| First Author | Wang HC | Year | 2022 |
| Journal | Nat Commun | Volume | 13 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 6611 |
| PubMed ID | 36329010 | Mgi Jnum | J:354104 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:7383914 | Doi | 10.1038/s41467-022-34261-1 |
| Citation | Wang HC, et al. (2022) Tuning instability of non-columnar neurons in the salt-and-pepper whisker map in somatosensory cortex. Nat Commun 13(1):6611 |
| abstractText | Rodent sensory cortex contains salt-and-pepper maps of sensory features, whose structure is not fully known. Here we investigated the structure of the salt-and-pepper whisker somatotopic map among L2/3 pyramidal neurons in somatosensory cortex, in awake mice performing one-vs-all whisker discrimination. Neurons tuned for columnar (CW) and non-columnar (non-CW) whiskers were spatially intermixed, with co-tuned neurons forming local (20 microm) clusters. Whisker tuning was markedly unstable in expert mice, with 35-46% of pyramidal cells significantly shifting tuning over 5-18 days. Tuning instability was highly concentrated in non-CW tuned neurons, and thus was structured in the map. Instability of non-CW neurons was unchanged during chronic whisker paralysis and when mice discriminated individual whiskers, suggesting it is an inherent feature. Thus, L2/3 combines two distinct components: a stable columnar framework of CW-tuned cells that may promote spatial perceptual stability, plus an intermixed, non-columnar surround with highly unstable tuning. |
