Characterizing neuronal dynamics driven by optogenetic stimulation

Neuronal dynamics play a central role in the operation of neural circuits that generate flexible behaviors. To test whether neuronal dynamics play a mechanistic role in behavior, causal manipulations are needed to selectively control patterns of neural activity. Optogenetics allows precise spatial and temporal control of neural activity patterns.

We examine how coherent neuronal dynamics arise from optogenetic stimulation in the primate brain. Using computational models and experiments, we demonstrate that coherent spiking and local field potential activity is generated by stimulation-evoked responses of excitatory and inhibitory activity in networks, extending the growing literature on neuronal dynamics. These responses create brief time intervals of increased spiking tendency and are consistent with previous observations in the literature that balanced excitation and inhibition controls spike timing, suggesting that optogenetic-stimulation-driven coherence may arise from intrinsic E-I balance. Most importantly, our results are obtained in non-human primates and thus will play a leading role in driving the use of causal manipulations with optogenetic tools to study higher cognitive functions in the primate brain.

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