scholarly journals Optical study of interactions among propagation waves of neural excitation in the rat somatosensory cortex evoked by forelimb and hindlimb stimuli

2018 ◽  
Vol 119 (5) ◽  
pp. 1934-1946 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noriyuki Hama ◽  
Minako Kawai ◽  
Shin-Ichi Ito ◽  
Akihiko Hirota

Multisite optical recording has revealed that the neural excitation wave induced by a sensory stimulation begins at a focus and propagates in the cortex. This wave is considered to be important for computation in the sensory cortex, particularly the integration of sensory information; however, the nature of this wave remains largely unknown. In the present study, we examined the interaction between two waves in the rat sensory cortex induced by hindlimb and forelimb stimuli with different interstimulus intervals. We classified the resultant patterns as follows: 1) the collision of two waves, 2) the hindlimb response being evoked while the forelimb-induced wave is passing the hindlimb focus, and 3) the hindlimb response being evoked after the forelimb-induced wave has passed the hindlimb focus. In pattern 1, the two waves fused into a single wave, but the propagation pattern differed from that predicted by the superimposition of two singly induced propagation courses. In pattern 2, the state of the interaction between the two waves varied depending on the phase of optical signals constituting the forelimb-induced wave around the hindlimb focus. Although no hindlimb-induced wave was observed in the rising phase, the propagating velocity of the forelimb-induced wave increased. At the peak, neither the hindlimb-induced response nor a modulatory effect on the forelimb-induced wave was detected. In pattern 3, the hindlimb-induced wave showed a reduced amplitude and spatial extent. These results indicate that the state of the interaction between waves was strongly influenced by the relative timing of sensory inputs. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Sensory stimulation-induced cortical excitation propagates as a wave and spreads over a wide area of the sensory cortex. To elucidate the characteristics of this relatively unknown phenomenon, we examined the interaction between two individually induced waves in the somatosensory cortex. Either the waves collided or the preceding wave affected the emergence of the following one. Our results indicate that the state of the interaction was strongly influenced by the relative timing of sensory inputs.

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ravi L. Rungta ◽  
Marc Zuend ◽  
Ali-Kemal Aydin ◽  
Éric Martineau ◽  
Davide Boido ◽  
...  

AbstractThe spatial-temporal sequence of cerebral blood flow (CBF), cerebral blood volume (CBV) and blood velocity changes triggered by neuronal activation is critical for understanding functional brain imaging. This sequence follows a stereotypic pattern of changes across different zones of the vasculature in the olfactory bulb, the first relay of olfaction. However, in the cerebral cortex, where most human brain mapping studies are performed, the timing of activity evoked vascular events remains controversial. Here we utilized a single whisker stimulation model to map out functional hyperemia along vascular arbours from layer II/III to the surface of primary somatosensory cortex, in anesthetized and awake Thy1-GCaMP6 mice. We demonstrate that sensory stimulation triggers an increase in blood velocity within the mid-capillary bed and a dilation of upstream large capillaries, and the penetrating and pial arterioles. We report that under physiological stimulation, response onset times are highly variable across compartments of different vascular arbours. Furthermore, generating transfer functions (TFs) between neuronal Ca2+ and vascular dynamics across different brain states demonstrates that anesthesia decelerates neurovascular coupling (NVC). This spatial-temporal pattern of vascular events demonstrates functional diversity not only between different brain regions but also at the level of different vascular arbours within supragranular layers of the cerebral cortex.


2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (39) ◽  
pp. 10473-10478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Kok ◽  
Pim Mostert ◽  
Floris P. de Lange

Perception can be described as a process of inference, integrating bottom-up sensory inputs and top-down expectations. However, it is unclear how this process is neurally implemented. It has been proposed that expectations lead to prestimulus baseline increases in sensory neurons tuned to the expected stimulus, which in turn, affect the processing of subsequent stimuli. Recent fMRI studies have revealed stimulus-specific patterns of activation in sensory cortex as a result of expectation, but this method lacks the temporal resolution necessary to distinguish pre- from poststimulus processes. Here, we combined human magnetoencephalography (MEG) with multivariate decoding techniques to probe the representational content of neural signals in a time-resolved manner. We observed a representation of expected stimuli in the neural signal shortly before they were presented, showing that expectations indeed induce a preactivation of stimulus templates. The strength of these prestimulus expectation templates correlated with participants’ behavioral improvement when the expected feature was task-relevant. These results suggest a mechanism for how predictive perception can be neurally implemented.


1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 423-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. D. MacDonald ◽  
B. Brett ◽  
D. S. Barth

1. Two 64-channel epipial electrode arrays were positioned on homologous locations of the right and left hemisphere, covering most of primary and secondary auditory and somatosensory cortex in eight lightly anesthetized rats. Array placement was verified with the use of cytochrome oxidase histochemistry. 2. Middle-latency auditory and somatosensory evoked potentials (MAEPs and MSEPs, respectively) and spontaneous oscillations in the frequency range of 20-40 Hz (gamma oscillations) were recorded and found to be spatially constrained to regions of granular cortex, suggesting that both phenomena are closely associated with sensory information processing. 3. The MAEP and MSEP consisted of an initial biphasic sharp wave in primary auditory and somatosensory cortex, respectively, and a similar biphasic sharp wave occurred approximately 4-8 ms later in secondary sensory cortex of the given modality. Averaged gamma oscillations also revealed asynchronous activation of sensory cortex, but with a shorter 2-ms delay between oscillations in primary and secondary regions. Although the long latency shift of the MAEP and MSEP may be due in part to asynchronous activation of parallel thalamocortical projections to primary and secondary sensory cortex, the much shorter shift of gamma oscillations in a given modality is consistent with intracortical coupling of these regions. 4. Gamma oscillations occurred independently in auditory and somatosensory cortex within a given hemisphere. Furthermore, time series averaging revealed that there was no phase-locking of oscillations between the sensory modalities. 5. Gamma oscillations were loosely coupled between hemispheres; oscillations occurring in auditory or somatosensory cortex of one hemisphere were often associated with lower-amplitude oscillations in homologous contralateral sensory cortex. Yet, the fact that time series averaging revealed no interhemispheric phase-locking suggests that the corpus callosum may not coordinate the bilateral gamma oscillations, and that a thalamic modulatory influence may be involved.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anton Filipchuk ◽  
Alain Destexhe ◽  
Brice Bathellier

AbstractNeural activity in sensory cortex combines stimulus responses and ongoing activity, but it remains unclear whether they reflect the same underlying dynamics or separate processes. Here we show that during wakefulness, the neuronal assemblies evoked by sounds in the auditory cortex and thalamus are specific to the stimulus and distinct from the assemblies observed in ongoing activity. In contrast, during anesthesia, evoked assemblies are indistinguishable from ongoing assemblies in cortex, while they remain distinct in the thalamus. A strong remapping of sensory responses accompanies this dynamical state change produced by anesthesia. Together, these results show that the awake cortex engages dedicated neuronal assemblies in response to sensory inputs, which we suggest is a network correlate of sensory perception.One-Sentence SummarySensory responses in the awake cortex engage specific neuronal assemblies that disappear under anesthesia.


eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanying Zhang ◽  
Randy M Bruno

Layer (L) 2/3 pyramidal neurons in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) are sparsely active, spontaneously and during sensory stimulation. Long-range inputs from higher areas may gate L2/3 activity. We investigated their in vivo impact by expressing channelrhodopsin in three main sources of feedback to rat S1: primary motor cortex, secondary somatosensory cortex, and secondary somatosensory thalamic nucleus (the posterior medial nucleus, POm). Inputs from cortical areas were relatively weak. POm, however, more robustly depolarized L2/3 cells and, when paired with peripheral stimulation, evoked action potentials. POm triggered not only a stronger fast-onset depolarization but also a delayed all-or-none persistent depolarization, lasting up to 1 s and exhibiting alpha/beta-range oscillations. Inactivating POm somata abolished persistent but not initial depolarization, indicating a recurrent circuit mechanism. We conclude that secondary thalamus can enhance L2/3 responsiveness over long periods. Such timescales could provide a potential modality-specific substrate for attention, working memory, and plasticity.


1957 ◽  
Vol 189 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-140
Author(s):  
Aaron J. Beller ◽  
Gidon F. Gestring ◽  
Dominick P. Purpura

Experiments were performed on intact unanesthetized-succinylcholine paralyzed cats in order to compare the effects of ablations of primary cortical regions on the ability to evoke generalized activation to specific sensory stimulation with those obtained by Bremer on encéphale isolé preparations. Bilateral destruction of the auditory or somatic sensory cortex in intact preparations does not block generalized activation to auditory or sciatic stimulation. It is concluded that in the presence of spinal afferent activity as exists in the intact preparation corticifugal influences arising in either the auditory or somatic sensory cortex are not necessary for the activation process that follows auditory or sciatic stimulation.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1698 ◽  
pp. 62-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mari Kaneko ◽  
Satoshi Fujita ◽  
Noriyoshi Shimizu ◽  
Mitsuru Motoyoshi ◽  
Masayuki Kobayashi

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (8) ◽  
pp. e2021252118
Author(s):  
Zachary P. Rosenthal ◽  
Ryan V. Raut ◽  
Ryan M. Bowen ◽  
Abraham Z. Snyder ◽  
Joseph P. Culver ◽  
...  

Slow waves (SWs) are globally propagating, low-frequency (0.5- to 4-Hz) oscillations that are prominent during sleep and anesthesia. SWs are essential to neural plasticity and memory. However, much remains unknown about the mechanisms coordinating SW propagation at the macroscale. To assess SWs in the context of macroscale networks, we recorded cortical activity in awake and ketamine/xylazine-anesthetized mice using widefield optical imaging with fluorescent calcium indicator GCaMP6f. We demonstrate that unilateral somatosensory stimulation evokes bilateral waves that travel across the cortex with state-dependent trajectories. Under anesthesia, we observe that rhythmic stimuli elicit globally resonant, front-to-back propagating SWs. Finally, photothrombotic lesions of S1 show that somatosensory-evoked global SWs depend on bilateral recruitment of homotopic primary somatosensory cortices. Specifically, unilateral lesions of S1 disrupt somatosensory-evoked global SW initiation from either hemisphere, while spontaneous SWs are largely unchanged. These results show that evoked SWs may be triggered by bilateral activation of specific, homotopically connected cortical networks.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Kok ◽  
Pim Mostert ◽  
Floris P. de Lange

AbstractPerception can be described as a process of inference, integrating bottom-up sensory inputs and top-down expectations. However, it is unclear how this process is neurally implemented. It has been proposed that expectations lead to pre-stimulus baseline increases in sensory neurons tuned to the expected stimulus, which in turn affects the processing of subsequent stimuli. Recent fMRI studies have revealed stimulus-specific patterns of activation in sensory cortex as a result of expectation, but this method lacks the temporal resolution necessary to distinguish pre- from post-stimulus processes. Here, we combined human MEG with multivariate decoding techniques to probe the representational content of neural signals in a time-resolved manner. We observed a representation of expected stimuli in the neural signal well before they were presented, demonstrating that expectations indeed induce a pre-activation of stimulus templates. These results suggest a mechanism for how predictive perception can be neurally implemented.


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