Adaptive population coding in visual cortical networks

Understanding the rules by which brain networks represent incoming stimuli in population activity to influence the accuracy of behavioral responses remains one of the deepest mysteries in neuroscience. We have embarked on a set of projects to investigate the realtime operation of neuronal networks in multiple brain areas and their capacity to undergo adaptive changes and plasticity. What are the fundamental units of network computation and the principles that govern their relationship with behavior? By employing state-of-the-art electrophysiological techniques we were able to record from large pools of cells in the non-human primate brain while animals performed a fixation task. We found that spatio-temporal correlations between neurons could act as an active `switch' to control network performance in real time by modulating the communication between neurons. We believe that `cracking' the mysteries of the population code will offer unique insight into a network-based mechanistic explanation of behavior and new therapeutic solutions to cure brain dysfunction.