This is consistent with theories that oscillations in the gamma frequency range play a critical role in the perception of coherent structure in an image through 'feature binding' and/or act as a mechanism to synchronize neuronal spiking to facilitate activation of downstream neurons (see Jensen et al., 2007 for more detailed discussion of these ideas).
Since these spikes will be transmitted to hundreds of other downstream neurons, such a change in tuning has direct implications for the function of neuronal circuits in which the respective neuron is embedded.
Each neuron is provided with a unique output, which then branches out to supply a variable number of downstream neurons.
When the information comes from a neuron, it is associated with a weight (w), which represents the ability of the upstream neuron to excite or inhibit downstream neurons.
To serve vision, vertebrate rod and cone photoreceptors must detect photons, convert the light stimuli into cellular signals, and then convey the encoded information to downstream neurons.
This means that their contribution to the activation of downstream neurons is temporally removed on the forward pass and any weight updates are not applied to the neuron on the backward pass.
KCs might learn and represent odors as memories in their signaling to downstream neurons.
Thus, "downstream" neurons received a smaller excitatory drive after thalamic stimulation during UP states than during DOWN states.
The simplest scenario to imagine would be that a neuron estimates the intensity of its stimulus (as described above) and communicates that estimate to downstream neurons.
Perceptual decisions leading to motor responses such as saccades would plausibly involve a multi-stage process, first accumulating perceptual evidence, to be later read out by downstream neurons.
Alternatively, the relevant LNd and DN cells express the PDF receptor and are therefore important for the transfer of the PDF signal to downstream neurons controlling locomotor activity.
