Laminar Segregation of Sensory Coding and Behavioral Readout in Macaque V4

Abstract

Neurons in sensory areas of the neocortex are known to represent information both about sensory stimuli and behavioral state, but how these two disparate signals are integrated across cortical layers is poorly understood. To study this issue, we measured the coding of visual stimulus orientation and of behavioral state by neurons within superficial and deep layers of area V4 in monkeys while they covertly attended or prepared eye movements to visual stimuli. We show that single neurons and neuronal populations in superficial layers convey more information about the orientation of visual stimuli, whereas single neurons and neuronal populations in deep layers convey greater information about the behavioral relevance of those stimuli. In particular, deep layer neurons encode greater information about the direction of prepared eye movements. These results reveal a division of labor between laminae in the coding of visual input and visually guided behavior.