Relationship between functional structures and horizontal connections in macaque inferior temporal cortex

Abstract

Abstract Horizontal connections in anterior inferior temporal cortex (ITC) are thought to play an important role in object recognition by integrating information across spatially separated functional columns, but their functional organization remains unclear. Using a combination of optical imaging, electrophysiological recording, and anatomical tracing, we investigated the relationship between stimulus-response maps and patterns of horizontal axon terminals in the macaque ITC. In contrast to the “like-to-like” connectivity observed in the early visual cortex, we found that horizontal axons in ITC do not preferentially connect sites with similar object selectivity. While some axon terminal patches shared responsiveness to specific visual features with the injection site, many connected to regions with different selectivity. Our results suggest that horizontal connections in anterior ITC exhibit diverse functional connectivity, potentially supporting flexible integration of visual information for advanced object recognition processes.