Abstract
SIMPLE cells within layer IV of the cat primary visual cortex are selective for lines of a specific orientation. It has been proposed that their receptive-field properties are established by the pattern of connections that they receive from the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of the thalamus1–5. Thalamic inputs, however, represent only a small proportion of the synapses made onto simple cells6–8, and others have argued that corticocortical connections are likely to be important in shaping simple-cell response properties9–11. Here we describe a mechanism that might be involved in selectively strengthening the effect of thalamic inputs. We show that neighbouring geniculate neurons with overlapping receptive fields of the same type (on-centre or off-centre) often fire spikes that are synchronized to within 1 millisecond. Moreover, these neurons often project to a common cortical target neuron where synchronous spikes are more effective in evoking a postsynaptic response. We propose that precisely correlated firing within a group of geniculate neurons could serve to reinforce the thalamic input to cortical simple cells.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Hubel, D. H. & Wiesel, T. N. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 160, 106–154 (1962).
Chapman, B., Zahs, K. R. & Stryker, M. P. J. Neurosci. 11, 1347–1358 (1991).
Tanaka, K. J. Neurophysiol. 49, 1303–1318 (1983).
Reid, R. C. & Alonso, J. M. Nature 378, 281–284 (1995).
Ferster, D., Chung, S. & Wheat, H. Nature 380, 249–252 (1996).
LeVay, S. & Gilbert, C. D. Brain Res. 113, 1–19 (1976).
Peters, A. & Payne, B. R. Cerebral Cortex 3, 69–78 (1993).
Ahmed, B., Anderson, J. C., Douglas, R. J., Martin, K. A. C. & Nelson, J. C. J. Comp. neurol. 341, 39–49 (1994).
Douglas, R. J., Koch, C., Mahowald, M., Martin, K. A. & Suarez, H. H. Science 269, 981–985 (1995).
Somers, D. C., Nelson, S. B. & Sur, M. J. Neurosci. 15, 5448–5465 (1995).
Stratford, K. J., Tarczy-Hornoch, K., Martin, K. A. C., Bannister, N. J. & Jack, J. J. B. Nature 382, 258–261 (1996).
Hamos, J. E., Van Horn, S. C., Raczkowski, D. & Sherman, S. M. J. Comp. Neurol. 259, 165–192 (1987).
Cleland, B. G., Dubin, M. W. & Levick, W. R. Nature New. Biol. 231, 191–192 (1971).
Stevens, J. K. & Gerstein, G. L. J. Neurophysiol. 39, 239–256 (1976).
Sillito, A. M., Jones, H. E., Gerstein, G. L. & West, D. C. Nature 369, 479–482 (1994).
Neuenschwander, S. & Singer, W. Nature 379, 728–732 (1996).
Rodieck, R. W. J. Neurophysiol. 30, 1043–1071 (1967).
Mastronarde, D. N. Trends Neurosci. 12, 75–80 (1989).
Meister, M., Lagnado, L. & Baylor, D. A. Science 270, 1207–1210 (1995).
Toyama, K., Kimura, M. & Tanaka, K. J. Neurophysiol. 46, 191–201 (1981).
Ts'o, D. Y., Gilbert, C. D. & Wiesel, T. N. J. Neurosci. 6, 1160–1170 (1986).
Singer, W. & Gray, C. M. Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 18, 555–586 (1995).
Jones, J. P. & Palmer, L. A. J. Neurophysiol. 58, 1233–1258 (1987).
Sutter, E. Adv. Meth. Physiol. Systems Model 1, 303–315 (Univ. Southern California, 1987).
Meister, M., Wong, R. O. L., Baylor, D. A. & Shatz, C. J. Science 252, 939–943 (1991).
Dan, Y., Alonso, J. M., Usrey, W. M. & Reid, R. C. Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. 22, 1703 (1996).
Jagadeesh, B., Wheat, H. S. & Ferster, D. Science 262, 1901–1904 (1993).
Hirsch, J. A., Alonso, J. M. & Reid, R. C. Nature 378, 612–616 (1995).
Eckhorn, R. & Thomas, U. J. Neurosci. Methods. 49, 175–179 (1993).
Perkel, D. H., Gerstein, G. L. & Moore, G. P. Biophys. J. 7, 419–440 (1967).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Alonso, JM., Usrey, W. & Reid, R. Precisely correlated firing in cells of the lateral geniculate nucleus. Nature 383, 815–819 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/383815a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/383815a0
This article is cited by
-
The structures and functions of correlations in neural population codes
Nature Reviews Neuroscience (2022)
-
High-density electrode recordings reveal strong and specific connections between retinal ganglion cells and midbrain neurons
Nature Communications (2022)
-
A theory of cortical map formation in the visual brain
Nature Communications (2022)
-
Correlations enhance the behavioral readout of neural population activity in association cortex
Nature Neuroscience (2021)
-
Regional specificity of cortico-thalamic coupling strength and directionality during waxing and waning of spike and wave discharges
Scientific Reports (2019)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.