QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, April 4, 2007, 27(14):3910-3920; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0181-07.2007

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in J. Neurosci. Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (4) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Glazewski, S. Articles by Barth, A. L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Glazewski, S. Articles by Barth, A. L.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Development/Plasticity/Repair
Ipsilateral Whiskers Suppress Experience-Dependent Plasticity in the Barrel Cortex

Stanislaw Glazewski,^1 * Brett L. Benedetti,^2,3 * and Alison L. Barth^2,3

¹Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine and School of Life Sciences, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, United Kingdom, and ²Department of Biological Sciences and ³Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Alison L. Barth, Department of Biological Sciences and Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Email: barth{at}cmu.edu

Each cerebral hemisphere processes sensory input from both sides of the body, but the impact of this convergence on shaping and modifying receptive field properties remains controversial. Here we investigated the effect of chronic deprivation of ipsilateral sensory whiskers on receptive field plasticity in primary somatosensory cortex. In the absence of ipsilateral whiskers, cortical receptive fields were significantly larger than control after 1 week. Removal of all but a single whisker from one side of the face [single-whisker experience (SWE)] has been shown to result in the expansion of the cortical area responding to the spared whisker. We compared the effects of SWE in the presence (SWE-unilateral) and absence (SWE-bilateral) of ipsilateral whiskers. SWE-bilateral deprivation results in a significant increase in neuronal responses to spared whisker stimulation both in its cognate barrel column and in adjacent, surrounding barrel columns compared with control and SWE-unilateral deprived animals. Surround receptive fields in deprived columns were maintained in SWE-bilateral treated animals but depressed in SWE-unilateral animals. The increase in spared whisker responses was progressive with longer deprivation periods. These data show that ipsilateral whiskers can constrain receptive field size in the barrel cortex.

Key words: corpus callosum; ipsilateral; layer 2/3; plasticity; potentiation; receptive field; somatosensory cortex; vibrissa; whisker

---

Received July 12, 2006; accepted Feb. 20, 2007.

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Alison L. Barth, Department of Biological Sciences and Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Email: barth{at}cmu.edu

Related articles in J. Neurosci.:

This Week in The Journal

J. Neurosci. 2007 27: i. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B. L. Benedetti, S. Glazewski, and A. L. Barth Reliable and Precise Neuronal Firing during Sensory Plasticity in Superficial Layers of Primary Somatosensory Cortex J. Neurosci., September 23, 2009; 29(38): 11817 - 11827. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. J. Drew and D. E. Feldman Intrinsic Signal Imaging of Deprivation-Induced Contraction of Whisker Representations in Rat Somatosensory Cortex Cereb Cortex, February 1, 2009; 19(2): 331 - 348. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				R. L. Clem, T. Celikel, and A. L. Barth Ongoing in Vivo Experience Triggers Synaptic Metaplasticity in the Neocortex Science, January 4, 2008; 319(5859): 101 - 104. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help