Receptive fields in the body-surface map in adult cortex defined by temporally correlated inputs

Abstract

Receptive fields (RFs) obtained at specific cortical sites can be used to define a topographic map of the body surface in adult mammalian somatosensory cortex. This map is not static, and RFs at particular cortical sites can change in size and location throughout adult life. Conversely, the cortical loci at which a given skin surface is represented can shift hundreds of micrometres across the cortex in the koniocortical field, area 3b (refs 1–12). This plasticity suggests that RFs derive not from rigid anatomical connections, but by the selection of a subset of a large number of inputs. We have proposed that inputs are selected on the basis of temporal correlation^11–15. Here we test this idea by altering the correlation of inputs from two adjacent digits on the adult owl monkey hand by surgically connecting the skin surfaces of the two fingers (the formation of syndactyly). This manipulation increases the correlation of inputs from skin surfaces of adjacent fingers. The striking discontinuity between the zones of representation of adjacent digits on the somatosensory cortex disappeared. These results support the hypothesis that the topography of the body-surface map in the adult cortex is influenced by the temporal correlations of afferent inputs.