Activity in the peripheral representation within primate V1 is substantially modulated during running

Abstract

We recently investigated whether activity in primary visual cortex of a primate (Callithrix jacchus) is modulated during running, and found that the effects were small (and suppressive), a notable difference from the large and positive modulations observed in mice. In that first report, we noted that the majority of our data were collected from the retinotopic representation of the fovea, and surmised that running modulations might be different in the peripheral representation. Here, we report that running-correlated modulations of the peripheral representation in marmoset V1 are positive and substantial-- on order of 30%. In light of both the small and negative modulations observed in foveal V1, and the large and positive modulations seen in mouse V1, these results suggest that the foveal representation in primates may be unique. In this domain, non-foveal V1 in primates appears more similar to that of rodents.