Task-specific invariant representation in auditory cortex.

Categorical sensory representations are critical for many behaviors, including speech perception. In the auditory system, categorical information is thought to arise hierarchically, becoming increasingly prominent in higher-order cortical regions. The neural mechanisms that support this robust and flexible computation remain poorly understood.

Targeted dimensionality reduction enables reliable estimation of neural population coding accuracy from trial-limited data.

Rapidly developing technology for large scale neural recordings has allowed researchers to measure the activity of hundreds to thousands of neurons at single cell resolution in vivo. Neural decoding analyses are a widely used tool used for investigating what information is represented in this complex, high-dimensional neural population activity. Most population decoding methods assume that correlated activity between neurons has been estimated accurately.

Dissociation of task engagement and arousal effects in auditory cortex and midbrain.

Both generalized arousal and engagement in a specific task influence sensory neural processing. To isolate effects of these state variables in the auditory system, we recorded single-unit activity from primary auditory cortex (A1) and inferior colliculus (IC) of ferrets during a tone detection task, while monitoring arousal via changes in pupil size. We used a generalized linear model to assess the influence of task engagement and pupil size on sound-evoked activity.

Genetically Identified Suppressed-by-Contrast Retinal Ganglion Cells Reliably Signal Self-Generated Visual Stimuli.

Unlabelled: Spike trains of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are the sole source of visual information to the brain; and understanding how the ∼20 RGC types in mammalian retinae respond to diverse visual features and events is fundamental to understanding vision. Suppressed-by-contrast (SbC) RGCs stand apart from all other RGC types in that they reduce rather than increase firing rates in response to light increments (ON) and decrements (OFF). Here, we genetically identify and morphologically characterize SbC-RGCs in mice, and target them for patch-clamp recordings under two-photon guidance.