Optogenetic and Electrical Microstimulation Systematically Bias Visuospatial Choice in Primates
Optogenetic and Electrical Microstimulation Systematically Bias Visuospatial Choice in Primates
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DOI：
10.1016/j.cub.2013.11.011
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发表时间：
2014-01-06
期刊：
影响因子：
9.2
通讯作者：
Sheinberg, David L.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Dai, Ji;Brooks, Daniel I.;Sheinberg, David L.
光遗传学是一种最近开发的方法，其中神经元经过基因改造以表达对光敏感的膜蛋白，从而能够精确地有针对性地控制神经活动[1-3]。光神经刺激所提供的时间和空间精度有望成为当前神经控制方法的有力替代方案，在研究和临床环境中，目前的神经控制方法主要依赖于电学和药理学方法 [4, 5]。尽管光遗传学方法已广泛应用于啮齿动物和其他小动物模型来研究神经回路[6-8]，但其在灵长类动物模型中的功能应用已被证明更加困难。与相对大量的关于皮层电微刺激在知觉和决策任务中的影响的文献相比[9-13]，先前对灵长类动物的光遗传学刺激的研究尚未证明其在类似范式中的效用[14-18]。在这项研究中，我们直接比较了视觉空间辨别任务期间顶叶外侧区域的光遗传学激活和电微刺激的效果。我们观察到视觉注意力对两种形式的刺激的反应存在显着且可预测的偏差，这与视觉显着图的实验调制一致。我们的结果证明了光遗传学作为电微刺激的可行替代方案的力量，可用于精确解剖灵长类动物大脑高级过程的皮质通路。
Optogenetics is a recently developed method in which neurons are genetically modified to express membrane proteins sensitive to light, enabling precisely targeted control of neural activity [1-3]. The temporal and spatial precision afforded by neural stimulation by light holds promise as a powerful alternative to current methods of neural control, which rely predominantly on electrical and pharmacological methods, in both research and clinical settings [4, 5]. Although the optogenetic approach has been widely used in rodent and other small animal models to study neural circuitry [6-8], its functional application in primate models has proven more difficult. In contrast to the relatively large literature on the effects of cortical electrical microstimulation in perceptual and decision-making tasks [9-13], previous studies of optogenetic stimulation in primates have not demonstrated its utility in similar paradigms [14-18]. In this study, we directly compare the effects of optogenetic activation and electrical microstimulation in the lateral intraparietal area during a visuospatial discrimination task. We observed significant and predictable biases in visual attention in response to both forms of stimulation that are consistent with the experimental modulation of a visual salience map. Our results demonstrate the power of optogenetics as a viable alternative to electrical microstimulation for the precise dissection of the cortical pathways of high-level processes in the primate brain.