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Neural coding in barrel cortex during whisker-guided locomotion.

Nicholas James Sofroniew¹, Yurii A Vlasov^1,2, Samuel Andrew Hires¹

¹Janelia Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Ashburn, United States.

|December 25, 2015

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Mice use their whiskers to navigate in virtual reality, revealing that the barrel cortex encodes wall proximity. Optogenetic control of barrel cortex neurons can guide this wall-tracking behavior.

Keywords:

barrel cortex calcium imaging electrophysiologygy head-fixed mouse navigation neuroscience whiskers

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Sensory Systems
Computational Neuroscience

Background:

Sensory systems are typically studied passively, limiting understanding of neural coding in dynamic environments.
Active sensing, like whisker exploration, is crucial for animals navigating complex worlds.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate neural coding in the barrel cortex during active tactile exploration.
To determine the role of the barrel cortex in wall-tracking behavior using virtual reality.

Main Methods:

Head-fixed mice explored a tactile virtual reality environment, tracking walls with their whiskers.
Optogenetic manipulations were used to control neuronal activity in the barrel cortex.
Two-photon calcium imaging and extracellular recordings captured neural activity.

Main Results:

The barrel cortex was found to play a role in wall-tracking behavior.
Optogenetic stimulation of layer 4 neurons could substitute for whisker-object contact to guide wall tracking.
Neurons in the barrel cortex exhibited tuning to the distance between the snout and the contralateral wall.

Conclusions:

The barrel cortex represents object location through rich, complex neural tuning curves.
This representation likely emerges from cortical circuit dynamics rather than simple whisker-stimulus responses.