Stimulus-specific information flow across the canonical cortical microcircuit

The vast majority of mammalian neocortex consists of a stereotypical microcircuit, the canonical cortical microcircuit (CCM), consisting of a granular input layer, positioned between superficial and deep layers. Due to this uniform layout, neuronal activation tends to follow a similar laminar sequence, with unique information extracted at each step. For example, the primate primary visual cortex (V1) combines the two eyes9 signals, extracts stimulus orientation and modulates its activity depending on stimulus history. Several theories have been proposed on when and where these processes happen within the CCM9s laminar activation sequence, but it has been methodologically challenging to test these hypotheses. Here, we use time-resolved multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) to decode information regarding the eye-of-origin, stimulus orientation and stimulus repetition from simultaneously measured spiking responses across V19s laminar microcircuit. We find that eye-of-origin information was decodable for the entire duration of stimulus presentation, but diminished in the deepest layers of V1, consistent with the notion that two eyes9 signals are combined within the upper layers. Conversely, orientation information was transient and equally pronounced across the microcircuit, in line with the idea that this information is relayed to other areas for further processing. Moreover, when stimuli were repeated, information regarding orientation was enhanced at the expense of eye-of origin information, suggesting that V1 modulates information flow to optimize specific stimulus dimensions. Taken together, these findings provide empirical evidence that adjudicates between long-standing hypotheses and reveals how information transfer within the CCM supports unique cortical functions.