{
  "abstract": "Primary visual cortex (V1) is a critical substrate for mammalian vision. Traditionally, visual inputs are thought to be the main drivers of V1 activity, with internal signals playing a modulatory role. Here we show that this relationship is inverted for a large fraction of V1 neurons. In rats completing a navigation task in darkness, these neurons encoded progress along physically distinct paths with a shared turn structure. Under illumination, visual stimuli gain-modulated this path-invariant activity rather than replacing it with stimulus-driven responses. Path-invariant V1 neurons were also preferentially coordinated with hippocampal ensembles during sharp-wave ripples, linking them to a brain-wide network involved in learning. These findings establish that an internal model of the world can serve as a primary driver of activity in sensory cortex.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "UCSF and HHMI"
  ],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 10,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "K. H. Lee"
    },
    {
      "name": "P. Adenekan"
    },
    {
      "name": "F. Gao"
    },
    {
      "name": "J. Zhou"
    },
    {
      "name": "J. Hernandez"
    },
    {
      "name": "A. Yorita"
    },
    {
      "name": "R. Haque"
    },
    {
      "name": "K. Kay"
    },
    {
      "name": "M. Scanziani"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "L. Frank"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a9sg0zxxxxxfm.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.08.29.748029",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.29.748029v1.full",
  "id": "a9sg0zxxxxxfm",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.29.748029v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "neuroscience"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "2805|Visual perception and processing mechanisms"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7207867155",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.29.748029v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-08-29",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a9sg0zxxxxxfm.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:19:04Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.08.29.748029",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.08.29.748029v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:neuroscience",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "A cognitive representation in primary visual cortex modulated by vision",
  "title_text": "A cognitive representation in primary visual cortex modulated by vision",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:19:04Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/a9sg0zxxxxxfm",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}