision plays an important role in navigation 5 , mesoscale cortical processing of coherent motion is poorly understood in the mouse.…”

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

“…Accumulating evidence suggests that areas RL and A are part of the PPC in mice 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 —a key nexus of sensorimotor integration that is involved in decision making during spatial navigation, 38 the encoding of body posture, 39 global motion analysis, 40 , 41 and representations of spatial information. 42 Intriguingly, more than 50% of neurons in the RL area are multi-sensory in mice, integrating both tactile and visual sensory inputs.…”

Rats spontaneously perceive global motion direction of drifting plaids

“…In conclusion, our study not only yields behavioral evidence of motion integration in rodents, but also provides solid grounding for future investigations aimed at dissecting the neuronal circuits underlying integration of local motion cues into global motion percepts. In fact, as highlighted in a recent perspective (Rasmussen and Yonehara, 2017), a behavioral task involving direction discrimination of gratings and plaids is a necessary ingredient of future experiments aimed at establishing a correlational and/or causal link between patternlike responses observed in rodent visual cortex and integrated motion perception.…”