Recurrent circuits encode de novo visual center-surround computations in the mouse superior colliculus

Models of visual salience detection rely on center-surround interactions, yet it remains unclear how these computations are distributed across retinal, cortical, and subcortical circuits due to their overlapping contributions. Here, we reveal a de novo collicular mechanism for surround suppression by combining patterned optogenetics with whole-cell recordings from individual neurons in the mouse superficial superior colliculus (SCs). Center zones were defined by monosynaptic input from channelrhodopsin-expressing retinal ganglion cells in collicular midbrain slices. Surround network optoactivation suppressed center responses compared to center-only input. This suppression is excitatory in origin, arising from the withdrawal of center excitation via surround-driven inhibition of local recurrent excitatory circuits, as demonstrated by cell-type-specific trans-synaptic tracing and computational modeling. These findings identify a local circuit mechanism for saliency computation in the SCs, independent of cortical input. ©: © 2025 Cui et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.