1. Long-range connections enrich cortical computations
- Author
-
Tatsuo K. Sato
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Flexibility (engineering) ,Cerebral Cortex ,Computer science ,General Neuroscience ,Cognition ,General Medicine ,Tracing ,Optogenetics ,DUAL (cognitive architecture) ,03 medical and health sciences ,030104 developmental biology ,0302 clinical medicine ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Visual cortex ,Cerebral cortex ,Cortex (anatomy) ,medicine ,Neuroscience ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,Visual Cortex - Abstract
The cerebral cortex can perform powerful computations, including those involved in higher cognitive functions. Cortical processing for such computations is executed by local circuits and is further enriched by long-range connectivity. This connectivity is activated under specific conditions and modulates local processing, providing flexibility in the computational performance of the cortex. For instance, long-range connectivity in the primary visual cortex exerts facilitatory impacts when the cortex is silent but suppressive impacts when the cortex is strongly sensory-stimulated. These dual impacts can be captured by a divisive gain control model. Recent methodological advances such as optogenetics, anatomical tracing, and two-photon microscopy have enabled neuroscientists to probe the circuit and synaptic bases of long-range connectivity in detail. Here, I review a series of evidence indicating essential roles of long-range connectivity in visual and hierarchical processing involving numerous cortical areas. I also describe an overview of the challenges encountered in investigating underlying synaptic mechanisms and highlight recent technical approaches that may overcome these difficulties and provide new insights into synaptic mechanisms for cortical processing involving long-range connectivity. more...
- Published
- 2020