Orienting our view of the superior colliculus: specializations and general functions

Allen, Kathryne M.; Lawlor, Jennifer; Salles, Angeles; Moss, Cynthia F.

doi:10.1016/j.conb.2021.10.005

Cited by 19 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…In other cases, the behavioral response needs to be invariant to stimulus location (Benucci, 2022;DiCarlo et al, 2012;Quiroga et al, 2005;Rolls, 2012). Although we know, to some extent, how directional information guides responses (Allen et al, 2021;Peek, 2018;Pouget et al, 2000), the underlying mechanisms that enable location invariance for sensory to motor transformations are not fully understood as the neural circuits that bridge sensory encoding and the selection of an appropriate behavior are largely incomplete (DiCarlo et al, 2012;Quiroga et al, 2005;Rolls, 2012). This is well illustrated in visually evoked escape behaviors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Directional invariance in the Drosophila giant fiber escape circuit

Jang

Goodman

Reyn

2022

Preprint

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An animals nervous system recognizes visual features regardless of where the visual feature is located. However, the underlying mechanisms that enable location invariant feature detection are not fully understood, particularly when visual feature information contributed by each eye needs to be resolved. Here we investigate directional invariance of looming responses in descending neurons (DN) of Drosophila melanogaster. We find multiple looming responsive DN integrate looming information across both eyes, even though their dendrites are unilateral. One DN in particular, the giant fibers (GF), generates invariant looming responses across approach directions. We confirm visual information propagates to the GF from the contralateral eye through an as of yet unidentified pathway and demonstrate the absence of this pathway alters GF responses to looming stimuli from the ipsilateral eye. Our data highlight a role for bilateral visual integration in generating consistent escape responses that are robust across a wide range of stimulus locations and parameters.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Directional invariance in the Drosophila giant fiber escape circuit

Jang

Goodman

Reyn

2022

Preprint

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“…The superior colliculus (SC) is a midbrain structure with roles that include the coordination of eye, neck, and shoulder movement to dynamically respond to novel stimuli (Allen et al., 2021 ; White & Munoz, 2012 ). The SC is a key locus for integrating and converting many types of sensory information (e.g., visual, auditory, somatosensory) into movement signals (Allen et al., 2021 ; Chen et al., 2019 ; Corneil & Munoz, 2014 ; Isa et al., 2021 ; White & Munoz, 2012 ). The present study addresses the neuronal composition of the SC in the common marmoset monkey ( Callithrix jacchus ), one of the smallest simian primates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neuronal density and expression of calcium‐binding proteins across the layers of the superior colliculus in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus)

Chong

Worthy

Rosa

et al. 2022

J of Comparative Neurology

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The superior colliculus (SC) is a layered midbrain structure with functions that include polysensory and sensorimotor integration. Here, we describe the distribution of different immunohistochemically identified classes of neurons in the SC of adult marmoset monkeys (Callithrix jacchus). Neuronal nuclei (NeuN) staining was used to determine the overall neuronal density in the different SC layers. In addition, we studied the distribution of neurons expressing different calcium-binding proteins (calbindin [CB], parvalbumin [PV] and calretinin [CR]). Our results indicate that neuronal density in the SC decreases from superficial to deep layers. Although the neuronal density within the same layer varies little across the mediolateral axis, it tends to be lower at rostral levels, compared to caudal levels. Cells expressing different calcium-binding proteins display differential gradients of density according to depth. Both CB-and CR-expressing neurons show markedly higher densities in the stratum griseum superficiale (SGS), compared to the stratum opticum and intermediate and deep layers. However, CRexpressing neurons are twice as common as CB-expressing neurons outside the SGS.The distribution of PV-expressing cells follows a shallow density gradient from superficial to deep layers. When normalized relative to total neuronal density, the proportion of CR-expressing neurons increases between the superficial and intermediate layers, whereas that of CB-expressing neurons declines toward the deep layers. The proportion of PV-expressing neurons remains constant across layers. Our data provide layer-specific and accurate estimates of neuronal density, which may be important for the generation of biophysical models of how the primate SC transforms sensory inputs into motor signals.

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“…(Glickfeld et al, 2013;Kirchberger et al, 2021;Prusky & Douglas, 2004)Furthermore, humans with bilateral lesions of V1 remain capable of detecting some visual stimuli, even in the absence of conscious vision; a phenomenon termed 'blindsight' (Ajina & Bridge, 2017). This capacity is likely to be mediated by the superior colliculus (SC), a sensorimotor hub in the midbrain (Tamietto et al, 2010;Kato et al, 2011;Ito & Feldheim, 2018;Kinoshita et al, 2019; The SC receives direct input from the retina, as well as from V1 and other sensory areas (Basso & May, 2017), and mediates orienting responses to salient stimuli in primates and rodents (White & Munoz, 2012;Allen et al, 2021). In mice, detection of change in isolated visual stimuli is impaired in a spatial and time specific manner when the SC is locally and transiently inhibited (Wang et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The SC receives direct input from the retina, as well as from V1 and other sensory areas (Basso & May, 2017), and mediates orienting responses to salient stimuli in primates and rodents (White & Munoz, 2012; Allen et al, 2021). In mice, detection of change in isolated visual stimuli is impaired in a spatial and time specific manner when the SC is locally and transiently inhibited (Wang et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Involvement of superior colliculus in complex figure detection of mice

Cazemier

Tran

Hsu

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Object detection is an essential function of the visual system. Although the visual cortex plays an important role in object detection, the superior colliculus can support detection when the visual cortex is ablated or silenced. Moreover, it has been shown that superficial layers of mouse SC (sSC) encode visual features of complex objects, and that this code is not inherited from the primary visual cortex. This suggests that mouse sSC may provide a significant contribution to complex object vision. Here, we use optogenetics to show that mouse sSC is causally involved in figure detection based on differences in figure contrast, orientation and phase. Additionally, our neural recordings show that in mouse sSC, image elements that belong to a figure elicit stronger activity than those same elements when they are part of the background. The discriminability of this neural code is higher for correct trials than incorrect trials. Our results provide new insight into the behavioral relevance of the visual processing that takes place in sSC.

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Orienting our view of the superior colliculus: specializations and general functions

Cited by 19 publications

References 62 publications

Directional invariance in the Drosophila giant fiber escape circuit

Directional invariance in the Drosophila giant fiber escape circuit

Neuronal density and expression of calcium‐binding proteins across the layers of the superior colliculus in the common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus)

Involvement of superior colliculus in complex figure detection of mice

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