Distinct processing of visual motion by transcriptomic cell types in the superior colliculus

Abstract

How the brain organizes visual processing across distinct neuron types is a fundamental yet unresolved question. Here we study how visual motion is processed by transcriptomically defined cell types in the superior colliculus (SC). We generated or identified transgenic mouse lines to target three transcriptomic types of neurons in the superficial SC, the Cbln4+, Vip+, and Grp+ neurons. We find that each of these cell types encodes distinct ranges of stimulus direction, speed, size, and spatial and temporal features. In response to ecologically relevant visual flows, the three cell types occupy partitional spaces in the encoding manifold. The three cell types also show unique morphology and connectivity, including their retinal and intracollicular input and projection patterns. Together, these results reveal a genetic logic for visual motion processing in the SC, where transcriptomic cell types are likely the basic computational units with their specific feature selectivity, morphology, and input-output connectivity.