Statistical Comparision of Spike Responses to Natural Stimuli in Monkey
Area V1 With Simulated Responses of a Detailed Laminar Network Model for a
Patch of V1
M. J. Rasch, K. Schuch, N. K. Logothetis, and W. Maass
Abstract:
A major goal of computational neuroscience is the creation of computer models
for cortical areas whose response to sensory stimuli resembles that of
cortical areas in vivo in important aspects. It is seldom considered whether
the simulated spiking activity is realistic (in a statistical sense) in
response to natural stimuli. Because certain statistical properties of spike
responses were suggested to facilitate computations in the cortex, acquiring
a realistic firing regimen in cortical network models might be a prerequisite
for analyzing their computational functions. We present a characterization
and comparison of the statistical response properties of the primary visual
cortex (V1) in vivo and in silico in response to natural stimuli. We recorded
from multiple electrodes in area V1 of 4 macaque monkeys and developed a
large state-of-the-art network model for a 5 x 5-mm patch of V1 composed of
35,000 neurons and 3.9 million synapses that integrates previously published
anatomical and physiological details. By quantitative comparison of the model
response to the "statistical fingerprint" of responses in vivo, we find that
our model for a patch of V1 responds to the same movie in a way which matches
the statistical structure of the recorded data surprisingly well. The
deviation between the firing regimen of the model and the in vivo data are on
the same level as deviations among monkeys and sessions. This suggests that,
despite strong simplifications and abstractions of cortical network models,
they are nevertheless capable of generating realistic spiking activity. To
reach a realistic firing state, it was not only necessary to include both
N-methyl- D-aspartate and GABAB synaptic conductances in our model, but also
to markedly increase the strength of excitatory synapses onto inhibitory
neurons (more than 2-fold) in comparison to literature values, hinting at the
importance to carefully adjust the effect of inhibition for achieving
realistic dynamics in current network models.
Reference: M. J. Rasch, K. Schuch, N. K. Logothetis, and W. Maass.
Statistical comparision of spike responses to natural stimuli in monkey area
V1 with simulated responses of a detailed laminar network model for a patch
of V1.
J Neurophysiol, 105:757-778, 2011.