Stimulus-Dependent Theta Rhythmic Activity in Primate V1 Predicts Visual Detection

Theta-band (3–8 Hz) neural oscillations are integral to sensory processing and active exploration. Traditionally associated with higher-order areas such as hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, recent studies identified theta rhythmic modulations in the primary visual cortex (V1) of mice during locomotion, suggesting sensory processing functions. Here, we demonstrate that careful optimization of visual stimulus size and contrast can induce robust theta oscillations in macaque V1. During visual detection, monkeys’ reaction times fluctuated rhythmically at the theta frequency of V1 neural activity, with detection performance correlated to the theta phase. These findings suggest that induced theta oscillations may reflect an intrinsic temporal filtering mechanism of V1 neurons, highlighting the importance of early sensory cortical dynamics in shaping perceptual timing.