The impact of basal forebrain lesions on the ability of rats to perform a sensory discrimination task involving barrel cortex

Abstract Rodents depend on olfaction and touch to meet many of their fundamental needs. The joint significance of these sensory systems is underscored by an intricate coupling between sniffing and whisking. However, the impact of simultaneous olfactory and tactile inputs on sensory representations in the cortex remains elusive. To study these interactions, we recorded large populations of barrel cortex neurons using 2-photon calcium imaging in head-fixed mice during olfactory and tactile stimulation. We find that odors alter barrel cortex activity in at least two ways, first by enhancing whisking, and second by central cross-talk that persists after whisking is abolished by facial nerve sectioning. Odors can either enhance or suppress barrel cortex neuronal responses, and while odor identity can be decoded from population activity, it does not interfere with the tactile representation. Thus, barrel cortex represents olfactory information which, in the absence of learned associations, is coded independently of tactile information.

Download Full-text

Ant colonies outperform individuals when a sensory discrimination task is difficult but not when it is easy

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1304917110 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 110 (34) ◽

pp. 13769-13773 ◽

Cited By ~ 52

Author(s):

Takao Sasaki ◽

Boris Granovskiy ◽

Richard P. Mann ◽

David J. T. Sumpter ◽

Stephen C. Pratt

Keyword(s):

Discrimination Task ◽

Ant Colonies ◽

Sensory Discrimination

Download Full-text

Neuronal Circuits in Barrel Cortex for Whisker Sensory Perception

Physiological Reviews ◽

10.1152/physrev.00019.2019 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 101 (1) ◽

pp. 353-415

Author(s):

Jochen F. Staiger ◽

Carl C. H. Petersen

Keyword(s):

Barrel Cortex ◽

Specific Activity ◽

Sensory Information ◽

Inhibitory Neurons ◽

Future Research ◽

Cell Type ◽

Molecular Features ◽

Somatotopic Map ◽

Cell Type Specific ◽

The Impact

The array of whiskers on the snout provides rodents with tactile sensory information relating to the size, shape and texture of objects in their immediate environment. Rodents can use their whiskers to detect stimuli, distinguish textures, locate objects and navigate. Important aspects of whisker sensation are thought to result from neuronal computations in the whisker somatosensory cortex (wS1). Each whisker is individually represented in the somatotopic map of wS1 by an anatomical unit named a ‘barrel’ (hence also called barrel cortex). This allows precise investigation of sensory processing in the context of a well-defined map. Here, we first review the signaling pathways from the whiskers to wS1, and then discuss current understanding of the various types of excitatory and inhibitory neurons present within wS1. Different classes of cells can be defined according to anatomical, electrophysiological and molecular features. The synaptic connectivity of neurons within local wS1 microcircuits, as well as their long-range interactions and the impact of neuromodulators, are beginning to be understood. Recent technological progress has allowed cell-type-specific connectivity to be related to cell-type-specific activity during whisker-related behaviors. An important goal for future research is to obtain a causal and mechanistic understanding of how selected aspects of tactile sensory information are processed by specific types of neurons in the synaptically connected neuronal networks of wS1 and signaled to downstream brain areas, thus contributing to sensory-guided decision-making.

Download Full-text

Individuals With 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome Are Impaired at Explicit, But Not Implicit, Discrimination of Local Forms Embedded in Global Structures

American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities ◽

10.1352/1944-7558-119.3.261 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 119 (3) ◽

pp. 261-275 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Anne Giersch ◽

Bronwyn Glaser ◽

Catherine Pasca ◽

Mélanie Chabloz ◽

Martin Debbané ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Visual Information ◽

Discrimination Task ◽

22Q11.2 Deletion Syndrome ◽

Deletion Syndrome ◽

Local Processing ◽

Visual Scanning ◽

Form Discrimination ◽

22Q11.2 Deletion ◽

Visual Form ◽

The Impact

Abstract Individuals with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS) are impaired at exploring visual information in space; however, not much is known about visual form discrimination in the syndrome. Thirty-five individuals with 22q11.2DS and 41 controls completed a form discrimination task with global forms made up of local elements. Affected individuals demonstrated clear impairment in detecting local, but not global, differences. Nevertheless, 22q11.2DS participants easily discriminated the same local elements when they were displayed in isolation, and further use of a prime demonstrated preserved facilitation of local processing in 22q11.2DS. These results did not differ by age or IQ. This study illustrates the impact of visuospatial impairments on form discrimination, and suggests how these difficulties may affect visual scanning in 22q11.2DS.

Download Full-text

Pharmacological modulation of cortical plasticity following kainic acid lesion in rat barrel cortex

Journal of Neurosurgery ◽

10.3171/jns/2008/109/7/0108 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 109 (1) ◽

pp. 108-116 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Aneela Darbar ◽

Richard T. Stevens ◽

Adnan H. Siddiqui ◽

James S. McCasland ◽

Charles J. Hodge

Keyword(s):

Cerebral Cortex ◽

Kainic Acid ◽

Functional Recovery ◽

Barrel Cortex ◽

Optical Signal ◽

Survival Period ◽

Complex Nature ◽

Functional Responses ◽

Significant Difference ◽

The Impact

Object The brain shows remarkable capacity for plasticity in response to injury. To maximize the benefits of current neurological treatment and to minimize the impact of injury, the authors examined the ability of commonly administered drugs, dextroamphetamine (D-amphetamine) and phenytoin, to positively or negatively affect the functional recovery of the cerebral cortex following excitotoxic injury. Methods Previous work from the same laboratory has demonstrated reorganization of whisker functional responses (WFRs) in the rat barrel cortex after excitotoxic lesions were created with kainic acid (KA). In the present study, WFRs were mapped using intrinsic optical signal imaging before and 9 days after creation of the KA lesions. During the post-lesion survival period, animals were either treated with intraperitoneal D-amphetamine, phenytoin, or saline or received no treatment. Following the survival period, WFRs were again measured and compared with prelesion data. Results The findings suggest that KA lesions cause increases in WFR areas when compared with controls. Treatment with D-amphetamine further increased the WFR area (p < 0.05) while phenytoin-treated rats showed decreases in WFR areas. There was also a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) between the D-amphetamine and phenytoin groups. Conclusions These results show that 2 commonly used drugs, D-amphetamine and phenytoin, have opposite effects in the functional recovery/plasticity of injured cerebral cortex. The authors' findings emphasize the complex nature of the cortical response to injury and have implications for understanding the biology of the effects of different medications on eventual functional brain recovery.

Download Full-text

The Impact of Brain Lateralization and Anxiety-Like Behaviour in an Extensive Operant Conditioning Task in Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Symmetry ◽

10.3390/sym11111395 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 1395 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Maria Elena Miletto Petrazzini ◽

Alessandra Pecunioso ◽

Marco Dadda ◽

Christian Agrillo

Keyword(s):

Operant Conditioning ◽

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Discrimination Task ◽

Brain Lateralization ◽

Colour Discrimination ◽

Learning Skills ◽

Learning Abilities ◽

Low Performance ◽

The Impact

Several studies in mammals, birds, and fish have documented better cognitive abilities associated with an asymmetrical distribution of cognitive functions in the two halves of the brain, also known as ‘functional brain lateralization’. However, the role of brain lateralization in learning abilities is still unclear. In addition, although recent studies suggest a link between some personality traits and accuracy in cognitive tasks, the relation between anxiety and learning skills in Skinner boxes needs to be clarified. In the present study, we tested the impact of brain lateralization and anxiety-like behaviour in the performance of an extensive operant conditioning task. Zebrafish tested in a Skinner box underwent 500 trials in a colour discrimination task (red vs. yellow and green vs. blue). To assess the degree of lateralization, fish were observed in a detour test in the presence of a dummy predator, and anxiety-like behaviour was studied by observing scototaxis response in an experimental tank divided into light and dark compartments. Although the low performance in the colour discrimination task did not permit the drawing of firm conclusions, no correlation was found between the accuracy in the colour discrimination task and the behaviour in the detour and scototaxis tests. This suggests that neither different degrees of asymmetries in brain lateralization nor anxiety may significantly impact the learning skills of zebrafish.

Download Full-text

Registered PET-MRI comparative study of normal volunteers performing a tone discrimination task: the impact of performance error on cortical surface metabolic activity patterns

Schizophrenia Research ◽

10.1016/0920-9964(91)90354-t ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 4 (3) ◽

pp. 404-405

Author(s):

H.H. Holcomb ◽

B. Gordon ◽

H.L. Loats ◽

N. Cascella ◽

R.F. Dannals ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Comparative Study ◽

Metabolic Activity ◽

Discrimination Task ◽

Activity Patterns ◽

Cortical Surface ◽

Normal Volunteers ◽

Performance Error ◽

Tone Discrimination ◽

The Impact

Download Full-text

All-optical interrogation of neural circuits in behaving mice

10.1101/2021.06.29.450430 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Lloyd E. Russell ◽

Henry W.P. Dalgleish ◽

Rebecca Nutbrown ◽

Oliver Gauld ◽

Dustin Herrmann ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Neural Circuits ◽

Neural Circuit ◽

Barrel Cortex ◽

Brain Area ◽

Imaging Data ◽

Temporal Precision ◽

Two Photon ◽

All Optical ◽

The Impact

Recent advances combining two-photon calcium imaging and two-photon optogenetics with digital holography now allow us to read and write neural activity in vivo at cellular resolution with millisecond temporal precision. Such 'all-optical' techniques enable experimenters to probe the impact of functionally defined neurons on neural circuit function and behavioural output with new levels of precision. This protocol describes the experimental strategy and workflow for successful completion of typical all-optical interrogation experiments in awake, behaving head-fixed mice. We describe modular procedures for the setup and calibration of an all-optical system, the preparation of an indicator and opsin-expressing and task-performing animal, the characterization of functional and photostimulation responses and the design and implementation of an all-optical experiment. We discuss optimizations for efficiently selecting and targeting neuronal ensembles for photostimulation sequences, as well as generating photostimulation response maps from the imaging data that can be used to examine the impact of photostimulation on the local circuit. We demonstrate the utility of this strategy using all-optical experiments in three different brain areas - barrel cortex, visual cortex and hippocampus - using different experimental setups. This approach can in principle be adapted to any brain area for all-optical interrogation experiments to probe functional connectivity in neural circuits and for investigating the relationship between neural circuit activity and behaviour.

Download Full-text

Distinct Spiking Patterns of Excitatory and Inhibitory Neurons and LFP Oscillations in Prefrontal Cortex During Sensory Discrimination

Frontiers in Physiology ◽

10.3389/fphys.2021.618307 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Hua-an Tseng ◽

Xue Han

Keyword(s):

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Discrimination Task ◽

Field Potential ◽

Inhibitory Neurons ◽

Sensory Stimuli ◽

Sensory Discrimination ◽

Related Information ◽

Entire Duration ◽

Excitatory Neurons ◽

Spike Waveforms

Prefrontal cortex (PFC) are broadly linked to various aspects of behavior. During sensory discrimination, PFC neurons can encode a range of task related information, including the identity of sensory stimuli and related behavioral outcome. However, it remains largely unclear how different neuron subtypes and local field potential (LFP) oscillation features in the mouse PFC are modulated during sensory discrimination. To understand how excitatory and inhibitory PFC neurons are selectively engaged during sensory discrimination and how their activity relates to LFP oscillations, we used tetrode recordings to probe well-isolated individual neurons, and LFP oscillations, in mice performing a three-choice auditory discrimination task. We found that a majority of PFC neurons, 78% of the 711 recorded individual neurons, exhibited sensory discrimination related responses that are context and task dependent. Using spike waveforms, we classified these responsive neurons into putative excitatory neurons with broad waveforms or putative inhibitory neurons with narrow waveforms, and found that both neuron subtypes were transiently modulated, with individual neurons’ responses peaking throughout the entire duration of the trial. While the number of responsive excitatory neurons remain largely constant throughout the trial, an increasing fraction of inhibitory neurons were gradually recruited as the trial progressed. Further examination of the coherence between individual neurons and LFPs revealed that inhibitory neurons exhibit higher spike-field coherence with LFP oscillations than excitatory neurons during all aspects of the trial and across multiple frequency bands. Together, our results demonstrate that PFC excitatory neurons are continuously engaged during sensory discrimination, whereas PFC inhibitory neurons are increasingly recruited as the trial progresses and preferentially coordinated with LFP oscillations. These results demonstrate increasing involvement of inhibitory neurons in shaping the overall PFC dynamics toward the completion of the sensory discrimination task.

Download Full-text