Topic: in-vivo electrophysiology

We can perform a diverse range of innate and learned behaviors – from running and jumping to a swift tennis serve – with remarkable coordination and grace. While skillful execution of innate and learned behaviors is supported by sensorimotor striatum, how this region encodes behavior remains poorly understood. Studies based on learned skills suggest striatal neurons represent skills as neural sequences, with each neuron locked to a feature of the stereotyped motor output. However, whether this coding scheme generalizes to innate behaviors or emerges through learning is not known. One possibili

Memories are thought to be encoded in the brain via synaptic strengthening among memory engram cells. Still, it has not been possible to observe if learning potentiates synaptic connections and simultaneously show that these changes are causally related to memory expression (i.e., they occur in engram neurons). We used a novel engram allocation-based approach to observe synaptic changes in engram neurons upon learning in-vivo. Using optogenetics, we assigned selected Medial Entorhinal Cortex (MEC) neurons to a context fear memory. This takes advantage of the fact that neurons with more excitab

The claustrum (CLA) is a densely connected brain region that is associated with attention, motor planning, anxiety and sleep. Majority of the research studies focus on its connections to the cortex. Its connections with the subcortical areas are needed to gain more insights about its function. This study investigates the CLA focusing on its connections with the basolateral amygdala (BLA) and prefrontal brain region. Using ex-vivo patch clamp, optogenetics, and in-vivo electrophysiology, we map the BLA's inputs to the CLA and its outputs to the prefrontal cortex. Findings reveal that the CLA re