Surround Integration Organizes a Spatial Map during Active Sensation.

ABSTRACT: 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 a combination of two-photon imaging and electrophysiology during active touch. We found that surround whiskers powerfully transform the cortical representation of scanned space. On the single-neuron level, surround input profoundly alters response amplitude and modulates spatial preference in the cortex. On the population level, surround input organizes the spatial preference of neurons into a c

SUBMITTER: Pluta SR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5512457 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature