Lmst

The #neurons that let us see what isn’t there
A standard #opticalillusion triggers specific neurons in the #visual system of mice.
“Illusions are fun, but they are also a gateway to perception,” says Hyeyoung Shin, assistant professor of neuroscience at Seoul National Universitym first author of a new study in Nature Neuroscience that identified a specific population of neurons in #visualcortex—dubbed IC-encoders—and shows a direct role in representing a visual illusion.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/10/the-neurons-that-let-us-see-what-isnt-there/

🧠 Rao & Ballard’s (1999) spatial #PredictiveCoding theory gets strong support: Zhang et al. (2025) show in mouse #VisualCortex that predictive coding is primarily spatial, not temporal. #2P #imaging of ~20,000 neurons found mismatch responses only when new spatial landmarks appeared, but not when sequences were reordered:

🌍 https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.09.17.676794

#Neuroscience

Figure 1: Mismatch neural responses to novel sensory inputs.

🧠 New study by Lempel et al. (2025): Visual experience after eye opening aligns #feedforward inputs (L4) and #RecurrentNetworks (L2/3) in mouse #VisualCortex. This improved alignment, together with enhanced orientation discrimination, creates coherent, reliable sensory codes, revealing how experience shapes stable #cortical representations:

🌍 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2025.09.012

#Neuroscience #CompNeuro #Plasticity #CorticalCircuits

Figure 1 Coactivity of L4 single units with modular L2/3 responses undergoes dramatic changes following experience

In their study, Morales-Gregorio et al. show that #NeuralManifolds in #V1 shift dynamically under top-down influence from #V4. They identify two distinct population activity states – eyes open vs. closed – with notably stronger V4→V1 signaling in the foveal region during eyes-open periods. A cool example of how cognitive context reshapes visual cortical dynamics.

🌍 https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(24)00699-5

#CompNeuro #Neuroscience #VisualCortex #NeuralManifolds #SystemsNeuroscience

A new study by Timothy Sit, Célian Bimbard, Anna Lebedeva, @MatteoCarandini, Philip Coen, and Kenneth Harris challenges the classic cortical column model. Using in vivo recordings, they show that layers 2/3 and 5 in #V1 encode distinct visual features — functionally dissociated, not redundant. A cool look into laminar specialization.

🌍 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.06.30.662366v2

#Neuroscience #VisualCortex #CorticalLayers #SystemsNeuroscience

From Retina to Cortex: The Brain’s Visual Processing Powerhouse

#VisualNeuroscience #BrainAndSight #NeuroscienceExplained #VisionScience #NeuralPathways #BrainFunctions #OpticNerve #VisualProcessing #Neurotransmitters #SightAndPerception #BrainHealth #VisualCortex #EyeBrainConnection #CognitiveScience #NeuroscienceEducation

https://youtube.com/shorts/anWkEbTNn-E?feature=share

Our paper, "Stimulus representations in visual cortex shaped by spatial attention and microsaccades" was just published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2420704122

#Attention #VisualAttention #SpatialAttention #VisualCortex #Microsaccades #Saccades #EyeMovements #Representation #Dynamics #ActiveCognition #ActiveSensing #Decoding #V4cortex #ITcortex #Pulvinar #Neuroscience #PNAS

This study shows that communication between the visual cortex and the brain's #language system is necessary for the representation of object knowledge in the #VisualCortex and for corresponding behaviors in humans @PLOSBiology https://plos.io/4k1Jkoz

Flowchart of the imaging and behavioral data analysis and the lesion distribution map of the 33 patients. The data processing workflow was as follows. Top left: Workflow for task fMRI data. Bottom left: workflow for HARDI data. Bottom right: Workflow for correlation analysis. Top right: the lesion distribution map of the 33 patients.

Que cosa más bella… 🤩

#MICroNS #InterneuronasInhibitorias #Mouse #VisualCortex #Neurology #Neurons

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07780-8

Scientists find abnormally slow neural dynamics in visual cortex of depressed individuals https://www.psypost.org/scientists-find-abnormally-slow-neural-dynamics-in-visual-cortex-of-depressed-individuals/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #Neuroscience #Depression #MentalHealth #BrainImaging #VisualCortex

The World We “See” in Our Mind is Not the World Our Eyes and Brain Perceive
▸ https://lttr.ai/AUwEK

#brain #neuroscience #reality #AlternateReality #Consciousness #VisualCortex

How do we process images with high vs low #memorability? @Blahner @Yalda_Mhz &co show that only images with high memorability scores undergo extended processing late in time throughout the ventral visual stream, including early #VisualCortex #PLOSBiology https://plos.io/4cDqn8u

Hierarchical #VAEs provide a normative account of motion processing in the primate brain and why the #VisualCortex is hierarchically organized – check this #NeurIPS2023 paper by Vafaii et al. (2023):

🌍 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.09.27.559646v2

#Neuroscience #CompNeuro #VAE

Figure 6: (a) Experimental setup form [100, 101]. (b) Both models explain MT neural variability well. (c) Distribution of best estimated latencies. (d) Spike-triggered averages (STA) are shown.

Alignment of feedback and feedforward explains, how feedback connects in #VisualCortex contribute to perceptual experiences such as #imagination, de-occlusions, or #hallucinations) – Check this #NeurIPS2023 paper by Tahereh Toosi and Elias B. Issa:

🌍 https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.20599

#CompNeuro #Neuroscience #Perception

Figure 1: Feedback-Feedforward Alignment

New work by Sanzeni et al. (2023): "Mechanisms underlying reshuffling of #visual responses by #optogenetic stimulation in mice and monkeys"

🌍 https://www.cell.com/neuron/fulltext/S0896-6273(23)00706-7

#Neuroscience #VisualCortex #Modelling

Visual working memories are abstractions of percepts – New #preprint by Duan and Curtis (2023)

🌍 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.12.01.569634v1

#Perception #Neuroscience #WorkingMemory #VisualCortex

Figure 1. Population receptive field mapping, trial design, and stimuli generation schema

Neurons in primary #VisualCortex (area V1) are driven by both sensory stimuli & nonsensory events; this study shows that during #visual & #auditory decisions, rat V1 represents multiple task features in an overlapping & distributed fashion #PLOSBiology https://plos.io/4840HPq