scholarly journals Prenatal activity from thalamic neurons governs the emergence of functional cortical maps in mice

Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 364 (6444) ◽  
pp. 987-990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noelia Antón-Bolaños ◽  
Alejandro Sempere-Ferràndez ◽  
Teresa Guillamón-Vivancos ◽  
Francisco J. Martini ◽  
Leticia Pérez-Saiz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mouse Embryo ◽  
Sensory Input ◽  
Intrinsic Activity ◽  
Calcium Waves ◽  
Topographic Map ◽  
Cortical Circuits ◽  
Thalamic Neurons ◽  
Self Organized ◽  
Columnar Organization ◽  
Somatotopic Map

The mammalian brain’s somatosensory cortex is a topographic map of the body’s sensory experience. In mice, cortical barrels reflect whisker input. We asked whether these cortical structures require sensory input to develop or are driven by intrinsic activity. Thalamocortical columns, connecting the thalamus to the cortex, emerge before sensory input and concur with calcium waves in the embryonic thalamus. We show that the columnar organization of the thalamocortical somatotopic map exists in the mouse embryo before sensory input, thus linking spontaneous embryonic thalamic activity to somatosensory map formation. Without thalamic calcium waves, cortical circuits become hyperexcitable, columnar and barrel organization does not emerge, and the somatosensory map lacks anatomical and functional structure. Thus, a self-organized protomap in the embryonic thalamus drives the functional assembly of murine thalamocortical sensory circuits.

scholarly journals Learning shapes cortical dynamics to enhance integration of relevant sensory input

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angus Chadwick ◽  
Adil Khan ◽  
Jasper Poort ◽  
Antonin Blot ◽  
Sonja Hofer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Coding ◽  
Sensory Input ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Network Dynamics ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Neural Population ◽  
Cortical Circuits ◽  
Population Activity ◽  
Cortical Dynamics ◽  
Network Output

Adaptive sensory behavior is thought to depend on processing in recurrent cortical circuits, but how dynamics in these circuits shapes the integration and transmission of sensory information is not well understood. Here, we study neural coding in recurrently connected networks of neurons driven by sensory input. We show analytically how information available in the network output varies with the alignment between feedforward input and the integrating modes of the circuit dynamics. In light of this theory, we analyzed neural population activity in the visual cortex of mice that learned to discriminate visual features. We found that over learning, slow patterns of network dynamics realigned to better integrate input relevant to the discrimination task. This realignment of network dynamics could be explained by changes in excitatory-inhibitory connectivity amongst neurons tuned to relevant features. These results suggest that learning tunes the temporal dynamics of cortical circuits to optimally integrate relevant sensory input.

scholarly journals Investigating the Subcortical Route to the Amygdala Across Species and in Disordered Fear Responses

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 117906951984644 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica McFadyen
Keyword(s):  
Visual Information ◽  
Sensory Input ◽  
Cortical Circuits ◽  
Temporal Area ◽  
Middle Temporal ◽  
Directional Flow ◽  
The Past ◽  
And Function ◽  
Anatomical Evidence

Over the past few decades, evidence has come to light that there is a rapid subcortical shortcut that transmits visual information to the amygdala, effectively bypassing the visual cortex. This pathway purportedly runs from the superior colliculus to the amygdala via the pulvinar, and thus presents a methodological challenge to study noninvasively in the human brain. Here, we present our recent work where we reliably reconstructed the white matter structure and directional flow of neural signal along this pathway in over 600 healthy young adults. Critically, we found structure-function relationships for the pulvinar-amygdala connection, where people with greater fibre density had stronger functional neural coupling and were also better at recognising fearful facial expressions. These results tie together recent anatomical evidence from other visual primates with very recent optogenetic research on rodents demonstrating a functional role of this pathway in producing fear responses. Here, we discuss how this pathway might operate alongside other thalamo-cortical circuits (such as pulvinar to middle temporal area) and how its structure and function may change according to the sensory input it receives. This newly established circuit might play a potentially important role in autism and/or anxiety disorders.

scholarly journals Swarm Intelligence for Self-Organized Clustering (Extended Abstract)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael C. Thrun ◽  
Alfred Ultsch
Keyword(s):  
Swarm Intelligence ◽  
Data Visualization ◽  
High Dimensional Data ◽  
Self Organization ◽  
High Dimensional ◽  
Topographic Map ◽  
Visualization Technique ◽  
Robust Clustering ◽  
Related Data ◽  
Self Organized

The Databionic swarm (DBS) is a flexible and robust clustering framework that consists of three independent modules: swarm based projection, high-dimensional data visualization and representation guided clustering. The first module is the parameter-free projection method Pswarm, which exploits concepts of self-organization and emergence, game theory, and swarm intelligence. The second module is a parameter-free high-dimensional data visualization technique called topographic map. It uses the generalized U-matrix, which enables to estimate first, if any cluster tendency exists and second, the estimation of the number of clusters. The third module offers a clustering method which can be verified by the visualization and vice versa. Benchmarking w.r.t. conventional algorithms demonstrated that DBS can outperform them. Several applications showed that cluster structures provided by DBS are meaningful. Exemplary, a clustering of worldwide country-related data w.r.t the COVID-19 pandemic is presented here. Code and data is made available via open source.

scholarly journals A Self-Organized Neural Comparator

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 1006-1028 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillermo A. Ludueña ◽  
Claudius Gros
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Input ◽  
Neural Circuitry ◽  
External Information ◽  
Neural Encoding ◽  
Self Organized ◽  
Neural Activities ◽  
Neural Learning ◽  
Neural Populations ◽  
Multilayer Feedforward Neural Network ◽  
Learning Architectures

Learning algorithms need generally the ability to compare several streams of information. Neural learning architectures hence need a unit, a comparator, able to compare several inputs encoding either internal or external information, for instance, predictions and sensory readings. Without the possibility of comparing the values of predictions to actual sensory inputs, reward evaluation and supervised learning would not be possible. Comparators are usually not implemented explicitly. Necessary comparisons are commonly performed by directly comparing the respective activities one-to-one. This implies that the characteristics of the two input streams (like size and encoding) must be provided at the time of designing the system. It is, however, plausible that biological comparators emerge from self-organizing, genetically encoded principles, which allow the system to adapt to the changes in the input and the organism. We propose an unsupervised neural circuitry, where the function of input comparison emerges via self-organization only from the interaction of the system with the respective inputs, without external influence or supervision. The proposed neural comparator adapts in an unsupervised form according to the correlations present in the input streams. The system consists of a multilayer feedforward neural network, which follows a local output minimization (anti-Hebbian) rule for adaptation of the synaptic weights. The local output minimization allows the circuit to autonomously acquire the capability of comparing the neural activities received from different neural populations, which may differ in population size and the neural encoding used. The comparator is able to compare objects never encountered before in the sensory input streams and evaluate a measure of their similarity even when differently encoded.

scholarly journals Precision mapping of the vibrissa representation within murine primary somatosensory cortex

2016 ◽  
Vol 371 (1705) ◽  
pp. 20150351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Per M. Knutsen ◽  
Celine Mateo ◽  
David Kleinfeld
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Input ◽  
Spatial Arrangement ◽  
Optical Signal ◽  
Cortical Region ◽  
Precise Location ◽  
Brain Signals ◽  
Somatotopic Map ◽  
Functional Representations ◽  
The Brain

The ability to form an accurate map of sensory input to the brain is an essential aspect of interpreting functional brain signals. Here, we consider the somatotopic map of vibrissa-based touch in the primary somatosensory (vS1) cortex of mice. The vibrissae are represented by a Manhattan-like grid of columnar structures that are separated by inter-digitating septa. The development, dynamics and plasticity of this organization is widely used as a model system. Yet, the exact anatomical position of this organization within the vS1 cortex varies between individual mice. Targeting of a particular column in vivo therefore requires prior mapping of the activated cortical region, for instance by imaging the evoked intrinsic optical signal (eIOS) during vibrissa stimulation. Here, we describe a procedure for constructing a complete somatotopic map of the vibrissa representation in the vS1 cortex using eIOS. This enables precise targeting of individual cortical columns . We found, using C57BL/6 mice, that although the precise location of the columnar field varies between animals, the relative spatial arrangement of the columns is highly preserved. This finding enables us to construct a canonical somatotopic map of the vibrissae in the vS1 cortex. In particular, the position of any column, in absolute anatomical coordinates, can be established with near certainty when the functional representations in the vS1 cortex for as few as two vibrissae have been mapped with eIOS. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Interpreting BOLD: a dialogue between cognitive and cellular neuroscience’.

scholarly journals Self-Organized Criticality Underlies Arrhythmogenic Calcium Waves in Cardiac Myocytes

2012 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 100a
Author(s):  
Christopher Y. Ko ◽  
Michael Nivala ◽  
Melissa Nivala ◽  
James N. Weiss ◽  
Zhilin Qu
Keyword(s):  
Cardiac Myocytes ◽  
Calcium Waves ◽  
Self Organized ◽  
Self Organized Criticality

Problem behavior in autism spectrum disorders: A paradigmatic self-organized perspective of network structures

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucio Tonello ◽  
Luca Giacobbi ◽  
Alberto Pettenon ◽  
Alessandro Scuotto ◽  
Massimo Cocchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Problem Behaviors ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
The Self ◽  
Network Structures ◽  
Self Organized ◽  
Critical Equilibrium ◽  
Self Organized Criticality ◽  
Acute Agitation ◽  
Spectrum Disorders

AbstractAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) subjects can present temporary behaviors of acute agitation and aggressiveness, named problem behaviors. They have been shown to be consistent with the self-organized criticality (SOC), a model wherein occasionally occurring “catastrophic events” are necessary in order to maintain a self-organized “critical equilibrium.” The SOC can represent the psychopathology network structures and additionally suggests that they can be considered as self-organized systems.

Spontaneous Production of Type C Virus Particles in a Culture Derived from Rat Embryo Cells

1972 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 288-289
Author(s):  
Elizabeth S. Priori ◽  
T. Shigematsu ◽  
B. Myers ◽  
L. Dmochowski
Keyword(s):  
Virus Particle ◽  
Mouse Embryo ◽  
Calf Serum ◽  
Embryo Cell ◽  
Virus Particles ◽  
Extracellular Virus ◽  
Mouse Embryo Cell ◽  
Mature Virus Particle ◽  
Embryo Cells ◽  
Type C

Spontaneous release of type C virus particles in long-term cultures of mouse embryo cells as well as induction of similar particles in mouse embryo cell cultures with IUDR or BUDR have been reported. The presence of type C virus particles in cultures of normal rat embryos has not been reported.NB-1, a culture derived from embryos of a New Zealand Black (NB) rat (rats obtained from Mr. Samuel M. Poiley, N.C.I., Bethesda, Md.) and grown in McCoy's 5A medium supplemented with 20% fetal calf serum was passaged weekly. Extracellular virus particles similar to murine leukemia particles appeared in the 22nd subculture. General appearance of cells in passage 23 is shown in Fig. 1. Two budding figures and one immature type C virus particle may be seen in Fig. 2. The virus particles and budding were present in all further passages examined (currently passage 39). Various stages of budding are shown in Figs. 3a,b,c,d. Appearance of a mature virus particle is shown in Fig. 4.

Use of F9 teratocarcinoma STEM cells to study cell-matrix interactions in the early mouse embryo

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 602-603
Author(s):  
Marc Lenburg ◽  
Rulang Jiang ◽  
Lengya Cheng ◽  
Laura Grabel
Keyword(s):  
Mouse Embryo ◽  
Inner Cell Mass ◽  
Cell Mass ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Embryoid Bodies ◽  
F9 Cells ◽  
Cell Matrix ◽  
Matrix Interactions ◽  
Cell Matrix Interactions ◽  
F9 Teratocarcinoma

We are interested in defining the cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions that help direct the differentiation of extraembryonic endoderm in the peri-implantation mouse embryo. At the blastocyst stage the mouse embryo consists of an outer layer of trophectoderm surrounding the fluid-filled blastocoel cavity and an eccentrically located inner cell mass. On the free surface of the inner cell mass, facing the blastocoel cavity, a layer of primitive endoderm forms. Primitive endoderm then generates two distinct cell types; parietal endoderm (PE) which migrates along the inner surface of the trophectoderm and secretes large amounts of basement membrane components as well as tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA), and visceral endoderm (VE), a columnar epithelial layer characterized by tight junctions, microvilli, and the synthesis and secretion of α-fetoprotein. As these events occur after implantation, we have turned to the F9 teratocarcinoma system as an in vitro model for examining the differentiation of these cell types. When F9 cells are treated in monolayer with retinoic acid plus cyclic-AMP, they differentiate into PE. In contrast, when F9 cells are treated in suspension with retinoic acid, they form embryoid bodies (EBs) which consist of an outer layer of VE and an inner core of undifferentiated stem cells. In addition, we have established that when VE containing embryoid bodies are plated on a fibronectin coated substrate, PE migrates onto the matrix and this interaction is inhibited by RGDS as well as antibodies directed against the β1 integrin subunit. This transition is accompanied by a significant increase in the level of tPA in the PE cells. Thus, the outgrowth system provides a spatially appropriate model for studying the differentiation and migration of PE from a VE precursor.

Cell-matrix interactions in the early mouse embryo

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 600-601
Author(s):  
A.E. Sutherland ◽  
P.G. Calarco ◽  
C.H. Damsky
Keyword(s):  
Mouse Embryo ◽  
Giant Cells ◽  
Blastocyst Stage ◽  
Integrin Subunit ◽  
Β1 Integrin ◽  
Cell Stage ◽  
Early Mouse Embryo ◽  
Migratory Activity ◽  
Early Mouse ◽  
Cell Matrix Interactions

Cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions mediated by the integrin family of receptors are critical for morphogenesis and may also play a regulatory role in differentiation during early development. We have examined the onset of expression of individual integrin subunit proteins in the early mouse embryo, and their roles in early morphogenetic events. As detected by immunoprecipitation, the α6, αV, β1, and β3 subunits are detected as early as the 4-cell stage, α5 at the hatched blastocyst stage and αl and α3 following blastocyst attachment. We tested the role of these integrins in the attachment and migratory activity of two cell populations of the early mouse embryo: the trophoblast giant cells, which invade the uterine stroma and ultimately contribute to the chorio-allantoic placenta, and the parietal endoderm, which migrates over the inner surface of the trophoblast and ultimately forms Reichert's membrane and the parietal yolk sac. Experiments were done in serum-free medium on substrates coated with laminin (Ln) and fibronectin (Fn). Trophoblast outgrowth occurs on Ln and its E8 fragment (long arm), but not on the E1’ fragment (cross region) (Figs. 1, 2 ). This outgrowth is inhibited by anti-E8, anti-Ln, and by the anti-β1 family antiserum anti-ECMR, but not by anti-αV or the function-perturbing GoH3 antibody that recognizes the α6/β1 integrin, a major Ln (E8) receptor. This suggests that trophoblast outgrowth on Ln or E8 is mediated by a different β1 integrin such as α3/β1. Early stages of trophoblast outgrowth (up to 48 hours) on Fn are inhibited by anti-Fn and by function-perturbing anti-αV antibodies, whereas at later times outgrowth becomes insensitive to anti-αV but remains sensitive to the anti-β1 family antiserum anti-ECMr, indicating that trophoblast cells modulate their interaction with Fn during outgrowth. Trophoblast outgrowth on vitronectin (Vn) is sensitive to anti-αV antibodies throughout the 5-day period examined.

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