Modulation of functional connectivity following visual adaptation: Homeostasis in V1

•Adaptation promotes new functional relationships.•The neuronal network is reframed and the connectivity-ratio is maintained.•New functional connectomes emerge following stimulus exposure.•Visual adaptation remaps the cortex, but the overall connectivity-strength is stable.•Neuronal connectivity seems to be related to stimulus selectivity.

Sensory neurons exhibit remarkable adaptability in acquiring new optimal selectivity to unfamiliar features when a new stimulus becomes prevalent in the environment. In conventionally prepared adult anesthetized cats, we used visual adaptation to change the preferred orientation selectivity in V1 neurons. Cortical circuits are dominated by complex and intricate connections between neurons. Cross-correlation of cellular spike-trains discloses the putative functional connection between two neurons. We sought to investigate changes in these links following a 12 min uninterrupted application of a specific, usually non-preferred, orientation. We report that visual adaptation, mimicking training, modulates the magnitude of crosscorrelograms suggesting that the strength of inter-neuronal relationships is modified. While individual cell-pairs exhibit changes in their response correlation strength, the average correlation of the recorded cell cluster remains unchanged. Hence, visual adaptation induces plastic changes that impact the connectivity between neurons.