Characterizing spatial information in feedforward and feedback signals between mouse visual and navigational areas

哺乳动物大脑中的视觉系统传统上被认为是以前馈分层结构处理视觉信息的。视网膜信息首先从外侧膝状核投射到初级视觉皮质，然后在高级视觉区域进一步处理，以实现功能特化。视觉导航是视觉导航的功能之一，它将地标/物体和自我运动信息投射到海马结构的空间记忆系统中。然而，最近的研究发现，从高级视觉区域、非视觉感觉运动区、皮质下区域到视觉区域的各种解剖反馈投射。此外，在包括导航、觉醒、运动在内的视觉区域观察到了功能性调制的非视觉信号。这表明视觉导航的信息流通过前馈和反馈投影在视觉区域和海马区之间是双向的。然而，目前还不清楚这些区域是如何通过双向投影相互作用的。该项目旨在通过在虚拟现实设置下使用最先进的神经像素的小鼠体内电生理学实验和先进的计算方法，研究空间信息是如何通过视觉区域和海马结构之间的前馈和反馈投影来处理的。

The visual system in the mammalian brain is traditionally believed to process visual information in a feedforward hierarchical structure. Retinal information is first projected to the primary visual cortex from the lateral geniculate nucleus, and further processed in higher visual areas for functional specializations. One of the functional specializations is visual navigation which project both landmark/object and self-motion information to the spatial memory system in the hippocampal formation. However, recent studies found a variety of anatomical feedback projections to visual areas from higher visual areas, non-visual sensorimotor areas, subcortical areas. Furthermore, functionally modulatory non-visual signals were observed in visual areas, including navigation, arousal, locomotion. This suggests that information flow for visual navigation is bidirectional between visual areas and the hippocampal formation by feedforward and feedback projections. Yet, it is unclear how these areas interact through the bidirectional projections. This project aims to investigate how spatial information is processed through feedforward and feedback projections between visual areas and hippocampal formation using in vivo electrophysiology experiments in mice with state-of-art Neuropixel under a virtual reality setup, and advanced computational methods.