eNeuroPub Date : 2026-05-08Print Date: 2026-05-01DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0176-24.2026
Yavuz Selim Uzun, Renata Santos, Maria C Marchetto, Krishnan Padmanabhan
{"title":"Cell Density Impacts Population Activity in Human iPSC-Derived Neural Networks.","authors":"Yavuz Selim Uzun, Renata Santos, Maria C Marchetto, Krishnan Padmanabhan","doi":"10.1523/ENEURO.0176-24.2026","DOIUrl":"10.1523/ENEURO.0176-24.2026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Multi-electrode recording of neuronal activity in cultures offer opportunities for understanding how the structure of a network gives rise to function. Neuronal cultures derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from male and female individuals are often plated at highly variable cell densities across studies, but its impact on neuronal activity remains poorly understood. We found that properties such as the mean firing rate of the individual cells, the pairwise correlations between cells, and the entropy of the population all changed significantly with changes in culture density. We used a maximum entropy model to capture the structure of the population activity using only the firing rates and correlations, and we found that the model performed best at the highest densities, suggesting that changes in activity reflected differences in structure of interactions between neurons across scales of complexity. Our work thus shows that culture density is an important experimental parameter that impacts neuronal activity in human iPSC-derived cultures. Additionally, our findings provide an analytical framework to study population activity in neuronal cultures including those from patient populations where a disease process may impact network activity.</p>","PeriodicalId":11617,"journal":{"name":"eNeuro","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147766008","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
eNeuroPub Date : 2026-05-08Print Date: 2026-05-01DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0480-25.2026
Brian D Burrell
{"title":"Role of Concentration in Opposing Effects of Anandamide on Nociceptive Synapses versus Non-nociceptive Synapses.","authors":"Brian D Burrell","doi":"10.1523/ENEURO.0480-25.2026","DOIUrl":"10.1523/ENEURO.0480-25.2026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>There is considerable interest in cannabinoid-based therapies to treat pain, but activation of the endogenous cannabinoid (endocannabinoid) system can elicit pro- and anti-nociceptive effects. This study tests the hypothesis that the concentration of the endocannabinoid arachidonoylethanolamine (AEA) contributes to whether pro- or anti-nociceptive effects are observed. Experiments were carried out using isolated ganglia from the medicinal leech <i>Hirudo verbana</i> where it is possible to selectively record from nociceptive and non-nociceptive synapses in the central nervous system (CNS). Previous studies using <i>Hirudo</i> have shown that endocannabinoids depress nociceptive (N) sensory cell synapses and potentiate of non-nociceptive pressure (P) sensory cell synapses. In this study, exogenously applied AEA produced depression of N synapses and potentiation of P synapses across the same range of concentrations. However, the results differed when using URB597, a drug that raises AEA by inhibiting fatty acid amine hydrolase (FAAH), the enzyme that metabolizes AEA. Potentiation of P synapses required higher concentrations of URB597 compared with the concentrations needed to elicit depression of N synapses. Interestingly, pairing somatosensory afferent activity with a normally subthreshold concentration of URB597 did elicit potentiation in P synapses. Sensitivity of the nociceptive and non-nociceptive synapses to cannabinoid receptor inhibitors differed when AEA versus UBR597 was applied. This study demonstrates the complexity of AEA-mediated effects on distinct synapse types that may be informative about the basic biology of endocannabinoid modulation of nociception.</p>","PeriodicalId":11617,"journal":{"name":"eNeuro","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147765976","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
eNeuroPub Date : 2026-05-08DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0124-26.2026
Silei Zhu, Tingan Zhu, Abdelrahman Sharafeldin, Marc Mancarella, Farran Briggs
{"title":"Heading and then saccades predict visual discrimination decisions in freely moving ferrets.","authors":"Silei Zhu, Tingan Zhu, Abdelrahman Sharafeldin, Marc Mancarella, Farran Briggs","doi":"10.1523/ENEURO.0124-26.2026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0124-26.2026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Decision-making is a continuous process that manifests as evolving sequences of motor movements while animals navigate the sensory environment. Studying decision-making in a naturalistic setting has been challenging as restrictions are typically imposed on subjects' motor actions in the laboratory. We utilized a novel paradigm in which animals move freely throughout the decision-making process to examine the sequence and timing of motor actions predictive of decisions. We trained freely moving ferrets (2 males, 3 females), highly visual carnivores, to perform visual discrimination tasks and measured their head position and eye movements to assess the temporal dynamics of heading and saccades during visually guided decisions. We discovered that heading revealed ferrets' \"turning time\" per trial, signaling their choices, and heading on its own best predicted ferrets' decisions. Ferrets made decisions quickly and decisively, although total trial durations varied across animals. Importantly, initial heading, at the beginning of the decision-making process, revealed ferrets' decision biases and task strategies. Ferrets made choice-directed saccades on most trials. Horizontal eye movements and saccades were also predictive of decisions, but saccades followed choice-indicative head turns. These results show that ferrets make quick decisions with minimal visual scanning, then orient first with their heads and then with saccades toward targets displaced by more than 10 degrees. Furthermore, our findings indicate that heading is the most robust predictor of visually guided decision-making, followed by saccades. Together, these motor actions provide reliable, non-invasive readouts of the temporal dynamics of natural visual decision-making in freely moving subjects.<b>Significance Statement</b> A fundamental challenge in neuroscience is to understand how cognitive processes like making decisions occur during natural behaviors. Recent technological advances have made it possible to rigorously measure body and eye movements in freely moving animal subjects. Here, we leverage these capabilities to determine whether heading or eye movements predict decisions in ferrets performing visual discrimination tasks. We show that ferrets indicate their choices by orienting first with their heads and then with their eyes. Heading position also revealed animals' individual biases. These results demonstrate that heading is the most reliable indicator of individual subjects' decision making in real time, providing a non-invasive readout of cognition in freely moving subjects.</p>","PeriodicalId":11617,"journal":{"name":"eNeuro","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147856112","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
eNeuroPub Date : 2026-05-08Print Date: 2026-05-01DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0330-25.2026
Kai Clane Belonio, Zach Fyke, Eyerusalem S Haile, Tahniat Nadeem, Joseph D Zak
{"title":"Microglial Morphological Complexity in the Piriform Cortex Is Associated with Olfactory Aversion Following Chronic Stress.","authors":"Kai Clane Belonio, Zach Fyke, Eyerusalem S Haile, Tahniat Nadeem, Joseph D Zak","doi":"10.1523/ENEURO.0330-25.2026","DOIUrl":"10.1523/ENEURO.0330-25.2026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Olfactory anhedonia and heightened aversion to unpleasant odors are well-documented features of depression in humans, yet the neural mechanisms linking chronic stress to altered olfactory perception remain poorly understood. We used the unpredictable chronic mild stress (UCMS) paradigm to examine how chronic stress affects olfactory avoidance behavior and glial cell morphology across multiple olfactory brain regions in male and female mice. UCMS-treated mice showed increased avoidance of aversive odorants in an odorized light/dark box assay, consistent with heightened aversive reactivity to odors following chronic stress. Using immunohistochemistry, we assessed microglial morphology and astrocyte density across six olfactory and limbic brain regions. Chronic stress produced region-specific glial remodeling: astrocyte counts were selectively elevated in the medial amygdala, and microglial process complexity was increased in the anterior olfactory nucleus and anterior piriform cortex. Microglial morphological complexity in the anterior piriform cortex was correlated with individual odor avoidance scores. These findings reveal that chronic stress induces regionally specific glial plasticity within olfactory sensory and affective networks and suggest that microglial remodeling in piriform cortex may contribute to stress-related changes in olfactory perception.</p>","PeriodicalId":11617,"journal":{"name":"eNeuro","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147653997","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
eNeuroPub Date : 2026-05-07Print Date: 2026-05-01DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0010-26.2026
Matthew Tarchick, Franklin Caval-Holme, Ben Smith, Petra Mocellin, Markita Landry, Natsumi Komatsu, Marla B Feller
{"title":"Adapting a Two-Photon Scanning Microscope for Simultaneous Single-Photon Imaging of an Infrared Dopamine Sensor.","authors":"Matthew Tarchick, Franklin Caval-Holme, Ben Smith, Petra Mocellin, Markita Landry, Natsumi Komatsu, Marla B Feller","doi":"10.1523/ENEURO.0010-26.2026","DOIUrl":"10.1523/ENEURO.0010-26.2026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We describe a novel method for adapting a two-photon scanning microscope to enable simultaneous detection of two-photon-generated visible fluorescence and single-photon-generated near-infrared (nIR) fluorescence. In this configuration, nIR fluorescence is routed through a single-mode optical fiber before detection by a photomultiplier tube. This fiber coupling offers two advantages: first, the optical fiber functions as a pinhole aperture, allowing for improved optical sectioning of the nIR signal; second, it minimizes nIR background fluorescence. To validate the effectiveness of this design, we conducted two sets of experiments in male and female C57B/6J mice. First, we compare two fluorescence indicators of the neurotransmitter dopamine: the genetically encoded indicator GRAB<sub>DA</sub> and single-walled carbon nanotube-based optical nanosensors (nIRCats). Although nIRCats exhibit lower affinity for dopamine than GRAB<sub>DA</sub>, this property allows for identification of high concentration release sites in the striatum. Second, we simultaneously imaged depolarization-induced calcium changes and dopamine release in the retina. Together, these results demonstrate the utility of integrating confocal nIR detection into a two-photon platform for simultaneous functional imaging across complementary spectral channels.</p>","PeriodicalId":11617,"journal":{"name":"eNeuro","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13152679/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147715912","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
eNeuroPub Date : 2026-05-07Print Date: 2026-05-01DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0444-25.2026
Briee Mercier, Sandra M Garraway, Matthew L Beckman, Mark A Masino
{"title":"Refinement of Locomotor Activity during Development Is Correlated to Increased Dopaminergic Signaling in Larval Zebrafish.","authors":"Briee Mercier, Sandra M Garraway, Matthew L Beckman, Mark A Masino","doi":"10.1523/ENEURO.0444-25.2026","DOIUrl":"10.1523/ENEURO.0444-25.2026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The refinement of gross motor skills, such as locomotion, during development is conserved across vertebrate species. Our previous work demonstrated, in larval zebrafish, that dopaminergic signaling through the dopamine D2-like family of receptors, specifically the dopamine 4 receptor subtype, was necessary for the developmental transformation of behaviorally relevant locomotor activity from an immature to a mature pattern between 3 and 4 d postfertilization. In this study, we used a complement of tools, including electrophysiology, pharmacology, in vivo calcium imaging, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction to characterize the functional and molecular mechanisms responsible for this dopaminergic-mediated refinement of spinal locomotor activity. The results demonstrate that the dopamine 4 receptor subtype is functional in, at least, a subset of immature larvae. Further, gene expression of all D2-like receptor subtypes, levels of dopamine, and activity of diencephalic dopaminergic neurons are significantly greater in mature larvae compared with immature larvae. The integration of these results provides correlative evidence for the developmental role of dopaminergic signaling, specifically the dopamine receptor 4 subtype, in the refinement of locomotor activity in vertebrates.</p>","PeriodicalId":11617,"journal":{"name":"eNeuro","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13153450/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147697937","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
eNeuroPub Date : 2026-05-06DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0400-25.2026
Shi-Xiang Luo, Shih-Yun Chen, Hsiao-Ying Kuo, Fu-Chin Liu
{"title":"Whole-Brain Mapping of Neuronal Activity Associated with Vocal Socialization Behaviors in Adult Mice.","authors":"Shi-Xiang Luo, Shih-Yun Chen, Hsiao-Ying Kuo, Fu-Chin Liu","doi":"10.1523/ENEURO.0400-25.2026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0400-25.2026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Vocal communication is essential for social behavior, yet the distributed brain networks underlying vocal production remain elusive. Male mice produce ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) during courtship, providing a rodent model for investigating neural circuits underlying innate vocal communication. Here, we used a double-labelling strategy that combined genetic activity tagging (TRAP2) and c-Fos immunohistochemistry to generate an unbiased, whole-brain map of neuronal ensembles activated during courtship-induced USV production in adult male mice. By tracking neuronal activity across 25 brain regions during two independent courtship sessions, we identified populations consistently recruited during social vocalization. Quantitative analyses revealed robust activation in the caudal periaqueductal gray, confirming its established role as a hub for vocal motor control. Importantly, correlation analyses between neuronal activity and USV count distinguished regions specifically linked to vocal output from those associated with general social interaction. The medial prefrontal cortex, particularly the prelimbic and cingulate cortices, exhibited strong positive correlations with USV production, suggesting an integrative role in translating the social and motivational context into vocal commands. Notably, the rostral striatum showed a strong correlation with USV count, with vocalization-related activity preferentially localized within striosome compartments of the medial striatum. Given that striosomes receive limbic cortical input and are implicated in motivational processing, these findings suggest that corticostriatal limbic-motor circuits modulate innate vocalization contingent on emotional and social contexts. Collectively, our study proposes a comprehensive neuroanatomical framework linking cortical motivation centers, striatal limbic-motor pathways, and brainstem vocal motor circuits, providing insights into the distributed neural architecture underlying mammalian social communication.<b>Significance Statement</b> Mouse ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) provide a mammalian model for investigating the neural circuits underlying social communication. Using whole-brain activity mapping with double labeling of TRAP2 and c-Fos, we identified a distributed network extending from the medial prefrontal cortex and striatum to the periaqueductal gray that is recruited during courtship-induced vocalization. The discovery that USV-related neurons in the striatum are preferentially localized to striosomal compartments reveals a potential limbic-motor interface for integrating social motivation with vocal motor output. Together, these findings identify a multi-level neural network that may be evolutionarily conserved for integrating motivation and motor control in mammalian communication.</p>","PeriodicalId":11617,"journal":{"name":"eNeuro","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147834883","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
eNeuroPub Date : 2026-05-06DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0348-25.2026
Iran Gutierrez, Oindrila Sinha, Nathan Baune, Jasmine Mirdamadi, Michael Borich
{"title":"Disrupting motor cortical regional activity during motor sequence skill training impairs human motor visuomotor skill acquisition and learning that is not sequence-specific.","authors":"Iran Gutierrez, Oindrila Sinha, Nathan Baune, Jasmine Mirdamadi, Michael Borich","doi":"10.1523/ENEURO.0348-25.2026","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0348-25.2026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Implicit sequence and visuomotor skill learning is important for successful goal-directed behavior in everyday tasks. However, prior research has primarily relied on correlational methods to investigate the underlying neural mechanisms of sequence and visuomotor skill learning. To evaluate the necessary contributions of different motor cortical regions to both types of skill learning, we enrolled 62 neurotypical adults (41 female, 21 male) and delivered spatiotemporally resolved single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over either the premotor cortex (PMC) or primary motor cortex (M1) to transiently disrupt activity while participants practiced an implicit motor sequence task. We hypothesized that 1) PMC disruption would preferentially reduce sequence-specific skill acquisition (Experiment 1) and retention (Experiment 2) while 2) M1 disruption would diminish visuomotor skill acquisition and retention but not sequence learning. Our results demonstrated that TMS-based interference over both M1 and PMC did not disrupt implicit sequence-specific motor skill learning after training however, it did disrupt visuomotor skill acquisition and total learning that was not sequence-specific. Further, disruption of PMC activity had a greater effect on reducing visuomotor skill learning than M1 supporting a potentially distinct role of the PMC in the early stages of skill learning.<b>Significance Statement:</b> Determining which brain areas are required for motor sequence learning is crucial to understanding goal-directed behaviors in everyday life. However, the causal contributions of regional brain activity to implicit sequence learning are poorly understood. Here we used single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), a form of noninvasive brain stimulation, to interfere with activity in either premotor (PMC) or primary motor (M1) cortex during implicit motor sequence learning. Our results highlight that both regions are engaged during learning and that PMC may play a unique role in general visuomotor acquisition and may contribute to sequence-specific skill learning. Study findings could contribute to identifying of neural biomarkers necessary to develop precise and personalized neuromodulation strategies for enhancing of motor skill learning and/or recovery.</p>","PeriodicalId":11617,"journal":{"name":"eNeuro","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147834896","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
eNeuroPub Date : 2026-05-04Print Date: 2026-05-01DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0357-25.2026
Alexandra Barayeu, Maria Schlungbaum, Benjamin Lindner, Jan Grewe, Jan Benda
{"title":"Spike Generation in Electroreceptor Afferents Introduces Additional Spectral Response Components by Weakly Nonlinear Interactions.","authors":"Alexandra Barayeu, Maria Schlungbaum, Benjamin Lindner, Jan Grewe, Jan Benda","doi":"10.1523/ENEURO.0357-25.2026","DOIUrl":"10.1523/ENEURO.0357-25.2026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Spiking thresholds in neurons or rectification at synapses are essential for neuronal computations rendering neuronal processing inherently nonlinear. Nevertheless, linear response theory has been instrumental for understanding, for example, the impact of noise or neuronal synchrony on signal transmission, or the emergence of oscillatory activity, but is valid only at low stimulus amplitudes or large levels of intrinsic noise. At higher signal-to-noise ratios, however, nonlinear response components become relevant. Theoretical results for leaky integrate-and-fire neurons in the weakly nonlinear regime suggest strong responses at the sum of two input frequencies if one of these frequencies or their sum matches the neuron's baseline firing rate. We here analyze nonlinear responses in two types of primary electroreceptor afferents, the P-units of the active and the ampullary cells of the passive electrosensory system of the wave-type electric fish <i>Apteronotus leptorhynchus</i> of either sex. In our combined experimental and modeling approach, we identify these predicted nonlinear responses in those 31 out of 172 P-units that are characterized by low intrinsic noise. In contrast, the majority (22 out of 30) ampullary cells show nonlinear responses. Our results provide experimental evidence for nonlinear responses of spike generators in the weakly nonlinear regime. We conclude that such nonlinear responses occur in any sensory neuron that operates in similar regimes, particularly at near-threshold stimulus conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":11617,"journal":{"name":"eNeuro","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13150474/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147590640","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
eNeuroPub Date : 2026-05-04Print Date: 2026-05-01DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0060-26.2026
Michaela Vystrčilová, Shashwat Sridhar, Max F Burg, Mohammad H Khani, Dimokratis Karamanlis, Helene M Schreyer, Varsha Ramakrishna, Steffen Krüppel, Sören J Zapp, Matthias Mietsch, Tim Gollisch, Alexander S Ecker
{"title":"Spatial Adaptation of Primate Retinal Ganglion Cells Between Artificial and Natural Stimuli.","authors":"Michaela Vystrčilová, Shashwat Sridhar, Max F Burg, Mohammad H Khani, Dimokratis Karamanlis, Helene M Schreyer, Varsha Ramakrishna, Steffen Krüppel, Sören J Zapp, Matthias Mietsch, Tim Gollisch, Alexander S Ecker","doi":"10.1523/ENEURO.0060-26.2026","DOIUrl":"10.1523/ENEURO.0060-26.2026","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The retina encodes a broad range of stimuli, adapting its computations to features like brightness, contrast, and motion. However, it is unclear whether it also adapts when switching between natural scenes and white noise (WN). To address this, we analyzed the neural activity of male marmoset retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in response to WN and naturalistic movies. We trained linear-nonlinear models on both stimuli, evaluated their performance, and compared their receptive fields across stimulus domains. We found that models with spatial filters trained on one stimulus ensemble were less accurate when predicting neural activity on the other compared to models trained directly on the target stimulus. This suggests that spatial processing adapts to stimulus statistics. Different RGC types exhibited distinct changes: The OFF midget cells' receptive fields became enlarged under natural movies (NMs), resulting in a lower cutoff frequency. Parasol cells and large OFF cells did not significantly change their receptive field sizes. All cell types exhibited stronger surrounds under NMs, resembling the whitening filters predicted by efficient coding for stimulus decorrelation, prompting us to test whether these changes were related to the different spectral content of the two stimulus types. Quantifying the effects of the filters' enhanced surrounds on the stimulus power spectrum showed a significant contribution toward whitening only in ON parasol cells, where a whitening effect emerged regardless of the training stimulus. These results suggest that while RGCs adapt to the differences between WN and NM stimuli, efficient coding can only partially account for this adaptation.</p>","PeriodicalId":11617,"journal":{"name":"eNeuro","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13138850/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147485030","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}