Topic: neural firing patterns

Observation of neural firing patterns can constrain theories for the types of activity patterns that the brain uses to guide behavior. However, directly perturbing neural activity, ideally with great specificity, is required to causally test any particular theory. We combined two-photon (2p) imaging and cellular resolution optogenetic photostimulation1 to causally test how neural activity in the mouse primary visual cortex (V1) is read out to detect visual stimuli. Both an unweighted mean readout or a weighted read out of visually sensitive neurons could support detection, but the weighted rea