Diverse Neuronal Activity in Barrel Cortex During Self-Grooming and Whisking in Mice

The primary somatosensory barrel cortex (S1BF) plays a key role in sensory perception and sensorimotor feedback during self-grooming and exploratory whisking. However, whether neurons in the S1BF exhibit distinct activation patterns during the processing of sensory and motor information in these contexts remains unclear at the single-cell level. In this study, using miniature two-photon imaging (mini-2P) to monitor calcium transients, we identified four distinct neuron types based on their behavior-specific activation patterns: initiation-specific neurons (active at the onset of self-grooming (GIA cells) and whisking (WIA cells)) and sustained-response neurons (active throughout self-grooming (GDA cells) and whisking (WDA cells)). GDA neurons were engaged during both self-grooming and whisking, while WIA and WDA cells showed whisking-specific responses, becoming inactive during self-grooming. Our study reveals distinct neuronal responses in the S1BF during self-grooming and whisking, highlighting the differential processing of sensory and motor information by different neuronal populations.