@article {47265,
	title = {Thalamus provides layer 4 of primary visual cortex with orientation- and direction-tuned inputs.},
	journal = {Nature Neuroscience},
	volume = {19},
	year = {2016},
	month = {2016 Feb},
	pages = {308-15},
	abstract = {<p>Understanding the functions of a brain region requires knowing the neural representations of its myriad inputs, local neurons and outputs. Primary visual cortex (V1) has long been thought to compute visual orientation from untuned thalamic inputs, but very few thalamic inputs have been measured in any mammal. We determined the response properties of ~28,000 thalamic boutons and ~4,000 cortical neurons in layers 1{\textendash}5 of awake mouse V1. Using adaptive optics that allows accurate measurement of bouton activity deep in cortex, we found that around half of the boutons in the main thalamorecipient L4 carried orientation-tuned information and that their orientation and direction biases were also dominant in the L4 neuron population, suggesting that these neurons may inherit their selectivity from tuned thalamic inputs. Cortical neurons in all layers exhibited sharper tuning than thalamic boutons and a greater diversity of preferred orientations. Our results provide data-rich constraints for refining mechanistic models of cortical computation.</p>
},
	doi = {10.1038/nn.4196},
	author = {Sun, Wenzhi and Tan, Zhongchao and Mensh, Brett D and Ji, Na}
}
@article {6031,
	title = {Two-photon calcium imaging during fictive navigation in virtual environments.},
	journal = {Frontiers in Neural Circuits},
	volume = {7},
	year = {2013},
	month = {2013 Jun 6},
	pages = {104},
	abstract = {<p>A full understanding of nervous system function requires recording from large populations of neurons during naturalistic behaviors. Here we enable paralyzed larval zebrafish to fictively navigate two-dimensional virtual environments while we record optically from many neurons with two-photon imaging. Electrical recordings from motor nerves in the tail are decoded into intended forward swims and turns, which are used to update a virtual environment displayed underneath the fish. Several behavioral features-such as turning responses to whole-field motion and dark avoidance-are well-replicated in this virtual setting. We readily observed neuronal populations in the hindbrain with laterally selective responses that correlated with right or left optomotor behavior. We also observed neurons in the habenula, pallium, and midbrain with response properties specific to environmental features. Beyond single-cell correlations, the classification of network activity in such virtual settings promises to reveal principles of brainwide neural dynamics during behavior.</p>
},
	issn = {1662-5110},
	doi = {10.3389/fncir.2013.00104 *equal contribution},
	author = {Ahrens, Misha B* and Huang, Kuo Hua* and Narayan, Sujatha and Mensh, Brett D and Engert, Florian}
}
