# Connectivity and function of inhibitory neurons in the primate visual cortex

> **NIH EY R01** · UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH · 2026 · $653,946

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
In the mammalian neocortex, cortical computations result from the activity of neural circuits composed mainly
of glutamatergic excitatory and GABAergic inhibitory neurons (INs). INs profoundly influence cortical
computations and dynamics, via a diversity of types, with distinct morphological, electrophysiological, and
molecular properties. In mouse cortex, molecular markers identify four major IN classes: parvalbumin- (PV),
somatostatin- (SST), vasoactive intestinal peptide- (VIP), and LAMP5- expressing INs. Mouse studies using Cre-
recombinase lines have revealed class-specific IN connectivity and function, but whether these findings translate
to non-human primates (NHPs) and humans remains unknown. Understanding IN function in NHPs is critical,
as they are the closest model to humans, where IN dysfunction has been implicated in several neurological and
psychiatric disorders, such as epilepsy, migraine, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease.
 Studies of INs in NHPs have been hindered by the lack of cell-specific viral tools, but recent technological
advances are beginning to enable cell-type specific targeting via enhancer-specific AAVs, albeit vector
development is still based on a mouse-first approach. In the previous grant cycle, we validated in marmoset
visual cortex several enhancer-AAVs for transducing specific IN types, and identified two vectors, one based on
the h56D promoter, the other on the S5E2 enhancer, with high specificity and efficiency for GABAergic and PV-
INs, respectively. We generated constructs of these vectors carrying various transgenes, and began investigating
PV-IN connectivity and function. We found that the connectivity and function of PV-INs depends on cortical
layer. In V1 input layer (L)4C, PV-inhibition is divisive and linearly controls gain but not orientation tuning (OT),
but outside L4C it scales neuronal responses non-linearly and controls OT. Layer-differences in PV-IN function
likely arise from both layer-spec

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11319199
- **Project number:** 2R01EY031959-06A1
- **Recipient organization:** UTAH STATE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM--UNIVERSITY OF UTAH
- **Principal Investigator:** Alessandra  Angelucci
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** EY
- **Fiscal year:** 2026
- **Award amount:** $653,946
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2020-09-30T00:00:00 → 2031-03-31T00:00:00

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11319199

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11319199, Connectivity and function of inhibitory neurons in the primate visual cortex (2R01EY031959-06A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-18 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11319199. Licensed CC0.

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