Continuity within somatosensory cortical map shapes the integration of optogenetic input

The topographic organization of sensory cortices is a prominent feature, but its functional role remains unclear. Particularly, how activity is integrated within a cortical area depending on its topography is unknown. Here, we trained mice expressing channelrhodopsin in cortical excitatory neurons t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inbioRxiv
Main Authors Lassagne, Henri, Goueytes, Dorian, Shulz, Daniel, Estebanez, Luc, Ego-Stengel, Valerie
Format Paper
LanguageEnglish
Published Cold Spring Harbor Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press 28.03.2021
Subjects
Brain architecture
Cortex (somatosensory)
Prosthetics
Reinforcement
Sensory integration
Topography
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Summary:The topographic organization of sensory cortices is a prominent feature, but its functional role remains unclear. Particularly, how activity is integrated within a cortical area depending on its topography is unknown. Here, we trained mice expressing channelrhodopsin in cortical excitatory neurons to track a bar photostimulation that rotated smoothly over the primary somatosensory cortex (S1). When photostimulation was aimed at vS1, the area which contains a contiguous representation of the whisker array at the periphery, mice could learn to discriminate angular positions of the bar to obtain a reward. In contrast, they could not learn the task when the photostimulation was aimed at the representation of the trunk and legs in S1, where neighboring zones represent distant peripheral body parts, introducing discontinuities. Mice demonstrated anticipation of reward availability, specifically when cortical topography enabled to predict future sensory activation. These results are particularly helpful for designing efficient cortical sensory neuroprostheses. Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.
DOI:10.1101/2021.03.26.437211