@article{c868a9030234448e8a3bbd394c6284fb,
title = "Selective modulation of cortical state during spatial attention",
abstract = "Neocortical activity is permeated with endogenously generated fluctuations, but how these dynamics affect goal-directed behavior remains a mystery. We found that ensemble neural activity in primate visual cortex spontaneously fluctuated between phases of vigorous (On) and faint (Off) spiking synchronously across cortical layers. These On-Off dynamics, reflecting global changes in cortical state, were also modulated at a local scale during selective attention. Moreover, the momentary phase of local ensemble activity predicted behavioral performance. Our results show that cortical state is controlled locally within a cortical map according to cognitive demands and reveal the impact of these local changes in cortical state on goal-directed behavior.",
author = "Engel, {Tatiana A.} and Steinmetz, {Nicholas A.} and Gieselmann, {Marc A.} and Alexander Thiele and Tirin Moore and Kwabena Boahen",
note = "Funding Information: This work was supported by NIH grants EY014924 and NS076460, a Stanford NeuroVentures grant, Medical Research Council (MRC) grant MR/K013785/1, and Wellcome Trust grant 093104. We thank E. I. Knudsen, K. Harris, S. Ganguli, R. N. S. Sachdev, and M. Zirnsak for their comments on the manuscript. We thank D. S. Aldrich for technical assistance. All behavioral and electrophysiological data are presented in (14) and are archived at the Stanford Neuroscience Institute server at Stanford University. T.A.E., N.A.S., T.M., and K.B. designed the study. N.A.S. and T.M. designed the experiments. N.A.S. performed experiments, spike sorting, microsaccade detection, and RF measurements. M.A.G. and A.T. performed experiments for the additional laminar data set. T.A.E. analyzed and modeled the data. T.A.E., N.A.S., T.M., and K.B. discussed the findings and wrote the paper. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science. All rights reserved.",
year = "2016",
month = dec,
day = "2",
doi = "10.1126/science.aag1420",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "354",
pages = "1140--1144",
journal = "Science",
issn = "0036-8075",
publisher = "American Association for the Advancement of Science",
number = "6316",
}