Active sensation: insights from the rodent vibrissa sensorimotor system

Kleinfeld, David; Ahissar, Ehud; Diamond, Mathew E.

doi:10.1016/j.conb.2006.06.009

Cited by 347 publications

(328 citation statements)

References 113 publications

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“…The vibrissa area showed marked decrease in size and excitability in both hemispheres at 3 and 15 d. These perturbations may reflect a reduced activity of excitatory interhemispheric connections between the homotopic vibrissa areas (Maggiolini et al, 2007). Since vibrissae are used to acquire sensory information (Kleinfeld et al, 2006), an exploratory spatial deficit may occur in 6-OHDAlesioned rats, although testing this hypothesis was beyond the scopes of the study. The forelimb area at the ipsilateral side showed persistent decrease in size and excitability, the rostral area being more affected than the caudal one.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Progressive Motor Cortex Functional Reorganization Following 6-Hydroxydopamine Lesioning in Rats

Viaro¹,

Morari²,

Franchi³

2011

J. Neurosci.

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Many studies have attempted to correlate changes of motor cortex activity with progression of Parkinson's disease, although results have been controversial. In the present study we used intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) combined with behavioral testing in 6-hydroxydopamine hemilesioned rats to evaluate the impact of dopamine depletion on movement representations in primary motor cortex (M1) and motor behavior. ICMS allows for motor-effective stimulation of corticofugal neurons in motor areas so as to obtain topographic movements representations based on movement type, area size, and threshold currents. Rats received unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine in the nigrostriatal bundle, causing motor impairment. Changes in M1 were time dependent and bilateral, although stronger in the lesioned than the intact hemisphere. Representation size and threshold current were maximally impaired at 15 d, although inhibition was still detectable at 60 -120 d after lesion. Proximal forelimb movements emerged at the expense of the distal ones. Movement lateralization was lost mainly at 30 d after lesion. Systemic L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine partially attenuated motor impairment and cortical changes, particularly in the caudal forelimb area, and completely rescued distal forelimb movements. Local application of the GABA A antagonist bicuculline partially restored cortical changes, particularly in the rostral forelimb area. The local anesthetic lidocaine injected into the M1 of the intact hemisphere restored movement lateralization in the lesioned hemisphere. This study provides evidence for motor cortex remodeling after unilateral dopamine denervation, suggesting that cortical changes were associated with dopamine denervation, pathogenic intracortical GABA inhibition, and altered interhemispheric activity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Progressive Motor Cortex Functional Reorganization Following 6-Hydroxydopamine Lesioning in Rats

Viaro¹,

Morari²,

Franchi³

2011

J. Neurosci.

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“…Cortical processing of somatosensory input is not limited to the primary somatosensory cortex, but involves several other cortical areas, such as the secondary somatosensory cortex, the vibrissal motor cortex, and somatosensory cortices of the opposite hemisphere, as well as subcortical structures (Kleinfeld et al, 2006;Ferezou et al, 2007). To investigate plasticity of large-scale sensorimotor networks, we mapped the surface potential field generated by brain activity using 32 epicranial electrodes distributed over the parietal and frontal bones of both hemispheres under isoflurane anesthesia (Mégevand et al, 2008).…”

Section: Long-term Plasticity After 8 Hz Stimulation Involves the Senmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-Term Plasticity in Mouse Sensorimotor Circuits after Rhythmic Whisker Stimulation

et al. 2009

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Mice actively explore their environment by rhythmically sweeping their whiskers. As a consequence, neuronal activity in somatosensory pathways is modulated by the frequency of whisker movement. The potential role of rhythmic neuronal activity for the integration and consolidation of sensory signals, however, remains unexplored. Here, we show that a brief period of rhythmic whisker stimulation in anesthetized mice resulted in a frequency-specific long-lasting increase in the amplitude of somatosensory-evoked potentials in the contralateral primary somatosensory (barrel) cortex. Mapping of evoked potentials and intracortical recordings revealed that, in addition to potentiation in layers IV and II/III of the barrel cortex, rhythmic whisker stimulation induced a decrease of somatosensory-evoked responses in the supragranular layers of the motor cortex. To assess whether rhythmic sensory input-based plasticity might arise in natural settings, we exposed mice to environmental enrichment. We found that it resulted in somatosensory-evoked responses of increased amplitude, highlighting the influence of previous sensory experience in shaping sensory responses. Importantly, environmental enrichment-induced plasticity occluded further potentiation by rhythmic stimulation, indicating that both phenomena share common mechanisms. Overall, our results suggest that natural, rhythmic patterns of whisker activity can modify the cerebral processing of sensory information, providing a possible mechanism for learning during sensory perception.

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“…This behaviour represents a good example of active sensory sampling, where the animal itself modulates when and where it receives sensory input in order to get a better picture of its environment 14 . Here, we describe the development of an experimental system where rats were trained to follow trails of different odours.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Rats track odour trails accurately using a multi-layered strategy with near-optimal sampling

2012

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Tracking odour trails is a crucial behaviour for many animals, often leading to food, mates or away from danger. It is an excellent example of active sampling, where the animal itself controls how to sense the environment. Here we show that rats can track odour trails accurately with near-optimal sampling. We trained rats to follow odour trails drawn on paper spooled through a treadmill. By recording local field potentials (LFPs) from the olfactory bulb, and sniffing rates, we find that sniffing but not LFPs differ between tracking and non-tracking conditions. Rats can track odours within ~1 cm, and this accuracy is degraded when one nostril is closed. moreover, they show path prediction on encountering a fork, wide 'casting' sweeps on encountering a gap and detection of reappearance of the trail in 1-2 sniffs. We suggest that rats use a multi-layered strategy, and achieve efficient sampling and high accuracy in this complex task.

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Active sensation: insights from the rodent vibrissa sensorimotor system

Cited by 347 publications

References 113 publications

Progressive Motor Cortex Functional Reorganization Following 6-Hydroxydopamine Lesioning in Rats

Progressive Motor Cortex Functional Reorganization Following 6-Hydroxydopamine Lesioning in Rats

Long-Term Plasticity in Mouse Sensorimotor Circuits after Rhythmic Whisker Stimulation

Rats track odour trails accurately using a multi-layered strategy with near-optimal sampling

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