Data from: Dynamic population codes of multiplexed stimulus features in primate area MT

The middle-temporal area (MT) of primate visual cortex is critical in the analysis of visual motion. Single-unit studies suggest that the response dynamics of neurons within area MT depend on stimulus features, but how these dynamics emerge at the population level, and how feature representations interact, is not clear. Here, we used multivariate classification analysis to study how stimulus features are represented in the spiking activity of populations of neurons in area MT of marmoset monkey. Using Representational Similarity Analysis (RSA) we distinguished the emerging representations of moving grating and dot field stimuli. We show that representations of stimulus orientation, spatial frequency and speed are evident near the onset of the population response, while the representation of stimulus direction is slower to emerge and sustained throughout the stimulus-evoked response. We further found a spatiotemporal asymmetry in the emergence of direction representations. Representations for high spatial frequencies and low temporal frequencies are initially orientation-dependent, while those for high temporal frequencies and low spatial frequencies are more sensitive to motion direction. Our analyses reveal a complex interplay of feature representations in area MT population response that may explain the stimulus-dependent dynamics of motion vision.

灵长类视觉皮层的中颞区（middle-temporal area, MT）在视觉运动分析中发挥关键作用。单神经元研究表明，MT脑区内神经元的响应动力学依赖于刺激特征，但目前尚不清楚这些动力学如何在群体层面产生，以及特征表征如何相互作用。本研究采用多元分类分析，探究狨猴（marmoset monkey）MT脑区神经元群体的锋电位活动中刺激特征的表征方式。通过表征相似性分析（Representational Similarity Analysis, RSA），我们区分了运动光栅与点场刺激的新兴表征。结果显示，刺激方位、空间频率与速度的表征在群体响应启动初期便已显现，而刺激方向的表征出现较慢，并在整个刺激诱发的响应过程中持续存在。我们进一步发现方向表征的产生存在时空不对称性：高空间频率与低时间频率的表征最初依赖于方位，而高时间频率与低空间频率的表征则对运动方向更为敏感。本研究揭示了MT脑区群体响应中特征表征的复杂交互作用，这或可解释运动视觉中依赖于刺激的响应动力学。