Abstract
We have used voltage-sensitive dyes to monitor in vivo responses to focal electrical stimulation of visual cortex. This technique allows the visualization of local cortical activity patterns as well as foci in distant cortical targets. A novel chamber, headholder, and optical system provided high intensity epifluorescent images of a large cortical expanse while permitting stimulation with a movable microelectrode. Stimulation at moderate intensities (5–100 μamps) produced a focus of activity (typically 1–2 mm width-at-half-height for rat and monkey) in the vicinity of the stimulating electrode in striate cortex. In addition, there were disjoint foci of excitation in extrastriate cortex. The locations of these foci agreed qualitatively with those expected from the known topography of striate and extrastriate cortex. The projection site in monkey V2 had a substructure that was correlated with the known stripe-like modular organization of V2. We were also able to discern interesting dynamical aspects of the optical activity pattern, including latency differences between the stimulus and projection regions as well as more complex spatio-temporal patterns within each activated region. We believe that this technique, which offers the ability to trace multiple connections in vivo at a resolution comparable to that provided by chemical tracers, is a promising method for investigating modular organization and dynamic aspects of neural connectivity in the cerebral cortex.
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Orbach, H.S., Felleman, D.J., Ribak, E.N., Van Essen, D.C. (1992). Visualization of Cortical Connections with Voltage Sensitive Dyes. In: Eeckman, F.H. (eds) Analysis and Modeling of Neural Systems. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4010-6_2
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