Selective modulation of cortical state during spatial attention

• Autores: Tatiana A. Engel, Nicholas A. Steinmetz, Marc A. Gieselmann
• Localización: Science, ISSN 0036-8075, Vol. 354, Nº 6316, 2016, págs. 1140-1144
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Neocortical activity is permeated with endogenously generated fluctuations, but how these dynamics affect goal-directed behavior remains a mystery. We found that ensemble neural activity in primate visual cortex spontaneously fluctuated between phases of vigorous (On) and faint (Off) spiking synchronously across cortical layers. These On-Off dynamics, reflecting global changes in cortical state, were also modulated at a local scale during selective attention. Moreover, the momentary phase of local ensemble activity predicted behavioral performance. Our results show that cortical state is controlled locally within a cortical map according to cognitive demands and reveal the impact of these local changes in cortical state on goal-directed behavior.