Intracortical multiplication of thalamocortical signals in mouse auditory cortex

Nat Neurosci. 2013 Sep;16(9):1179-81. doi: 10.1038/nn.3493. Epub 2013 Aug 11.

Abstract

Cortical processing of sensory information begins with the transformation of thalamically relayed signals. We optogenetically silenced intracortical circuits to isolate thalamic inputs to layer 4 neurons and found that intracortical excitation linearly amplified thalamocortical responses underlying frequency and direction selectivity, with spectral range and tuning preserved, and prolonged the response duration. This signal pre-amplification and prolongation enhanced the salience of thalamocortically relayed information and ensured its robust, faithful and more persistent representation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acoustic Stimulation
  • Action Potentials / physiology
  • Afferent Pathways / physiology*
  • Animals
  • Auditory Cortex / cytology*
  • Auditory Cortex / physiology*
  • Channelrhodopsins
  • Dependovirus / genetics
  • Female
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / genetics
  • Mice
  • Optogenetics
  • Parvalbumins / genetics
  • Parvalbumins / metabolism
  • Patch-Clamp Techniques
  • Photic Stimulation
  • Reaction Time
  • Sensory Receptor Cells / physiology*
  • Statistics, Nonparametric
  • Transduction, Genetic

Substances

  • Channelrhodopsins
  • Parvalbumins
  • enhanced green fluorescent protein
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins