Correlated Firing in Macaque Visual Area MT: Time Scales and Relationship to Behavior

• DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.21-05-01676.2001
• Publication Date: 2018-04-06T18:26:24Z
• Authors: Wyeth Bair; Ehud Zohary; William T. Newsome
• Keywords: Stimulus (psychology); Uncorrelated; Pooling

We studied the simultaneous activity of pairs neurons recorded with a single electrode in visual cortical area MT while monkeys performed direction discrimination task. Previously, we reported strength interneuronal correlation spike count on time scale behavioral epoch (2 sec) and noted its potential impact signal pooling (Zohary et al., 1994). have now examined at longer shorter scales found that pair-wise cross-correlation was predominantly short term (10–100 msec). Narrow, central peaks train cross-correlograms were largely responsible for correlated counts epoch. Longer-term (many seconds to minutes) changes responsiveness observed auto-correlations; however, these slow average uncorrelated between neurons. Knowledge limited allowed derivation more efficient metric based timing information, it also revealed relative advantage larger neuronal pools integration times. Finally, did not depend presence stimulus or choice animal. It varied little condition but stronger similar tuning curves. Taken together, our results strengthen view common input, selectivity, noise are tightly linked functioning circuits.