Spatial context non-uniformly modulates inter-laminar communication in the primary visual cortex

ABSTRACT Our visual experience is a result of the concerted activity of neuronal ensembles in the sensory hierarchy. Yet how the spatial organization of objects influences neural activity in this hierarchy remains poorly understood. We investigate how the inter-laminar interactions in the primary visual cortex (V1) are affected by visual stimuli in isolation or with flanking stimuli at various spatial configurations that are known to cause non-uniform degradation of perception. By employing dimensionality reduction approaches to simultaneous layer-specific population recordings, we establish that cortical layers interact through a structurally stable communication subspace. Spatial configuration of contextual stimuli differentially modulates inter-laminar communication efficacy, the balance between feedforward and feedback signaling, and contextual signaling in the superficial layers. Remarkably, these modulations mirror the spatially non-uniform aspects of perceptual degradation. Our results suggest a model of retinotopically non-uniform cortical connectivity in the output layers of V1 that influences communication in the sensory hierarchy.