Functional and Structural Properties of Highly Responsive Somatosensory Neurons in Mouse Barrel Cortex.

ABSTRACT: Sparse population activity is a well-known feature of supragranular sensory neurons in neocortex. The mechanisms underlying sparseness are not well understood because a direct link between the neurons activated in vivo, and their cellular properties investigated in vitro has been missing. We used two-photon calcium imaging to identify a subset of neurons in layer L2/3 (L2/3) of mouse primary somatosensory cortex that are highly active following principal whisker vibrotactile stimulation. These high responders (HRs) were then tagged using photoconvertible green fluorescent protein for subsequent targeting in the brain slice using intracellular patch-clamp recordings and biocytin staining. This approach allowed us to investigate the structural and functional properties of HRs that distinguis

SUBMITTER: Barz CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8408454 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature