Characterizing Mouse V1 Optogenetic-Mediated Rebound Effects

Abstract

Cortical circuits comprise excitatory pyramidal (Pyr) cells and inhibitory interneurons that work together to perform neural computations. Optogenetic studies in mouse primary visual cortex (V1) have focused on (i) sketching the connectivity between Pyr cells and distinct interneuron subtypes that express parvalbumin (Pvalb+), somatostatin (SOM+) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP+), and (ii) examining how photostimulating these inhibitory interneuron subtypes shape Pyr cell receptive field properties. Rebound effects have been reported after the optogenetic light source is turned off, but no systematic analysis of rebounds has been performed. Here, we sought to characterize optogenetic-mediated rebound effects and investigate whether network features like V1 activity and connectivity can affect rebound magnitude.