The LFP Responses in Primary Visual Cortex to Light Flickering Stimulation

Light flicker stimulation, particularly at 40 Hz, has gained significant attention for its potential as a rapid and non-invasive treatment for various neurological and psychiatric disorders. However, the factors of flicker stimulation that affect the neural responses in the primary visual cortex (V1) are not fully understood yet. In this study, we recorded local field potential (LFP) in the V1 of rats using microwire electrodes while presenting visual flicker stimulation. We studied the influence of the frequency, duty-cycle and wavelength of flicker stimulation. We found that the low-frequency flicker stimulation ($10 \mathrm{~Hz}, 20$ Hz), instead of 40 Hz, resulted in a more significant increase in LFP power at both the stimulation and harmonic frequencies rapidly. The most significant power increase was observed when applying $20 \mathrm{~Hz} \mathbf{5 0 \%}$ green light ($\mathbf{5 2 0} \mathbf{~ n m}$) flicker stimulation to awake rats.