Modified Sensory Processing in the Barrel Cortex of the Adult Mouse After Chronic Whisker Stimulation

2007 ◽  
Vol 97 (3) ◽  
pp. 2130-2147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Quairiaux ◽  
Michael Armstrong-James ◽  
Egbert Welker
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Adult Mouse ◽  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Inhibitory Synapses ◽  
Neuronal Responses ◽  
Chronic Stimulation ◽  
Functional Changes ◽  
Whisker Stimulation ◽  
Sensory Responses

Chronic stimulation of a mystacial whisker follicle for 24 h induces structural and functional changes in layer IV of the corresponding barrel, with an insertion of new inhibitory synapses on spines and a depression of neuronal responses to the stimulated whisker. Under urethane anesthesia, we analyzed how sensory responses of single units are affected in layer IV and layers II & III of the stimulated barrel column as well as in adjacent columns. In the stimulated column, spatiotemporal characteristics of the activation evoked by the stimulated whisker are not altered, although spontaneous activity and response magnitude to the stimulated whisker are decreased. The sensitivity of neurons for the deflection of this whisker is not altered but the dynamic range of the response is reduced as tested by varying the amplitude and repetition rate of the deflection. Responses to deflection of nonstimulated whiskers remain unaltered with the exception of in-row whisker responses that are depressed in the column corresponding to the stimulated whisker. In adjacent nonstimulated columns, neuronal activity remains unaltered except for a diminished response of units in layer II/III to deflection of the stimulated whisker. From these results we propose that an increased inhibition within the stimulated barrel reduced the magnitude of its excitatory output and accordingly the flow of excitation toward layers II & III and the subsequent spread into adjacent columns. In addition, the period of uncorrelated activity between pathways from the stimulated and nonstimulated whiskers weakens synaptic inputs from in-row whiskers in the stimulated barrel column.

Olfactory modulation of barrel cortex activity during active whisking and passive whisker stimulation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Renard ◽  
Evan Harrell ◽  
Brice Bathallier
Keyword(s):  
Facial Nerve ◽  
Calcium Imaging ◽  
Tactile Stimulation ◽  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Neuronal Responses ◽  
Population Activity ◽  
Tactile Information ◽  
Large Populations ◽  
Whisker Stimulation ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Rodents depend on olfaction and touch to meet many of their fundamental needs. The joint significance of these sensory systems is underscored by an intricate coupling between sniffing and whisking. However, the impact of simultaneous olfactory and tactile inputs on sensory representations in the cortex remains elusive. To study these interactions, we recorded large populations of barrel cortex neurons using 2-photon calcium imaging in head-fixed mice during olfactory and tactile stimulation. We find that odors alter barrel cortex activity in at least two ways, first by enhancing whisking, and second by central cross-talk that persists after whisking is abolished by facial nerve sectioning. Odors can either enhance or suppress barrel cortex neuronal responses, and while odor identity can be decoded from population activity, it does not interfere with the tactile representation. Thus, barrel cortex represents olfactory information which, in the absence of learned associations, is coded independently of tactile information.

scholarly journals Repeated whisker stimulation evokes invariant neuronal responses in the dorsolateral striatum of anesthetized rats: a potential correlate of sensorimotor habits

2011 ◽  
Vol 105 (5) ◽  
pp. 2225-2238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd M. Mowery ◽  
Jon B. Harrold ◽  
Kevin D. Alloway
Keyword(s):  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Neural Mechanism ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Original Position ◽  
Induced Response ◽  
Neuronal Responses ◽  
Dorsolateral Striatum ◽  
Stimulus Response ◽  
Computer Controlled ◽  
Whisker Stimulation

The dorsolateral striatum (DLS) receives extensive projections from primary somatosensory cortex (SI), but very few studies have used somesthetic stimulation to characterize the sensory coding properties of DLS neurons. In this study, we used computer-controlled whisker deflections to characterize the extracellular responses of DLS neurons in rats lightly anesthetized with isoflurane. When multiple whiskers were synchronously deflected by rapid back-and-forth movements, whisker-sensitive neurons in the DLS responded to both directions of movement. The latency and magnitude of these neuronal responses displayed very little variation with changes in the rate (2, 5, or 8 Hz) of whisker stimulation. Simultaneous recordings in SI barrel cortex and the DLS revealed important distinctions in the neuronal responses of these serially connected brain regions. In contrast to DLS neurons, SI neurons were activated by the initial deflection of the whiskers but did not respond when the whiskers moved back to their original position. As the rate of whisker stimulation increased, SI responsiveness declined, and the latencies of the responses increased. In fact, when whiskers were deflected at 5 or 8 Hz, many neurons in the DLS responded before the SI neurons. These results and earlier anatomic findings suggest that a component of the sensory-induced response in the DLS is mediated by inputs from the thalamus. Furthermore, the lack of sensory adaptation in the DLS may represent a critical part of the neural mechanism by which the DLS encodes stimulus-response associations that trigger motor habits and other stimulus-evoked behaviors that are not contingent on rewarded outcomes.

Similarity of Direction Tuning Among Responses to Stimulation of Different Whiskers in Neurons of Rat Barrel Cortex

2005 ◽  
Vol 94 (3) ◽  
pp. 2004-2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Kida ◽  
Satoshi Shimegi ◽  
Hiromichi Sato
Keyword(s):  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Direction Selectivity ◽  
Specific Response ◽  
Neuronal Responses ◽  
Preferred Direction ◽  
Fast Spiking ◽  
Whisker Stimulation ◽  
Direction Tuning ◽  
Network Mechanism ◽  
Stimulation Of

Cells in the rat barrel cortex exhibit stimulus-specific response properties. To understand the network mechanism of direction selectivity in response to facial whisker deflection, we examined direction selectivity of neuronal responses to single- and multiwhisker stimulations. In the case of regular-spiking units, i.e., putative excitatory cells, direction preferences were quite similar between responses to single-whisker stimulation of the principal and adjacent whiskers. In multiwhisker stimulation at short (≤5 ms) interstimulus intervals (ISIs), response facilitation was evoked only when the whiskers were deflected to the preferred direction of the response to the single whisker stimulation. These results suggest that there are neuronal networks among cells with different whisker preferences but with a common direction preference that could be the neuronal basis of the direction-selective facilitation of the response to multiwhisker stimulation. In contrast, multiwhisker stimulation at long (≥6 ms) ISIs caused non–direction-selective suppression of the response to the second stimulus. In the case of fast-spiking units, i.e., putative inhibitory cells, poor direction selectivity was exhibited. Thus stimulus direction is represented as the direction-selective responses to the single- and multiwhisker stimulations of putative excitatory cells rather than those of putative inhibitory cells.

scholarly journals Functional imaging evidence for task-induced deactivation and disconnection of a major default mode network hub in the mouse brain

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (26) ◽  
pp. 15270-15280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy Ferrier ◽  
Elodie Tiran ◽  
Thomas Deffieux ◽  
Mickael Tanter ◽  
Zsolt Lenkei
Keyword(s):  
Mouse Brain ◽  
Functional Imaging ◽  
Default Mode Network ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Functional Brain Imaging ◽  
Default Mode ◽  
Functional Changes ◽  
Neuropsychiatric Diseases ◽  
Whisker Stimulation

The default mode network (DMN) has been defined in functional brain imaging studies as a set of highly connected brain areas, which are active during wakeful rest and inactivated during task-based stimulation. DMN function is characteristically impaired in major neuropsychiatric diseases, emphasizing its interest for translational research. However, in the mouse, a major preclinical rodent model, there is still no functional imaging evidence supporting DMN deactivation and deconnection during high-demanding cognitive/sensory tasks. Here we have developed functional ultrasound (fUS) imaging to properly visualize both activation levels and functional connectivity patterns, in head-restrained awake and behaving mice, and investigated their modulation during a sensory-task, whisker stimulation. We identified reproducible and highly symmetric resting-state networks, with overall connectivity strength directly proportional to the wakefulness level of the animal. We show that unilateral whisker stimulation leads to the expected activation of the contralateral barrel cortex in lightly sedated mice, while interhemispheric inhibition reduces activity in the ipsilateral barrel cortex. Whisker stimulation also leads to elevated bilateral connectivity in the hippocampus. Importantly, in addition to functional changes in these major hubs of tactile information processing, whisker stimulation during genuine awake resting-state periods leads to highly specific reductions both in activation and interhemispheric correlation within the restrosplenial cortex, a major hub of the DMN. These results validate an imaging technique for the study of activation and connectivity in the lightly sedated awake mouse brain and provide evidence supporting an evolutionary preserved function of the DMN, putatively improving translational relevance of preclinical models of neuropsychiatric diseases.

scholarly journals Anesthesia and brain sensory processing: impact on neuronal responses in a female songbird

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Karino ◽  
I. George ◽  
L. Loison ◽  
C. Heyraud ◽  
G. De Groof ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Neuronal Responses

scholarly journals Infragranular barrel cortex activity is enhanced with learning

2012 ◽  
Vol 108 (5) ◽  
pp. 1278-1287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebekah L. Ward ◽  
Luke C. Flores ◽  
John F. Disterhoft
Keyword(s):  
Single Unit ◽  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Eyeblink Conditioning ◽  
Sensory Cortex ◽  
Learning Criterion ◽  
Extracellular Recordings ◽  
Primary Sensory Cortex ◽  
Whisker Stimulation ◽  
Trace Eyeblink Conditioning

The barrel cortex (BC) is essential for the acquisition of whisker-signaled trace eyeblink conditioning and shows learning-related expansion of the trained barrels after the acquisition of a whisker-signaled task. Most previous research examining the role of the BC in learning has focused on anatomic changes in the layer IV representation of the cortical barrels. We studied single-unit extracellular recordings from individual neurons in layers V and VI of the BC as rabbits acquired the whisker-signaled trace eyeblink conditioning task. Neurons in layers V and VI in both conditioned and pseudoconditioned animals robustly responded to whisker stimulation, but neurons in conditioned animals showed a significant enhancement in responsiveness in concert with learning. Learning-related changes in firing rate occurred as early as the day of learning criterion within the infragranular layers of the primary sensory cortex.

scholarly journals The Role of Cortical Activity in Experience-Dependent Potentiation and Depression of Sensory Responses in Rat Barrel Cortex

2001 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 3881-3894 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Wallace ◽  
Stanislaw Glazewski ◽  
Katherine Liming ◽  
Kevin Fox
Keyword(s):  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Cortical Activity ◽  
Sensory Responses

scholarly journals An automated method for detection of layer activation order in information processing pathway of rat barrel cortex under mechanical whisker stimulation

2011 ◽  
Vol 196 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mufti Mahmud ◽  
Elisabetta Pasqualotto ◽  
Alessandra Bertoldo ◽  
Stefano Girardi ◽  
Marta Maschietto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Automated Method ◽  
Whisker Stimulation ◽  
Layer Activation
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