PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
The processing of sensory information, even at early stages, is influenced by the internal state of the animal. Internal states, such as arousal, are often characterized by relating neural activity to a single \"level\" of arousal, defined by a behavioral indicator such as pupil size. In this study, we expand the understanding of arousal-related modulations in sensory systems by uncovering multiple timescales of pupil dynamics and their relationship to neural activity. Specifically, we observed a robust coupling between spiking activity in the mouse dorsolateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) of the thalamus and pupil dynamics across timescales spanning a few seconds to several minutes. Throughout all these timescales, 2 distinct spiking modes-individual tonic spikes and tightly clustered bursts of spikes-preferred opposite phases of pupil dynamics. This multi-scale coupling reveals modulations distinct from those captured by pupil size per se, locomotion, and eye movements. Furthermore, coupling persisted even during viewing of a naturalistic movie, where it contributed to differences in the encoding of visual information. We conclude that dLGN spiking activity is under the simultaneous influence of multiple arousal-related processes associated with pupil dynamics occurring over a broad range of timescales.
摘要：
感官信息的处理，即使在早期阶段，受到动物内部状态的影响。内部状态,比如唤醒，通常的特征是将神经活动与唤醒的单一“水平”相关联，由行为指标（如瞳孔大小）定义。在这项研究中,我们通过揭示瞳孔动力学的多个时间尺度及其与神经活动的关系，扩展了对感觉系统中唤醒相关调制的理解。具体来说,我们观察到小鼠丘脑背外侧膝状核（dLGN）的尖峰活动与瞳孔动力学之间在几秒钟至几分钟的时间尺度之间的强烈耦合。在所有这些时间尺度上，2种不同的尖峰模式-单个补品尖峰和紧密聚集的尖峰爆发-瞳孔动力学的相反阶段。这种多尺度耦合揭示了不同于瞳孔大小本身捕获的调制，运动，和眼球运动。此外，甚至在观看自然主义电影的过程中，耦合仍然存在，它导致了视觉信息编码的差异。我们得出的结论是，dLGN尖峰活动同时受到与瞳孔动力学相关的多个唤醒相关过程的影响，这些过程在广泛的时间尺度上发生。
