scholarly journals The Timing of Sensory-Guided Behavioral Response is Represented in the Mouse Primary Somatosensory Cortex

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 3034-3047
Author(s):  
Jérémy Camon ◽  
Sandrine Hugues ◽  
Melissa A Erlandson ◽  
David Robbe ◽  
Sabria Lagoun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Behavioral Response ◽  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Primary Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Cortical Columns ◽  
Reward Delivery ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Layer 2 ◽  
Layer 4

Abstract Whisker-guided decision making in mice is thought to critically depend on information processing occurring in the primary somatosensory cortex. However, it is not clear if neuronal activity in this “early” sensory region contains information about the timing and speed of motor response. To address this question we designed a new task in which freely moving mice learned to associate a whisker stimulus to reward delivery. The task was tailored in such a way that a wide range of delays between whisker stimulation and reward collection were observed due to differences of motivation and perception. After training, mice were anesthetized and neuronal responses evoked by stimulating trained and untrained whiskers were recorded across several cortical columns of barrel cortex. We found a strong correlation between the delay of the mouse behavioral response and the timing of multiunit activity evoked by the trained whisker, outside its principal cortical column, in layers 4 and 5A but not in layer 2/3. Circuit mapping ex vivo revealed this effect was associated with a weakening of layer 4 to layer 2/3 projection. We conclude that the processes controlling the propagation of key sensory inputs to naive cortical columns and the timing of sensory-guided action are linked.

scholarly journals Sensory stimulus evoked responses in layer 2/3 pyramidal neurons of the hind paw-related mouse primary somatosensory cortex

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Bony ◽  
Arjun A Bhaskaran ◽  
Katy Le Corf ◽  
Andreas Frick
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Pyramidal Neurons ◽  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Primary Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
List Type ◽  
Evoked Responses ◽  
Spontaneous Firing ◽  
Layer 2

ABSTRACTThe mouse primary somatosensory cortex (S1) processes tactile sensory information and is the largest neocortex area emphasizing the importance of this sensory modality for rodent behavior. Most of our knowledge regarding information processing in S1 stems from studies of the whisker-related barrel cortex (S1–BC), yet the processing of tactile inputs from the hind-paws is poorly understood. We used in vivo whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from layer (L) 2/3 pyramidal neurons (PNs) of the S1 hind-paw (S1-HP) region of anaesthetized wild type (WT) mice to investigate their evoked sub- and supra-threshold activity, intrinsic properties, and spontaneous activity. Approximately 45% of these L2/3 PNs responded to brief contralateral HP stimulation in a subthreshold manner, ~5% fired action potentials, and ~50% of L2/3 PNs did not respond at all. The evoked subthreshold responses had long onset- (~23 ms) and peak-latencies (~61 ms). The majority (86%) of these L2/3 PNs responded to prolonged (stance-like) HP stimulation with both on- and off-responses. HP stimulation responsive L2/3 PNs had a greater intrinsic excitability compared to non-responsive ones, possibly reflecting differences in their physiological role. Similar to S1-BC, L2/3 PNs displayed up- and down-states, and low spontaneous firing rates (~0.1 Hz). Our findings support a sparse coding scheme of operation for S1–HP L2/3 PNs and highlight both differences and similarities with L2/3 PNs from other somatosensory cortex areas.KEY POINTSResponses of layer (L) 2/3 pyramidal neurons (PNs) of the primary somatosensory hind-paw cortex (S1-HP) to contralateral hind-paw stimulation reveal both differences and similarities compared to those of somatosensory neurons responding to other tactile (e.g. whiskers, forepaw, tongue) modalities.Similar to whisker-related barrel cortex (S1-BC) and forepaw cortex (S1-FP) S1-HP L2/3 PNs show a low spontaneous firing rate and a sparse action potential coding of evoked activity.In contrast to S1-BC, brief hind-paw stimulus evoked responses display a long latency in S1-HP neurons consistent with their different functional role.The great majority of L 2/3 PNs respond to prolonged hind-paw stimulation with both on- and off-responses.These results help us to better understand sensory information processing within layer 2/3 of the neocortex and the regional differences related to various tactile modalities.

scholarly journals Efficient Recruitment of Layer 2/3 Interneurons by Layer 4 Input in Single Columns of Rat Somatosensory Cortex

2008 ◽  
Vol 28 (33) ◽  
pp. 8273-8284 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Helmstaedter ◽  
J. F. Staiger ◽  
B. Sakmann ◽  
D. Feldmeyer
Keyword(s):  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Layer 2 ◽  
Layer 4 ◽  
Rat Somatosensory Cortex

scholarly journals Development of Columnar Topography in the Excitatory Layer 4 to Layer 2/3 Projection in Rat Barrel Cortex

2003 ◽  
Vol 23 (25) ◽  
pp. 8759-8770 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin J. Bender ◽  
Juliana Rangel ◽  
Daniel E. Feldman
Keyword(s):  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Layer 2 ◽  
Layer 4

scholarly journals Tactile texture signals in primate primary somatosensory cortex and their relation to subjective roughness intensity

2016 ◽  
Vol 115 (4) ◽  
pp. 1767-1785 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stéphanie Bourgeon ◽  
Alexandra Dépeault ◽  
El-Mehdi Meftah ◽  
C. Elaine Chapman
Keyword(s):  
Firing Rate ◽  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Discharge Rate ◽  
Scanning Speed ◽  
Primary Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Small Range ◽  
Monotonic Increase ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Texture Sensitivity ◽  
Area 3B

This study investigated the hypothesis that a simple intensive code, based on mean firing rate, could explain the cortical representation of subjective roughness intensity and its invariance with scanning speed. We examined the sensitivity of neurons in the cutaneous, finger representation of primary somatosensory cortex (S1) to a wide range of textures [1 mm high, raised-dot surfaces; spatial periods (SPs), 1.5–8.5 mm], scanned under the digit tips at different speeds (40–115 mm/s). Since subjective roughness estimates show a monotonic increase over this range and are independent of speed, we predicted that the mean firing rate of a subgroup of S1 neurons would share these properties. Single-unit recordings were made in four alert macaques (areas 3b, 1 and 2). Cells whose discharge rate showed a monotonic increase with SP, independent of speed, were particularly concentrated in area 3b. Area 2 was characterized by a high proportion of cells sensitive to speed, with or without texture sensitivity. Area 1 had intermediate properties. We suggest that area 3b and most likely area 1 play a key role in signaling roughness intensity, and that a mean rate code, signaled by both slowly and rapidly adapting neurons, is present at the level of area 3b. Finally, the substantial proportion of neurons that showed a monotonic change in discharge limited to a small range of SPs (often independent of response saturation) could play a role in discriminating smaller changes in SP.

scholarly journals Distinct nociresponsive region in mouse primary somatosensory cortex

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hironobu Osaki ◽  
Moeko Kanaya ◽  
Yoshifumi Ueta ◽  
Mariko Miyata
Keyword(s):  
Neuropathic Pain ◽  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Single Neuron ◽  
Simultaneous Recording ◽  
Primary Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Tactile Information ◽  
Tactile Input ◽  
Layer 2 ◽  
Nociceptive Processing ◽  
Nociceptive Information

Nociception, somatic discriminative aspects of pain, is represented in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1), as is touch, but the separation and the interaction of the two modalities within S1 remain unclear. Here, we show the spatially-distinct tactile and nociceptive processing in the granular barrel field (BF) and the adjacent dysgranular region (Dys) in mouse S1. Simultaneous recording of the multiunit activity across subregions reveals that Dys responses are selective to noxious input whereas those of BF are to tactile input. At the single neuron level, nociceptive information is represented separately from the tactile information in Dys layer 2/3. In contrast, both modalities are converged in a layer 5 neuron in each region. Interestingly, the two modalities interfere with each other in both regions. We further demonstrate that Dys, but not BF, activity is critically involved in neuropathic pain and pain behavior, and thus provide evidence that Dys is a center specialized for nociception in S1.

scholarly journals Layer-specific integration of locomotion and concurrent wall touching in mouse barrel cortex

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asli Ayaz ◽  
Andreas Stäuble ◽  
Aman B Saleem ◽  
Fritjof Helmchen
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Calcium Imaging ◽  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Sustained Activity ◽  
Tactile Stimuli ◽  
Layer 2 ◽  
Self Motion ◽  
Increased Activity

During navigation rodents continually sample the environment with their whiskers. How locomotion modulates neuronal activity in somatosensory cortex and how self-motion is integrated with whisker touch remains unclear. Here, we used calcium imaging in mice running in a tactile virtual reality to investigate modulation of neurons in layer 2/3 (L2/3) and L5 of barrel cortex. About a third of neurons in both layers increased activity during running and concomitant whisking, in the absence of touch. Fewer neurons were modulated by whisking alone (<10%). Whereas L5 neurons responded transiently to wall-touching during running, L2/3 neurons showed sustained activity after touch onset. Consistently, neurons encoding running-with-touch were more abundant in L2/3 compared to L5. Few neurons across layers were also sensitive to abrupt perturbations of tactile flow. We propose that L5 neurons mainly report changes in touch conditions whereas L2/3 neurons continually monitor ongoing tactile stimuli during running.

scholarly journals Time-course and mechanisms of homeostatic plasticity in layers 2/3 and 5 of the barrel cortex

2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1715) ◽  
pp. 20160150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanislaw Glazewski ◽  
Stuart Greenhill ◽  
Kevin Fox
Keyword(s):  
Firing Rate ◽  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Homeostatic Plasticity ◽  
Spontaneous Firing ◽  
Synaptic Scaling ◽  
Layer 2 ◽  
Spontaneous Firing Rate

Recent studies have shown that ocular dominance plasticity in layer 2/3 of the visual cortex exhibits a form of homeostatic plasticity that is related to synaptic scaling and depends on TNFα. In this study, we tested whether a similar form of plasticity was present in layer 2/3 of the barrel cortex and, therefore, whether the mechanism was likely to be a general property of cortical neurons. We found that whisker deprivation could induce homeostatic plasticity in layer 2/3 of barrel cortex, but not in a mouse strain lacking synaptic scaling. The time-course of homeostatic plasticity in layer 2/3 was similar to that of L5 regular spiking (RS) neurons (L5RS), but slower than that of L5 intrinsic bursting (IB) neurons (L5IB). In layer 5, the strength of evoked whisker responses and ex vivo miniature excitatory post-synaptic currents (mEPSCs) amplitudes showed an identical time-course for homeostatic plasticity, implying that plasticity at excitatory synapses contacting layer 5 neurons is sufficient to explain the changes in evoked responses. Spontaneous firing rate also showed homeostatic behaviour for L5IB cells, but was absent for L5RS cells over the time-course studied. Spontaneous firing rate homeostasis was found to be independent of evoked response homeostasis suggesting that the two depend on different mechanisms. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Integrating Hebbian and homeostatic plasticity’.

Layer- and Cell-Type-Specific Effects of Neonatal Whisker-Trimming in Adult Rat Barrel Cortex

2007 ◽  
Vol 97 (6) ◽  
pp. 4380-4385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soo-Hyun Lee ◽  
Peter W. Land ◽  
Daniel J. Simons
Keyword(s):  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Sensory Deprivation ◽  
Cell Type ◽  
Growth Layer ◽  
Adult Rat ◽  
Specific Effects ◽  
Layer 2 ◽  
Layer 4 ◽  
Cell Type Specific ◽  
Fast Spike

Tactile deprivation in rats produced by whisker-trimming early in life leads to abnormally robust responses of excitatory neurons in layer 4 of primary somatosensory cortex when the re-grown whiskers are stimulated. Present findings from fast-spike neurons indicate that presumed inhibitory cells fire less robustly under the same conditions. These contrasting effects may reflect altered patterns of thalamocortical input to excitatory versus inhibitory cells and/or changes in the strength of intracortical connections. Despite increased excitability of layer 4, neurons in layer 2/3 respond at control levels even after full whisker re-growth. Layer 4 synapses onto supragranular neurons may be permanently depressed as a result of neonatal sensory deprivation.

Temporal Frequency of Whisker Movement. II. Laminar Organization of Cortical Representations

2001 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 354-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ehud Ahissar ◽  
Ronen Sosnik ◽  
Knarik Bagdasarian ◽  
Sebastian Haidarliu
Keyword(s):  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Temporal Frequency ◽  
Spike Count ◽  
Thalamic Nuclei ◽  
Laminar Organization ◽  
Coding Schemes ◽  
Layer 2 ◽  
Layer 4 ◽  
Cortical Representations ◽  
Latency Coding

Part of the information obtained by rodent whiskers is carried by the frequency of their movement. In the thalamus of anesthetized rats, the whisker frequency is represented by two different coding schemes: by amplitude and spike count (i.e., response amplitudes and spike counts decrease as a function of frequency) in the lemniscal thalamus and by latency and spike count (latencies increase and spike counts decrease as a function of frequency) in the paralemniscal thalamus (see accompanying paper). Here we investigated neuronal representations of the whisker frequency in the primary somatosensory (“barrel”) cortex of the anesthetized rat, which receives its input from both the lemniscal and paralemniscal thalamic nuclei. Single and multi-units were recorded from layers 2/3, 4 (barrels only), 5a, and 5b during vibrissal stimulation. Typically, the input frequency was represented by amplitude and spike count in the barrels of layer 4 and in layer 5b (the “lemniscal layers”) and by latency and spike count in layer 5a (the “paralemniscal layer”). Neurons of layer 2/3 displayed a mixture of the two coding schemes. When the pulse width of the stimulus was reduced from 50 to 20 ms, the latency coding in layers 5a and 2/3 was dramatically reduced, while the spike-count coding was not affected; in contrast, in layers 4 and 5b, the latencies remained constant, but the spike counts were reduced with 20-ms stimuli. The same effects were found in the paralemniscal and lemniscal thalamic nuclei, respectively (see accompanying paper). These results are consistent with the idea that thalamocortical loops of different pathways, although terminating within the same cortical columns, perform different computations in parallel. Furthermore, the mixture of coding schemes in layer 2/3 might reflect an integration of lemniscal and paralemniscal outputs.

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