Normalization and the Cholinergic Microcircuit: A Unified Basis for Attention. Issue 5 (May 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Schmitz, Taylor W.; Duncan, John
• Is Part Of: Trends in cognitive sciences. Volume 22:Issue 5(2018)
• Page Start: 422
• Page End: 437
• Publication Date: 2018-05
• Subjects: attention -- divisive normalization -- noise correlation -- acetylcholine/cholinergic -- basal forebrain -- cortical circuit; Cognitive science -- Periodicals; Cognitive neuroscience -- Periodicals; 153.05
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2018.02.011
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1364-6613

Abstract

Abstract : Attention alters three key properties of population neural activity – firing rate, rate variability, and shared variability between neurons. All three properties are well explained by a single canonical computation – normalization – that acts across hierarchically integrated brain systems. Combining data from rodents and nonhuman primates, we argue that cortical cholinergic modulation originating from the basal forebrain closely mimics the effects of directed attention on these three properties of population neural activity. Cholinergic modulation of the cortical microcircuit underlying normalization may represent a key biological basis for the rapid and flexible changes in population neuronal coding that are required by directed attention. Highlights: Multi-electrode electrophysiology work indicates widespread effects of attention on neural firing rates, firing rate variability or noise, and correlated noise between neurons. These changes are well explained by a single computation – normalization – optimizing population neuronal coding similarly throughout the cortical hierarchy. The effects of attention are closely mirrored by cholinergically driven changes in population response patterns, implying that both modulate normalization. Modulation of cholinergic drive may be a key neural mechanism of directed attention.