Rochefort Lab, Synapses, Circuits and Behaviour, University of Edinburgh, Center for Discover Brain Sciences, Edinburgh Scotland

Neuronal representations in the primary visual cortex (V1) are shaped by experience through the integration of both external visual inputs and internal signals related to an animal’s behaviour. The activity of V1 neurons is thus influenced by a variety of factors when animals navigate through their environment. Using in vivo two-photon calcium imaging, we examined the activity of V1 neurons before, during and after head-fixed mice were daily exposed to a visual stimulus that was either associated with a reward or just passively viewed. These results show that neuronal activity in V1 is highly dynamic and changes with the behavioral significance of visual inputs. We propose that this dynamic regulation of visual processing ultimately enhances and stabilizes the representation of task-relevant features while suppressing responses to non-relevant stimuli.

Nathalie Rochefort’s talk will be followed by a short career talk on her career journey, her mentors, advice to young scientists and more.

Lecture Poster

Series Overview >