Topic: somatosensory barrel cortex

In rodents, whisker deprivation induces changes in neuronal responses in the somatosensory barrel cortex called Experience dependent plasticity (EDP). There are two general forms of synaptic EDP: Hebbian, and Homeostatic. Our aim was to determine the role of astrocytes in these processes, using in vivo whisker deprivation and ex vivo fEPSP recordings. In response to a week of unilateral all-whisker sensory deprivation of one side of the snout, a PKA-dependent form of long term potentiation (LTP) emerges at L4-L2/3 synapses in the contralateral barrel cortex, in addition to the NMDA receptor de

Bilateral sensory information is indispensable for navigating the world. In most mammals, signals sensed by either side of the midline will ultimately reach the cortex where they will be integrated for perception and appropriate action selection. Even though information transferred across the hemispheres is routed through the corpus callosum, how and which microcircuits are key in integrating it across development is not well understood. Here we identify an essential role for layer 1 NDNF+ inhibitory cells of mice in controlling the bilaterally evoked whisker stimulation in layer (L)4 before,

N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDAR) are heteromeric, cation-selective, ligand- and voltage-gated ion channels with critical roles in both excitatory synaptic transmission and in the induction of many forms of synaptic plasticity, the process by which synaptic weight is dynamically modified in an activity-dependent manner. The principal aim of this project is to resolve the long-standing debate surrounding NMDAR expression and function in the presynaptic axonal compartment, specifically in the induction of spike timing-dependent long-term depression (tLTD) at the layer 4 to layer 2/3 synapse