Ivo Spiegel

Ivo Spiegel, Zuckerman Faculty Scholar at the Department of Brain Sciences at Weizmann Institute of Science has published the results of a new study, “Behavioural states control binocular vision through input-specific mechanisms,” in Nature Communications. The study found that the brain’s integration of input from both eyes is not fixed, but changes rapidly depending on the subject’s state ( calm vs. highly alert, for example). In high-arousal states, the brain relies more on input from one and less on combined binocular processing, likely to better support fast, goal-directed behavior.

Abstract: 
Binocular vision is essential for high-acuity stereopsis, depth perception and goal-directed behaviours, but whether binocular visual processing is modulated according to an animal’s behavioral state remains unknown. By combining behavioral tracking with calcium imaging in layer 2/3 excitatory neurons in the binocular zone of the primary visual cortex of adult mice, we demonstrate that binocularity and binocular integration change rapidly in a state-dependent manner via eye-/input-specific cellular mechanisms.