Barrel cortex function

TL;DR: This work reveals sparse and spatially intermingled representations of multiple tactile features in mice expressing GCaMP6s and nuclear red fluorescent proteins during performance of a single whisker object localization task and an encoding model related activity to behavioral variables.

TL;DR: Early spontaneous activity patterns control the formation of developing networks in sensory cortices, and disturbances of these activity patterns may lead to long-lasting neuronal deficits.

TL;DR: The potential for the use of known critical and sensitive periods during vertebrate development to investigate and advance the understanding of the neural bases underlying impairments in these developmental disorders of the nervous system is highlighted.

TL;DR: Making whole-cell recordings in primary somatosensory barrel cortex of behaving mice shows that S1 neurons projecting to primary motor cortex and those projecting to secondary somatoensory cortex have distinct intrinsic membrane properties and exhibit markedly different membrane potential dynamics during behavior.

TL;DR: It is argued that the time is right to begin assimilating the wealth of data that has been accumulated over the past century and start building biologically accurate models of the brain from first principles to aid the understanding of brain function and dysfunction.

TL;DR: New genetic models that target the serotonin system show that transient alterations in serotonin homeostasis cause permanent changes to adult behaviour and modify the fine wiring of brain connections.

TL;DR: The release of several different neurotransmitters from the brain stem, hypothalamus, basal forebrain, and cerebral cortex results in a depolarization of thalamocortical and thalamic reticular neurons and an enhanced excitability in many cortical pyramidal cells, thereby suppressing the generation of sleep rhythms and promoting a state that is conducive to sensory processing and cognition.

TL;DR: The unique features of the early-appearing GABA signalling systems might help to explain how GABA acts as a developmental signal in the immature brain.