Nonlinear Encoding of Tactile Patterns in the Barrel Cortex

2004 ◽  
Vol 91 (5) ◽  
pp. 2010-2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roxanna M. Webber ◽  
Garrett B. Stanley
Keyword(s):  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Neuronal Response ◽  
Temporal Structure ◽  
Cutoff Frequency ◽  
Prediction Method ◽  
Complex Stimulus ◽  
Peripheral Stimulus ◽  
Sprague Dawley ◽  
Excitatory Component ◽  
Sensory Evoked

Cells in the rodent barrel cortex respond to vibrissa deflection with a brief excitatory component and a longer suppressive component. The response to a given deflection is thus scaled because of suppression induced by a preceding deflection, causing the neuronal response to be linked to the temporal properties of the peripheral stimulus. A paired-deflection stimulus was used to characterize the postexcitatory suppression and a 3-deflection stimulus was used to investigate the nonlinear response to patterns of whisker deflections in barbiturate-anesthetized Sprague–Dawley rats. The postexcitatory suppression was not dependent on a sensory-evoked action potential to the first deflection, implying that it is likely a subthreshold property of the network. The suppression induced by a deflection served to suppress both the excitatory and suppressive components of a subsequent neuronal response, thus effectively disinhibiting it. Two different response properties were observed in the recorded cells. Approximately 65% responded to a vibrissa deflection with an excitatory component followed by a suppressive component and 35% responded with excitation, suppression, and a subsequent rebound in excitation. Based on these observations of postexcitatory dynamics, a prediction method was used to estimate neuronal responses to more complex stimulus trains. Using the 2nd-order representation obtained from the paired-deflection stimulus, responses to general periodic deflection patterns were well predicted. A higher cutoff frequency was predicted for rebound cells compared with cells not exhibiting rebound excitation, consistent with experimental observations. The method also predicted the response of neurons to a random aperiodic deflection pattern. Therefore the temporal structure of cortical dynamics after a single deflection dictates the response to complex temporal patterns, which are more representative of stimuli encountered under natural conditions.

Role of adenosine in regulation of regional cerebral blood flow in sensory cortex

1990 ◽  
Vol 259 (6) ◽  
pp. H1703-H1708 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. R. Ko ◽  
A. C. Ngai ◽  
H. R. Winn
Keyword(s):  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Neuronal Response ◽  
Cortical Activation ◽  
Cranial Window ◽  
Adenosine Uptake ◽  
Pial Arterioles ◽  
Sciatic Nerve Stimulation ◽  
Sensory Evoked ◽  
Arteriolar Vasodilation

We have previously demonstrated that rat pial arterioles located on the somatosensory cortex dilated in response to contralateral sciatic nerve stimulation (SNS). We hypothesized that the vasodilation was mediated by adenosine, released as a result of somatosensory cortex activation. To test this hypothesis, we examined the effects of SNS (0.15-0.2 V, 5 ms, 5 Hz for 20 s) on pial arterioles under conditions of altered adenosine availability. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) adenosine was altered by perfusing mock CSF, under a cranial window in anesthetized rats, containing either an adenosine uptake competitor (dipyridamole or inosine) or an adenosine receptor blocker (theophylline). With CSF only, SNS caused pial arterioles (resting diam, 29 +/- 1 micron) to dilate by 38 +/- 10% (peak magnitude) for 32 +/- 2 s. Dipyridamole (10(-6) M) significantly (P less than 0.02) enhanced both the magnitude (to 62 +/- 12%) and duration (to 68 +/- 10 s) of the response. Similarly, inosine (10(-3) M) significantly (P less than 0.02) potentiated the vasodilative response from resting values of 27 +/- 5% and 34.8 +/- 4.1 s to 37 +/- 6% and 89.6 +/- 14.1 s. In contrast, theophylline (5 x 10(-5) M) significantly (P less than 0.001) attenuated arteriolar vasodilation from resting values of 38 +/- 5% and 29.3 +/- 1.2 s to 18 +/- 3% and 22.0 +/- 0.9 s. Neither dipyridamole nor theophylline had a significant effect on neuronal response (sensory-evoked response) recorded from the somatosensory cortex. These results suggest that adenosine is involved in the regulation of pial vasodilation during cerebral cortical activation.

Attenuation of the Early Gamma Oscillations During the Sensory-Evoked Response in the Neonatal Rat Barrel Cortex

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 575-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmitrii Suchkov ◽  
Mikhail Sintsov ◽  
Lyailya Sharipzyanova ◽  
Roustem Khazipov ◽  
Marat Minlebaev
Keyword(s):  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Gamma Oscillations ◽  
Evoked Response ◽  
Neonatal Rat ◽  
Sensory Evoked

Effect of TPMPA (GABACreceptor antagonist) on neuronal response properties in rat barrel cortex

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 108-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elham Mohammadi ◽  
Ali Shamsizadeh ◽  
Elham Salari ◽  
Iman Fatemi ◽  
Mohammad Allahtavakoli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Neuronal Response ◽  
Response Properties

Directional hearing in grasshoppers: neurophysiological testing of a bioacoustic model

1999 ◽  
Vol 202 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Schul ◽  
M. Holderied ◽  
D.V. Helversen ◽  
O.V. Helversen
Keyword(s):  
Schistocerca Gregaria ◽  
Neuronal Response ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Biophysical Model ◽  
Directional Hearing ◽  
Complex Stimulus ◽  
Directional Information ◽  
Model Calculations ◽  
Chorthippus Biguttulus ◽  
Nerve Recordings

A recently proposed biophysical model for directional hearing in grasshoppers was tested using complex stimulus situations, with two loudspeakers, one on either side of the animal, synchronously emitting sinusoids with defined phase and amplitude relationships. Hearing responses were determined from whole nerve recordings and compared with the predictions of the model. In Schistocerca gregaria, there were only minor differences between the predictions of the model and measurements and, by reducing the value of the gain of the internal sound path measured previously, a close agreement was achieved between model and measured hearing responses. In Chorthippus biguttulus, larger discrepancies between model calculations using the values measured previously and neuronal response functions were found in both shape and amplitude. A better fit between measurements and model predictions was achieved by increasing the values of the internal delay over those measured previously. The measurements presented here indicate high inter-individual variability of the parameters of the internal pathway, with a range of 60 degrees for the internal phase delay. Calculating the directional characteristics using this range of values for the internal delay indicated that sufficient directional information was available down to 5 kHz. Increasing the value of the internal delay over that measured in an earlier study therefore provides an explanation for the discrepancy between the poor directional information attributed to C. biguttulus in that study and the excellent lateralization ability of males of this species at 5 kHz.

scholarly journals Laminar and Columnar Structure of Sensory-Evoked Multineuronal Spike Sequences in Adult Rat Barrel Cortex In Vivo

2014 ◽  
Vol 25 (8) ◽  
pp. 2001-2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicente Reyes-Puerta ◽  
Jyh-Jang Sun ◽  
Suam Kim ◽  
Werner Kilb ◽  
Heiko J. Luhmann
Keyword(s):  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Columnar Structure ◽  
Adult Rat ◽  
Spike Sequences ◽  
Sensory Evoked

scholarly journals Behavioral State Dependency of Neural Activity and Sensory (Whisker) Responses in Superior Colliculus

2010 ◽  
Vol 104 (3) ◽  
pp. 1661-1672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy D. Cohen ◽  
Manuel A. Castro-Alamancos
Keyword(s):  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Slow Wave Sleep ◽  
Paradoxical Sleep ◽  
Orienting Response ◽  
Evoked Responses ◽  
Behavioral State ◽  
Spontaneous Firing ◽  
State Dependency ◽  
Sensory Evoked

Rats use their vibrissa (whiskers) to explore and navigate the environment. These sensory signals are distributed within the brain stem by the trigeminal complex and are also relayed to the superior colliculus in the midbrain and to the thalamus (and subsequently barrel cortex) in the forebrain. In the intermediate layers of the superior colliculus, whisker-evoked responses are driven by direct inputs from the trigeminal complex (trigeminotectal) and feedback from the barrel cortex (corticotectal). But the effects of the behavioral state of the animal on the spontaneous firing and sensory responses of these neurons are unknown. By recording from freely behaving rats, we show that the spontaneous firing of whisker sensitive neurons in superior colliculus is higher, or in an activated mode, during active exploration and paradoxical sleep and much lower, or in a quiescent/deactivated mode, during awake immobility and slow-wave sleep. Sensory evoked responses in superior colliculus also depend on behavioral state. Most notably, feedback corticotectal responses are significantly larger during the quiescent/deactivated mode, which tracks the barrel cortex responses on which they depend. Finally, sensory evoked responses depend not only on the state of the animal but also on the orienting response elicited by the stimulus, which agrees with the well known role of the superior colliculus in orienting about salient stimuli.

scholarly journals Subjective and Real Time: Coding Under Different Drug States

2015 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo Sanchez-Castillo ◽  
Kathleen M. Taylor ◽  
Ryan D. Ward ◽  
Diana B. Paz-Trejo ◽  
Maria Arroyo-Araujo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Structure ◽  
Interval Training ◽  
Test Session ◽  
Internal Clock ◽  
Sprague Dawley ◽  
Peak Procedure ◽  
Timing Task ◽  
Sprague Dawley Rats ◽  
Speed Up ◽  
The Impact

Organisms are constantly extracting information from the temporal structure of the environment, which allows them to select appropriate actions and predict impending changes. Several lines of research have suggested that interval timing is modulated by the dopaminergic system. It has been proposed that higher levels of dopamine cause an internal clock to speed up, whereas less dopamine causes a deceleration of the clock. In most experiments the subjects are first trained to perform a timing task while drug free. Consequently, most of what is known about the influence of dopaminergic modulation of timing is on well-established timing performance. In the current study the impact of altered DA on the acquisition of temporal control was the focal question. Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats were distributed randomly into three different groups (haloperidol, d-amphetamine or vehicle). Each animal received an injection 15 min prior to the start of every session from the beginning of interval training. The subjects were trained in a Fixed Interval (FI) 16s schedule followed by training on a peak procedure in which 64s non-reinforced peak trials were intermixed with FI trials. In a final test session all subjects were given vehicle injections and 10 consecutive non-reinforced peak trials to see if training under drug conditions altered the encoding of time. The current study suggests that administration of drugs that modulate dopamine do not alter the encoding temporal durations but do acutely affect the initiation of responding.

scholarly journals Molecular signature and target-specificity of inhibitory circuits formed by Martinotti cells in the mouse barrel cortex

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Donato ◽  
Carolina Cabezas ◽  
Andrea Aguirre ◽  
Joana Lourenço ◽  
Marie-Claude Potier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Functional Expression ◽  
Molecular Signature ◽  
Brain Diseases ◽  
Connectivity Pattern ◽  
Biophysical Properties ◽  
Molecular Fingerprint ◽  
Inhibitory Circuits ◽  
Sensory Evoked

AbstractIn the neocortex, fast synaptic inhibition orchestrates both spontaneous and sensory-evoked activity. GABAergic interneurons (INs) inhibit pyramidal neurons (PNs) directly, modulating their output activity and thus contributing to balance cortical networks. Moreover, several IN subtypes also inhibit other INs, forming specific disinhibitory circuits, which play crucial roles in several cognitive functions. Here, we studied a homogeneous subpopulation of somatostatin (SST)-positive INs, the Martinotti cells (MCs) in layer 2/3 of the mouse barrel cortex (both sexes). MCs are a prominent IN subclass inhibiting the distal portion of PN apical dendrites, thus controlling dendrite electrogenesis and synaptic integration. Yet, it is poorly understood whether MCs inhibit other elements of the cortical circuits, and the connectivity properties with non-PN targets are unknown. We found that MCs have a strong preference for PN dendrites, but they also considerably connect with parvalbumin (PV)-positive, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-expressing and layer 1 (L1) INs. Remarkably, GABAergic synapses from MCs exhibited clear cell-type-specific short-term plasticity. Moreover, whereas the biophysical properties of MC-PN synapses were consistent with distal dendritic inhibition, MC-IN synapses exhibited characteristics of fast perisomatic inhibition. Finally, MC-PN connections used α5-containing GABAARs, but this subunit was not expressed by the other INs targeted by MCs. We reveal a specialized connectivity blueprint of MCs within different elements of superficial cortical layers. In addition, our results identify α5-GABAARs as the molecular fingerprint of MC-PN dendritic inhibition. This is of critical importance, given the role of α5-GABAARs in cognitive performance and their involvement in several brain diseases.Significance statementMartinotti cells (MCs) are a prominent subclass of SST-expressing GABAergic INs, specialized in controlling distal dendrites of PNs and taking part in several cognitive functions. Here we characterize the connectivity pattern of MCs with other INs in the superficial layers (L1 and L2/3) of the mouse barrel cortex. We found that the connectivity pattern of MCs with PNs as well as PV, VIP and L1 INs exhibit target-specific plasticity and biophysical properties. The stark specificity of α5-GABAARs at MC-PN synapses, and the lack or functional expression of this subunit by other cell types, define the molecular identity of MC-PN connections and the exclusive involvement of this outstanding inhibitory circuits in α5-dependent cognitive tasks.

scholarly journals The Effects of NMDA Receptor Blockade on Sensory-Evoked Responses in Superficial Layers of the Rat Barrel Cortex

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Lebedeva ◽  
Andrey Zakharov ◽  
Gulshat Burkhanova ◽  
Kseniya Chernova ◽  
Roustem Khazipov
Keyword(s):  
Nmda Receptor ◽  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Receptor Blockade ◽  
Evoked Responses ◽  
Nmda Receptor Blockade ◽  
Sensory Evoked
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