Juxtacellular recordings

Behavioral flexibility is the ability to adapt behavior when facing environmental changes. This function typically involves the cognitive circuitry of the basal ganglia, which receives inputs from frontal cortical areas. Here, we investigated the role of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and its thalamic inputs in behavioral flexibility. This study combined behavioral approaches and in vivo electrophysiology in anesthetized rats. First, we assessed flexibility with a set-shifting task. This procedure alternates between visual discrimination rules and response discrimination rules. An individu

Performing learned behaviors requires animals to produce precisely timed motor sequences. The underlying neuronal circuits must convert incoming spike trains into precisely timed firing to indicate the onset of crucial sensory cues or to carry out well-coordinated muscle movements. Birdsong is a remarkable example of a complex, learned and precisely timed natural behavior which is controlled by a brainstem-thalamocortical feedback loop. Projection neurons within the zebra finch cortical nucleus HVC (used as a proper name), produce precisely timed, highly reliable and ultra-sparse neural sequen

Performing learned behaviors requires animals to produce precisely timed motor sequences. Birdsong is an excellent natural example of a complex, learned and precisely timed behavior. In the zebra finch we asked how thalamocortical input contributes to song dynamics. Birdsong is controlled by a brainstem-thalamocortical feedback loop. The premotor cortical region HVC (proper name) contains projection neurons that produce precisely timed, highly reliable and ultra-sparse spike burst sequences that underlie song dynamics. The origin of these bursts is debated. One model posits that bursts are gen