scholarly journals Refinement of corticospinal neuron activity during skilled motor learning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Najet Serradj ◽  
Francesca Marino ◽  
Yunuen Moreno-López ◽  
Sydney Agger ◽  
Andrew Sloan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Corticospinal Tract ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Network Activity ◽  
Neuron Activity ◽  
Cortical Motor ◽  
Dependent Behavior

AbstractThe learning of motor skills relies on plasticity of the primary motor cortex as task acquisition drives the remodeling of cortical motor networks1,2. Large scale cortical remodeling of evoked motor outputs occurs in response to the learning of skilled, corticospinal-dependent behavior, but not simple, unskilled tasks1. Here we determine the response of corticospinal neurons to both skilled and unskilled motor training and assess the role of corticospinal neuron activity in the execution of the trained behaviors. Using in vivo calcium imaging, we found that refinement of corticospinal activity correlated with the development of skilled, but not unskilled, motor expertise. Animals that failed to learn our skilled task exhibited a limited repertoire of dynamic movements and a corresponding absence of network modulation. Transection of the corticospinal tract and aberrant activation of corticospinal neurons show the necessity for corticospinal network activity patterns in the execution of skilled, but not unskilled, movement. We reveal a critical role for corticospinal network modulation in the learning and execution of skilled motor movements. The integrity of the corticospinal tract is essential to the recovery of voluntary movement after central nervous system injuries and these findings should help to shape translational approaches to motor recovery.

scholarly journals Oxytocin shapes spontaneous activity patterns in the developing visual cortex by activating somatostatin interneurons

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paloma P Maldonado ◽  
Alvaro Nuno-Perez ◽  
Jan Kirchner ◽  
Elizabeth Hammock ◽  
Julijana Gjorgjieva ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cortex ◽  
Spontaneous Activity ◽  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Network Activity ◽  
Synaptic Connections ◽  
Pairwise Correlations ◽  
Early Brain Development

SummarySpontaneous network activity shapes emerging neuronal circuits during early brain development, however how neuromodulation influences this activity is not fully understood. Here, we report that the neuromodulator oxytocin powerfully shapes spontaneous activity patterns. In vivo, oxytocin strongly decreased the frequency and pairwise correlations of spontaneous activity events in visual cortex (V1), but not in somatosensory cortex (S1). This differential effect was a consequence of oxytocin only increasing inhibition in V1 and increasing both inhibition and excitation in S1. The increase in inhibition was mediated by the depolarization and increase in excitability of somatostatin+ (SST) interneurons specifically. Accordingly, silencing SST+ neurons pharmacogenetically fully blocked oxytocin’s effect on inhibition in vitro as well its effect on spontaneous activity patterns in vivo. Thus, oxytocin decreases the excitatory/inhibitory ratio and modulates specific features of V1 spontaneous activity patterns that are crucial for refining developing synaptic connections and sensory processing later in life.

scholarly journals GluA4 subunit of AMPA receptors mediates the early synaptic response to altered network activity in the developing hippocampus

2016 ◽  
Vol 115 (6) ◽  
pp. 2989-2996 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Huupponen ◽  
T. Atanasova ◽  
T. Taira ◽  
S. E. Lauri
Keyword(s):  
Ampa Receptors ◽  
Pyramidal Neurons ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Long Term Potentiation ◽  
Postnatal Period ◽  
Homeostatic Plasticity ◽  
Network Activity ◽  
Hippocampal Pyramidal Neurons ◽  
Activity Dependent

Development of the neuronal circuitry involves both Hebbian and homeostatic plasticity mechanisms that orchestrate activity-dependent refinement of the synaptic connectivity. AMPA receptor subunit GluA4 is expressed in hippocampal pyramidal neurons during early postnatal period and is critical for neonatal long-term potentiation; however, its role in homeostatic plasticity is unknown. Here we show that GluA4-dependent plasticity mechanisms allow immature synapses to promptly respond to alterations in network activity. In the neonatal CA3, the threshold for homeostatic plasticity is low, and a 15-h activity blockage with tetrodotoxin triggers homeostatic upregulation of glutamatergic transmission. On the other hand, attenuation of the correlated high-frequency bursting in the CA3-CA1 circuitry leads to weakening of AMPA transmission in CA1, thus reflecting a critical role for Hebbian synapse induction in the developing CA3-CA1. Both of these developmentally restricted forms of plasticity were absent in GluA4 −/− mice. These data suggest that GluA4 enables efficient homeostatic upscaling and responsiveness to temporal activity patterns during the critical period of activity-dependent refinement of the circuitry.

In Vivo Calcium Imaging of Neural Network Function

Physiology ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 358-365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Werner Göbel ◽  
Fritjof Helmchen
Keyword(s):  
Calcium Imaging ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Network Activity ◽  
Network Function ◽  
Two Photon ◽  
Calcium Indicators ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
In Vivo Calcium Imaging ◽  
Function Network

Spatiotemporal activity patterns in local neural networks are fundamental to brain function. Network activity can now be measured in vivo using two-photon imaging of cell populations that are labeled with fluorescent calcium indicators. In this review, we discuss basic aspects of in vivo calcium imaging and highlight recent developments that will help to uncover operating principles of neural circuits.

scholarly journals An unconventional GABAergic circuit differently controls pyramidal neuron activity in two visual cortical areas via endocannabinoids

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Montmerle ◽  
Fani Koukouli ◽  
Andrea Aguirre ◽  
Jeremy Peixoto ◽  
Vikash Choudhary ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pyramidal Neurons ◽  
Cannabinoid Receptor ◽  
Gaba Release ◽  
Network Activity ◽  
Connectivity Pattern ◽  
Neuron Activity ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
Visual Cortical ◽  
And Function

Perisomatic inhibition of neocortical pyramidal neurons (PNs) coordinates cortical network activity during sensory processing, and it has been mainly attributed to parvalbumin-expressing basket cells (BCs). However, cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1)-expressing interneurons also inhibit the perisomatic region of PNs but the connectivity and function of these elusive, yet prominent, neocortical GABAergic cells is unknown. We found that the connectivity pattern of CB1-positive BCs strongly differs between primary and high-order cortical visual areas. Moreover, persistently active CB1 signaling suppresses GABA release from CB1 BCs in the medial secondary visual cortex (V2M), but not in the primary (V1) visual area. Accordingly, in vivo, tonic CB1 signaling is responsible for higher but less coordinated PN activity in V2M than in V1. Our results indicate a differential CB1-mediated mechanism controlling PN activity, and suggest an alternative connectivity schemes of a specific GABAergic circuit in different cortical areas

scholarly journals Large scale in vivo recording of sensory neuron activity with GCaMP6

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim I Chisholm ◽  
Nikita Khovanov ◽  
Douglas M Lopes ◽  
Federica La Russa ◽  
Stephen B McMahon
Keyword(s):  
Nervous System ◽  
Peripheral Nervous System ◽  
Sensory Neurons ◽  
Action Potentials ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Primary Afferents ◽  
Neuron Activity ◽  
Functional Responses ◽  
Single Action

AbstractGreater emphasis on the study of intact cellular networks in their physiological environment has led to rapid advances in intravital imaging in the central nervous system, while the peripheral system remains largely unexplored. To assess large networks of sensory neurons we selectively label primary afferents with GCaMP6s and visualise their functional responses in vivo to peripheral stimulation. We show that we are able to monitor simultaneously the activity of hundreds of sensory neurons with sensitivity sufficient to detect, in most cases, single action potentials with a typical rise time of around 200 milliseconds, and an exponential decay with a time constant of approximately 700 milliseconds. Using this sensitive technique we are able to show that large scale recordings demonstrate the recently disputed polymodality of nociceptive primary afferents with between 40-80% of thermally sensitive DRG neurons responding also to noxious mechanical stimulation. We also specifically assess the small population of peripheral cold fibres and demonstrate significant sensitisation to cooling after a model of sterile and persistent inflammation, with significantly increased sensitivity already at decreases of 5°C when compared to uninflamed responses. This not only reveals interesting new insights into the (patho)physiology of the peripheral nervous system but also demonstrates the sensitivity of this imaging technique to physiological changes in primary afferents.Significance StatementMost of our functional understanding of the peripheral nervous system has come from single unit recordings. However, the acquisition of such data is labour-intensive and usually ‘low yield’. Moreover, some questions are best addressed by studying populations of neurons. To this end we report on a system that monitors activity in hundreds of single sensory neurons simultaneously, with sufficient sensitivity to detect in most cases single action potentials. We use this technique to characterise nociceptor properties and demonstrate polymodality in the majority of neurons and their sensitization under inflammatory conditions. We therefore believe this approach will be very useful for the studies of the somatosensory system in general and pain in particular.

scholarly journals Motor planning brings human primary somatosensory cortex into action-specific preparatory states

eLife ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giacomo Ariani ◽  
J Andrew Pruszynski ◽  
Jörn Diedrichsen
Keyword(s):  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Motor Neurons ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Specific Activity ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Motor Planning ◽  
Movement Control ◽  
Movement Planning ◽  
Primary Somatosensory Cortex

Motor planning plays a critical role in producing fast and accurate movement. Yet, the neural processes that occur in human primary motor and somatosensory cortex during planning, and how they relate to those during movement execution, remain poorly understood. Here we used 7T functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a delayed movement paradigm to study single finger movement planning and execution. The inclusion of no-go trials and variable delays allowed us to separate what are typically overlapping planning and execution brain responses. Although our univariate results show widespread deactivation during finger planning, multivariate pattern analysis revealed finger-specific activity patterns in contralateral primary somatosensory cortex (S1), which predicted the planned finger action. Surprisingly, these activity patterns were as informative as those found in contralateral primary motor cortex (M1). Control analyses ruled out the possibility that the detected information was an artifact of subthreshold movements during the preparatory delay. Furthermore, we observed that finger-specific activity patterns during planning were highly correlated to those during execution. These findings reveal that motor planning activates the specific S1 and M1 circuits that are engaged during the execution of a finger press, while activity in both regions is overall suppressed. We propose that preparatory states in S1 may improve movement control through changes in sensory processing or via direct influence of spinal motor neurons.

scholarly journals Regional heterogeneity of developing GABAergic interneuron excitation in vivo

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasunobu Murata ◽  
Matthew T. Colonnese
Keyword(s):  
Synapse Formation ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Reversal Potential ◽  
Pyramidal Cells ◽  
Gabaergic Neurons ◽  
Network Activity ◽  
Gabaergic Interneuron ◽  
Intact Brain

AbstractGABAergic interneurons are proposed to be critical for early activity and synapse formation by directly exciting, rather than inhibiting, neurons in developing hippocampus and neocortex. However, the role of GABAergic neurons in the generation of neonatal network activity has not been tested in vivo, and recent studies have challenged the excitatory nature of early GABA. By locally manipulating interneuron activity in unanesthetized neonatal mice, we show that GABAergic neurons are indeed excitatory in hippocampus at postnatal-day 3 (P3), and responsible for most of the spontaneous firing of pyramidal cells at that age. Hippocampal interneurons become inhibitory by P7, whereas cortical interneurons are inhibitory at P3 and remain so throughout development. This regional and age heterogeneity is the result of a change in chloride reversal potential as activation of light-gated anion channels expressed in glutamatergic neurons causes firing in hippocampus at P3, but silences it at P7. This study in the intact brain reveals a critical role for GABAergic interneuron excitation in neonatal hippocampus, and a surprising heterogeneity of interneuron function in cortical circuits that was not predicted from in vitro studies.

scholarly journals Selective entrainment of gamma subbands by different slow network oscillations

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (17) ◽  
pp. 4519-4524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weiwei Zhong ◽  
Mareva Ciatipis ◽  
Thérèse Wolfenstetter ◽  
Jakob Jessberger ◽  
Carola Müller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Dorsal Hippocampus ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Specific Interaction ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Network Activity ◽  
Gamma Frequency ◽  
Cornu Ammonis ◽  
Oscillatory Coupling ◽  
Fast Oscillations

Theta oscillations (4–12 Hz) are thought to provide a common temporal reference for the exchange of information among distant brain networks. On the other hand, faster gamma-frequency oscillations (30–160 Hz) nested within theta cycles are believed to underlie local information processing. Whether oscillatory coupling between global and local oscillations, as showcased by theta-gamma coupling, is a general coding mechanism remains unknown. Here, we investigated two different patterns of oscillatory network activity, theta and respiration-induced network rhythms, in four brain regions of freely moving mice: olfactory bulb (OB), prelimbic cortex (PLC), parietal cortex (PAC), and dorsal hippocampus [cornu ammonis 1 (CA1)]. We report differential state- and region-specific coupling between the slow large-scale rhythms and superimposed fast oscillations. During awake immobility, all four regions displayed a respiration-entrained rhythm (RR) with decreasing power from OB to CA1, which coupled exclusively to the 80- to 120-Hz gamma subband (γ2). During exploration, when theta activity was prevailing, OB and PLC still showed exclusive coupling of RR with γ2 and no theta-gamma coupling, whereas PAC and CA1 switched to selective coupling of theta with 40- to 80-Hz (γ1) and 120- to 160-Hz (γ3) gamma subbands. Our data illustrate a strong, specific interaction between neuronal activity patterns and respiration. Moreover, our results suggest that the coupling between slow and fast oscillations is a general brain mechanism not limited to the theta rhythm.

scholarly journals The Cortical Motor System in the Domestic Pig: Origin and Termination of the Corticospinal Tract and Cortico-Brainstem Projections

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia del Cerro ◽  
Ángel Rodríguez-De-Lope ◽  
Jorge E. Collazos-Castro
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Motor System ◽  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Corticospinal Tract ◽  
Premotor Cortex ◽  
Mesencephalic Reticular Formation ◽  
Reticular Nucleus ◽  
Descending Pathways ◽  
Spinal Segment ◽  
Cortical Motor

The anatomy of the cortical motor system and its relationship to motor repertoire in artiodactyls is for the most part unknown. We studied the origin and termination of the corticospinal tract (CST) and cortico-brainstem projections in domestic pigs. Pyramidal neurons were retrogradely labeled by injecting aminostilbamidine in the spinal segment C1. After identifying the dual origin of the porcine CST in the primary motor cortex (M1) and premotor cortex (PM), the axons descending from those regions to the spinal cord and brainstem were anterogradely labeled by unilateral injections of dextran alexa-594 in M1 and dextran alexa-488 in PM. Numerous corticospinal projections from M1 and PM were detected up to T6 spinal segment and showed a similar pattern of decussation and distribution in the white matter funiculi and the gray matter laminae. They terminated mostly on dendrites of the lateral intermediate laminae and the internal basilar nucleus, and some innervated the ventromedial laminae, but were essentially absent in lateral laminae IX. Corticofugal axons terminated predominantly ipsilaterally in the midbrain and bilaterally in the medulla oblongata. Most corticorubral projections arose from M1, whereas the mesencephalic reticular formation, superior colliculus, lateral reticular nucleus, gigantocellular reticular nucleus, and raphe received abundant axonal contacts from both M1 and PM. Our data suggest that the porcine cortical motor system has some common features with that of primates and humans and may control posture and movement through parallel motor descending pathways. However, less cortical regions project to the spinal cord in pigs, and the CST neither seems to reach the lumbar enlargement nor to have a significant direct innervation of cervical, foreleg motoneurons.

scholarly journals Metformin reverses early cortical network dysfunction and behavior changes in Huntington’s disease

eLife ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Arnoux ◽  
Michael Willam ◽  
Nadine Griesche ◽  
Jennifer Krummeich ◽  
Hirofumi Watari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Huntington's Disease ◽  
Huntington’S Disease ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
Activity Patterns ◽  
Disease Onset ◽  
Network Activity ◽  
Critical Window ◽  
Functional Changes ◽  
Window Of Vulnerability

Catching primal functional changes in early, ‘very far from disease onset’ (VFDO) stages of Huntington’s disease is likely to be the key to a successful therapy. Focusing on VFDO stages, we assessed neuronal microcircuits in premanifest Hdh150 knock-in mice. Employing in vivo two-photon Ca2+ imaging, we revealed an early pattern of circuit dysregulation in the visual cortex - one of the first regions affected in premanifest Huntington’s disease - characterized by an increase in activity, an enhanced synchronicity and hyperactive neurons. These findings are accompanied by aberrations in animal behavior. We furthermore show that the antidiabetic drug metformin diminishes aberrant Huntingtin protein load and fully restores both early network activity patterns and behavioral aberrations. This network-centered approach reveals a critical window of vulnerability far before clinical manifestation and establishes metformin as a promising candidate for a chronic therapy starting early in premanifest Huntington’s disease pathogenesis long before the onset of clinical symptoms.

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