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Development of proper cortical circuits requires an interaction of sensory experience and genetic programs. Little is known of how experience and specific transcription factors interact to determine the development of specific neocortical circuits. Here, we demonstrate that the activity-dependent transcription factor, Myocyte enhancer factor-2C (Mef2c), differentially regulates development of local...
Touch perception depends on integrating signals from multiple types of peripheral mechanoreceptors. Merkel-cell associated afferents are thought to play a major role in form perception by encoding surface features of touched objects. However, activity of Merkel afferents during active touch has not been directly measured. Here, we show that Merkel and unidentified slowly adapting afferents in the...
During active sensation, sensors scan space in order to generate a representation of the outside world. However, since spatial coding in sensory systems is typically addressed by measuring receptive fields in a fixed, sensor-based coordinate frame, the cortical representation of scanned space is poorly understood. To address this question, we probed spatial coding in the rodent whisker system using...
In this issue of Neuron, Pluta et al. (2017) find a novel map of external space in primary somatosensory cortex, generated by multi-whisker interactions during active touch.
Tactile objects have both local geometry (shape) and broader macroscopic texture, but how these different spatial scales are simultaneously encoded during active touch is unknown. In the whisker system, we tested for a shared code based on localized whisker micromotions (stick-slips) and slip-evoked spikes. We trained mice to discriminate smooth from rough surfaces, including ridged gratings and sandpaper...
Sleep, waking, locomotion, and attention are associated with cell-type-specific changes in neocortical activity. The effect of brain state on circuit output requires understanding of how neuromodulators influence specific neuronal classes and their synapses, with normal patterns of neuromodulator release from endogenous sources. We investigated the state-dependent modulation of a ubiquitous feedforward...
The neonatal mammal faces an array of sensory stimuli when diverse neuronal types have yet to form sensory maps. How these inputs interact with intrinsic neuronal activity to facilitate circuit assembly is not well understood. By using longitudinal calcium imaging in unanesthetized mouse pups, we show that layer I (LI) interneurons, delineated by co-expression of the 5HT3a serotonin receptor (5HT3aR)...
The location of short-term memory in mammalian neocortex remains elusive. Here we show that distinct neocortical areas maintain short-term memory depending on behavioral strategy. Using wide-field and single-cell calcium imaging, we measured layer 2/3 neuronal activity in mice performing a whisker-based texture discrimination task with delayed response. Mice either deployed an active strategy—engaging...
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