Effects of Non-invasive Light Flicker on Functional Properties of Primary Visual Cortex in Adult Mice
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1)Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China;2)Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, Hefei, Anhui 230026, China

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This work was supported by grants from The Natural Science Foundation of China (32070990), Natural Science Research in Colleges and Universities of Anhui Provincial Department of Education (2022AH052326) and Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center Hefei Brain Project.

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    Abstract:

    Objective As the central hub of the classical visual pathway, the primary visual cortex not only encodes and processes visual information but also establishes dense neural circuit connections with higher-order cognitive brain regions. Numerous studies have shown that 40 Hz flicker stimulation can induce gamma oscillations in the brain and significantly improve learning and cognitive impairments in patients with neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, flickering light phenomena naturally occur in daily environments. Given that the primary visual cortex serves as the brain"s first cortical hub for receiving visual input, it is essential to comprehensively understand how non-invasive light flicker stimulation modulates its information processing mechanisms. This study systematically investigates the effects of non-invasive light flicker stimulation at different frequencies on the functional properties of neurons in the primary visual cortex of adult mice, aiming to uncover how such stimulation modulates this region and, consequently, affects overall brain function.Methods Three groups of adult mice (approximately 12 weeks old) were exposed to light flicker stimulation at frequencies of 20 Hz, 40 Hz, and 60 Hz, respectively, for a duration of two months. A control group was exposed to the same light intensity without flickering. Following the stimulation period, in vivo multi-channel electrophysiological recordings were conducted. During these recordings, anesthetized mice were presented with various types of moving sinusoidal light gratings to assess the effects of different flicker frequencies on the functional properties of neurons in the primary visual cortex.Results The experimental results demonstrate that two months of light flicker stimulation at 20 Hz, 40 Hz, and 60 Hz enhances the orientation tuning capabilities of neurons in the primary visual cortex. Specifically, 40 Hz and 60 Hz stimulation improved contrast sensitivity, whereas 20 Hz had no significant effect. Further analysis revealed that all three frequencies reduced neuronal response variability (as measured by the Fano Factor), increased the signal-to-noise ratio, and decreased noise correlation (rsc) between neurons.Conclusion Non-invasive light flicker stimulation enhances orientation tuning (e.g., orientation bandwidth) and contrast sensitivity (e.g., contrast threshold and C50) in neurons of the primary visual cortex. This enhancement is likely due to improved information processing efficiency, characterized by reduced neuronal variability and increased signal-to-noise ratio. These findings suggest that the primary visual cortex can achieve precise and efficient information encoding in complex lighting environments by selectively adapting to different flicker frequencies and optimizing receptive field properties. This study provides new experimental evidence on how various types of light flicker influence visual perception and offers insights into the mechanisms through which specific frequencies enhance brain function.

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LI Xue-Qi, ZHOU Yi-Feng, XU Guang-Wei. Effects of Non-invasive Light Flicker on Functional Properties of Primary Visual Cortex in Adult Mice[J]. Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics,,():

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History
  • Received:March 14,2025
  • Revised:June 09,2025
  • Accepted:June 09,2025
  • Online: June 12,2025
  • Published: