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Monocular Visual Deprivation and Ocular Dominance Plasticity Measurement in the Mouse Primary Visual Cortex
Published on: February 8, 2020
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Thalamocortical boutons cluster by ON/OFF responses in mouse primary visual cortex.
Elaine Tring1, Dario L Ringach1,2
1Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, California.
Journal of Neurophysiology
|December 14, 2022
Summary
Mouse visual cortex has ON/OFF domains, but thalamic input organization was unknown. Thalamocortical boutons in mice cluster by ON/OFF responses, suggesting segregation begins in the thalamus.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Visual System
- Thalamocortical Circuits
Background:
- Higher mammals exhibit clustered thalamic afferents (ON/OFF) to primary visual cortex (V1), forming columnar domains.
- Previous research established ON/OFF cortical domains in mice, but thalamic afferent organization remained unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the spatial organization of thalamocortical boutons in mice based on their visual responses (ON/OFF).
- To determine if ON/OFF segregation is present in the thalamic input to the mouse visual cortex.
Main Methods:
- Utilized two-photon imaging to measure visual responses of thalamocortical boutons in mice.
- Analyzed the spatial clustering of boutons according to their ON/OFF response properties.
Main Results:
- Thalamocortical boutons in mice were found to cluster spatially based on ON/OFF visual responses.
- The relative density of ON/OFF boutons correlated with the distribution of ON/OFF receptive fields in the visual field.
- Demonstrated segregation of ON/OFF signals within the thalamic input to the visual cortex.
Conclusions:
- ON/OFF signal segregation is present in the thalamic input to the mouse visual cortex.
- This thalamic organization likely shapes the cortical architecture and ON/OFF domains.
- Suggests that ON/OFF clustering in the thalamus may originate from retinal ganglion cell mosaic organization.
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