Contextual modulation emerges by integrating feedforward and feedback processing in mouse visual cortex.

Sensory systems use context to infer meaning. Accordingly, context profoundly influences neural responses to sensory stimuli. However, a cohesive understanding of the circuit mechanisms governing contextual effects across different stimulus conditions is still lacking.

Inter- and Intrahemispheric Sources of Vestibular Signals to V1.

Head movements are sensed by the vestibular organs. Unlike classical senses, signals from vestibular organs are not conveyed to a dedicated cortical area but are broadcast throughout the cortex. Surprisingly, the routes taken by vestibular signals to reach the cortex are still largely uncharted.

The brain simulates actions and their consequences during REM sleep.

Vivid dreams mostly occur during a phase of sleep called REM . During REM sleep, the brain's internal representation of direction keeps shifting like that of an awake animal moving through its environment . What causes these shifts, given the immobility of the sleeping animal? Here we show that the superior colliculus of the mouse, a motor command center involved in orienting movements , issues motor commands during REM sleep, e.

High-throughput volumetric mapping of synaptic transmission.

Volumetric imaging of synaptic transmission in vivo requires high spatial and high temporal resolution. Shaping the wavefront of two-photon fluorescence excitation light, we developed Bessel-droplet foci for high-contrast and high-resolution volumetric imaging of synapses. Applying our method to imaging glutamate release, we demonstrated high-throughput mapping of excitatory inputs at >1,000 synapses per volume and >500 dendritic spines per neuron in vivo and unveiled previously unseen features of functional synaptic organization in the mouse primary visual cortex.