Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.06.15.151811v1?rss=1 Authors: Osako, Y., Ohnuki, T., Manabe, H., Sakurai, Y., Hirokawa, J. Abstract: During visual detection tasks, subjects sometimes fail to respond to identical visual stimuli even when the stimuli are registered on their retinas. It is widely assumed that variability in detection performance is attributed to the fidelity of the visual responses in visual cortical areas, which could be modulated by fluctuations of subjective internal states such as vigilance, attention, and reward experiences. However, it is not clear what neural ensembles represent such different internal states. Here, we utilized a behavioral task that differentiated distinct perceptual states to identical stimuli, and analyzed neuronal responses simultaneously recorded from both primary visual cortex (V1) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC) during the task. We found that population activity differed across choice types with the major contribution of non-sensory neurons, rather than visually-responsive neurons, in V1 as well as PPC. The distinct population-level activity in V1, but not PPC, was restricted within the stimulus presentation epoch, which was distinguished from pre-stimulus background activity and was supported by near-zero noise correlation. These results indicate a major contribution of non-sensory neurons in V1 for population-level computation that enables behavioral responses from visual information. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info